18541: (Chamberlain) Haiti opposition denounces govt as rally thwarted (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Michael Christie

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Militant supporters of
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide poured into the streets of the
capital on Thursday and threw up barricades to prevent the opposition's
first big political rally since an armed revolt erupted a week ago.
     Angry backers of Aristide's ruling Lavalas Family party blocked roads
to a square in Port-au-Prince, where the march was due to begin, manning
barricades of broken furniture, burned-out cars and scrap metal.
     Some supporters had pistols in their waistbands.
     Many chanted: "Down with the terrorists," the government's term for
the armed gangs that took over the city of Gonaives and attacked police
stations in half a dozen other towns in an insurgency that has killed more
than 40 people.
     Aristide's political opponents have condemned the violence but largely
share a common aim of seeking the president's departure.
     Opposition leaders denounced government supporters for preventing a
peaceful protest. They said that in addition to a wave of retaliation
against suspected rebels across the Caribbean country, it showed the
Aristide government was intent on repression.
     "I believe Jean-Bertrand Aristide has declared war on the Haitian
people," said Evans Paul, a one-time Aristide campaign manager who is now a
leading member of the Democratic Convergence opposition group. "It's
unacceptable," he told a news conference.
     In the port town of Saint Marc, 65 miles (105 km) north of
Port-au-Prince, charred human remains lay twisted in the rubble of at least
seven houses that were burned down on Wednesday.
     Witnesses said three people were executed by pro-Aristide militia when
they swept through the last remaining rebel pockets, backed by police.
     Mexican television filmed four bodies -- three shot dead -- and a
Reuters Television cameraman found two more in a burned house.
     The rally in the capital had been seen as a test of support for the
political opposition, and of the government's willingness to tolerate
dissent at a time of serious threat to Aristide's authority.
     The former Roman Catholic priest's once overwhelming popularity has
faded as the majority of the 8 million people in the Western Hemisphere's
poorest country remain in the grip of deep poverty. Average income is just
over a dollar a day.
     The 15-nation Caribbean Community, which has been trying to broker a
solution to Haiti's long-running political tensions, said it would consider
sending a peacekeeping force if asked.
     "We have ruled out an intervention force in Haiti for a start but we
have not ruled out the possibility of Caricom and others conducting a
peace-keeping role in due course and at the invitation of the Haitian
authorities," Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning said.
     Caribbean officials met last month with Aristide to discuss holding
new parliamentary elections and improving civil liberties. The standoff
between Aristide and the opposition dates back to parliamentary elections
in 2000 that were declared flawed.
     The armed revolt in Haiti broke out last Thursday in Gonaives --
birthplace of Haitian independence from France in 1804 -- when former
backers of Aristide drove out police.
     The rebellion now appears to have reached an uneasy stalemate since
armed militia backing the president joined the police in fighting back.
     Andre Apaid, a leader of opposition coalition Group of 184, said the
rebels in Gonaives should be disarmed but in a way that protects them from
simply being executed.
     Opposition leaders announced they would try again to have a peaceful
demonstration on Sunday in Petionville, an affluent suburb in the hills
above the capital where the opposition has broader support than in poorer
areas of Port-au-Prince.
     Lavalas supporters said one reason they took to the streets was
because the opposition was holding the rally in the Canape Vert
neighborhood that is a stronghold of Aristide support.
     "Canape Vert is not their place. They decided to come to Canape Vert
to attack the police station," said a young man known by his nickname, Don
J. PP.

  (Additional reporting by Marco Trujillo in Saint Marc and Linda
Hutchinson-Jafar in Trinidad)