19401: haiti info: Gangs, Looters Roam Haiti's Capital (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Haiti Info <hainfo@starband.net>

Gangs, Looters Roam Haiti's Capital
Sat Feb 28 - washingtonpost.com
By Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post Foreign Service

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 27 -- Armed pro-government gangs roamed the
streets of this capital on Friday, and thugs looted businesses and hijacked
cars, forcing residents to stay in their homes in anticipation of a
threatened assault by rebels who have vowed to capture or kill President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

There was a marked deterioration of security throughout the city of about
1.3 million people, three weeks into an armed insurgency that reportedly was
moving toward the capital. In Washington, the Pentagon (news - web sites)
was considering sending 2,200 U.S. Marines to stand by off the coast as a
precaution, officials said. The U.S. government sent 50 Marines earlier this
week to protect the U.S. Embassy and its staff.

In a sharp escalation of diplomatic language by the U.S. government, the
U.S. Embassy here issued a statement Friday night saying that armed groups
had "begun to burn, pillage and kill" and "are spreading terror and
attacking civilians and the general population and are acting in the name of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide." The statement called on him to "stop this blind
violence."

"Mr. Aristide must understand that his honor, legacy and reputation are now
at stake," said the statement, which also issued "an equally urgent appeal"
to the rebels to stop their armed advance on the capital.

Both the rebels, who include former death-squad and military members, and
their civilian opponents accuse Aristide of abandoning his promises to help
the poor. They also charge that he has profited from international
drug-trafficking and has enforced his will by arming gangs who terrorize and
kill his opponents.

Aristide denies the allegations. Vowing to stay in office until his term
ends in 2006, he has appealed for international forces to protect him
against those he calls "terrorists" who are threatening his life and Haitian
democracy. Hundreds of foreigners and Haitian Americans jammed into the
Port-au-Prince airport, only to discover that all flights had been canceled.
American Airlines, the main carrier between Haiti and the United States, has
canceled all flights until at least Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard (news - web sites) repatriated 531 Haitian boat people
on Friday, the Associated Press reported. It was the first return of
refugees trying to flee the country since the rebellion against Aristide
began on Feb. 5.

Every night this week, masked gangs loyal to Aristide have set up roadblocks
of burning tires, cinder blocks and burned-out cars, stopping cars,
searching them for weapons and looking for rebels. But the roadblocks were
enforced around the clock on Friday, with thick black smoke rising from the
flaming piles of tires on trash-strewn downtown streets.

"I'm ready to die for Aristide, to defend the National Palace and his five
years," said Gary Jean Robert, one of hundreds of Aristide supporters who
rallied downtown, close to the palace. "We never had anyone who cared for
the poor people before. If he leaves, there will be a lot of bloodshed."

Witnesses said gangs supporting the president were throwing rocks and
smashing car windows throughout the city, beating drivers they believed were
opposed to Aristide. In Haiti's complicated political environment, people
have reportedly been attacked simply for appearing well-to-do; the elite in
the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, where 80 percent of the 8 million
people live in poverty, are among Aristide's most vocal opponents.

It became increasingly difficult to distinguish the militia defending the
president from criminals taking advantage of the chaotic conditions. Drivers
reported that gangs at roadblocks were demanding bribes of $5 or more -- a
week's salary for most Haitians -- to let cars pass.

At least two car dealerships, one in the suburb of Delmas and another on the
airport road, reportedly were sacked and looted Friday and all their cars
were stolen. Several warehouses at the port were also reportedly overrun by
hundreds of people who carried away sacks of food and other merchandise.
There were reports of some businesses being set ablaze.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard around the city. Local radio reports said
that two bodies had been found near a cemetery in the well-to-do Petionville
neighborhood, and two other people were also reported killed Thursday and
Friday. At least 70 people have been killed since the insurrection began
with the rebels seizing the northern city of Gonaives on Feb. 5.

In the past two days, rebels have taken control of cities and towns not just
in the north, but south and west of the capital. The town of Mirebalais,
about 30 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, reportedly came under rebel
control Thursday night, along with Les Cayes, Haiti's third-largest city,
about 100 miles southwest of the capital. St. Marc, a city about 40 miles
north of here, was reported to be the last major city outside the capital
still nominally controlled by the government.

Rebel leader Guy Philippe, a former military officer and police chief, said
this week that he would not stop until Aristide was detained or dead. He
said on local radio Thursday night that his forces had surrounded the
capital and were ready to attack; on Friday he said he hoped to spend his
36th birthday on Sunday in the National Palace. There were unconfirmed
reports of rebel forces closing to within a few miles of Port-au-Prince,
which was awash with rumors of rebel sightings and movements -- all adding
to a sense of insecurity in an already tense city.

Aristide's office is being protected by national police manning .50-caliber
machine guns. Hundreds of his supporters massed near the city's central
Champs de Mars Park near the National Palace in a show of solidarity. Many
waved open palms with fingers spread, shouting "Five years!" in reference to
the length of Aristide's presidential term.