18605: pakapala: BBC story: Balancing Act (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Pakapala@aol.com

Balancing act for Haiti opposition
By Claire Marshall
In Port-au-Prince, Haiti



Humanitarian concerns are coming increasingly to the fore

It has been a week of extraordinary violence in Haiti.

About 50 people have been killed in clashes between government and opposition
supporters.

That is only an estimate because it is very, very difficult to come by any
kind of reliable information here.

Essentially there are different rebel factions in control of different towns
across Haiti. Some 11 towns now are thought to be under their control, with
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's police force having been completely evicted

And these rebel factions are even proclaiming their own kind of authorities
within the spheres of influence that they have.

On the issue of violence, a line has been drawn between the opposition
coalition and the different rebel groups which have armed themselves and which have
taken over parts of the country.

'Clinton's mistake'

One of the most prominent opposition platform spokesmen, Andy Apaid, wanted
to make it clear that he did not approve of violent methods.

But it is a very difficult balancing act because essentially the two
different groups want the same goal. They want to get rid of President Aristide.

But there is still a large movement, particularly within the capital
Port-au-Prince, that wants to do it in a peaceful way.

Andy Apaid invoked the names of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, saying
that he wanted to try and lead the opposition in a form of peaceful protest.


A large movement of people wants to protest peacefully

He was angry that on Thursday, pro-Aristide fighters essentially intimidated
opposition groups to cancel a protest march against the president.

The United States has said it does not want to see any kind of "regime
change".

It is difficult to assess the impact of that statement but it is certain to
cause a lot of disappointment.

In many of the marches here over the past few weeks, the call has been for
President Bush to come and "take back" Clinton's mistake, as they call it.

President Bill Clinton was in charge when American marines came in here and
re-restored President Aristide to power in 1994 (the president was forbidden to
stand for a second term in 1995, but was re-elected in 2000).

The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has strongly hinted that no such
military intervention is likely to take place in order to get rid of President
Aristide. And suggestions that some kind of international police force should be
sent to Haiti to uphold his administration, will not be well received.

To complicate the situation, there are humanitarian problems on the horizon.

In the north of the country is the so-called "bread basket" of Haiti, Cape
Haitian.


The difficulty is that because rebel factions are in control of a lot of the
areas there, there is essentially a kind of dividing line.

Lots of supplies cannot get through. The markets are closed. The banks are
closed.

People cannot go to business. They cannot go to work.

People are not getting any food.

Red Cross representatives in several northern regions of the country say that
unless the situation is resolved in the next few days, a lot of people will
be facing very, very difficult conditions.