18493: Esser: Looting and reprisals rage in Gonaives (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Looting and reprisals rage in Gonaives as death toll from uprising swells to 47
IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
©2004 Associated Press

URL:
sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/02/11/international0214EST0431.DTL



(02-11) 23:14 PST GONAIVES, Haiti (AP) --

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vowed to serve out the rest of his
term despite an armed uprising that has left at least 47 dead,
sparked looting and reprisal killings, and weakened his presidency.

The United States has ruled out intervention, but the White House
rebuked Aristide's government for the violence and called on the
leader to respect human rights.

Wearing stolen police helmets and carrying stolen weapons, rebels on
Wednesday patrolled the streets of Gonaives, Haiti's fourth-largest
city, in a search for detractors and government supporters. One
accused government hitman was doused with gasoline and set ablaze;
another was shot to death.

In the port city of St. Marc, south of Gonaives, police attacked
rebels who were holed up in a slum and gunmen loyal to Aristide
torched homes. Photographers saw three dead bodies with bullet wounds
to their heads. Witnesses said the victims were anti-Aristide
activists.

The armed revolt has spread to several towns since beginning last
Thursday in Gonaives, about 60 miles north of the capital,
Port-au-Prince, but it has reached somewhat of a stalemate and much
of the island nation of 8 million remained quiet.

Aristide's government faced a test Thursday as the Democratic
Platform, a broad coalition that has distanced itself from the bloody
revolt, has called for a massive demonstration against his leadership.

Anger has been brewing in Haiti since Aristide's party swept flawed
legislative elections in 2000. The opposition refuses to join in any
new vote unless Aristide resigns, which he refuses to do before his
term ends in 2006.

Aristide vowed to stay in office through the end of his term and said
the rebels -- whom he labeled terrorists -- were allied with the
political opposition.

"They suffer from a small group of thugs linked to the opposition ...
acting on behalf of the opposition," Aristide said Wednesday at his
first news conference since the uprising began.

"I will leave the palace Feb. 7, 2006," he said in the capital,
without addressing how he planned to put down the insurrection. His
officials have said that, to prevent civilian casualties, any
counterattacks must be part of a strategy that could take time to
plan.

The same rebels who began the uprising have said they were once armed
by Aristide's government.

The uprising exploded Thursday in Gonaives when rebels attacked the
police station, torching it and the mayor's house. Winter Etienne, a
leader of the rebel Gonaives Resistance Front, said the police
station was attacked in response to the killing of five government
opponents that day by Aristide loyalists.

"We already have a force hiding in St. Marc, and we also have one
hiding in Cap-Haitien. They are awaiting the orders to attack,"
Etienne told The Associated Press.

In northern Cap-Haitien, attackers looted a food warehouse and
pro-Aristide militants set up blazing barricades to protect the
country's second-largest city. Etienne said the city's residents had
backed him to be the new mayor, with other rebel leaders filling in
top positions.

The World Food Program reported a looming humanitarian crisis in the
north with food delivery trucks unable to make stops because of the
barricades. Sporadic electric outages also were reported in
Cap-Haitien, which relies on fuel deliveries to power electric
generators.

Many public buildings were closed on Wednesday, hospitals were
understaffed and supplies were running low, causing an increase in
food prices.

Haiti has suffered more than 30 coups in 200 years, the last in 1991
when Aristide was ousted just months after becoming the Caribbean
nation's first freely elected leader. Then-President Bill Clinton
sent 20,000 U.S. troops in 1994 to end a military dictatorship,
restore Aristide and halt an exodus of Haitian boat people.

U.S. officials say they are on alert against any new exodus set off
by the uprising.

"We are extremely concerned about the wave of violence spreading
through Haiti," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in
Washington "We call on the government to respect the rights,
especially human rights, of the citizens."

Such comments have angered Haitian officials who note that Washington
has not denounced the rebels.

Thirteen towns were affected by the revolt. Police appeared to have
driven rebels out of three, most importantly the western port of St.
Marc on Monday.

A similar uprising in 1985 also started in Gonaives and brought down
the 29-year Duvalier family dictatorship.

©2004 Associated Press

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