19672: Lemieux: BBC: Phillippe says he's in charge (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2004/03/02 20:16:39
© BBC MMIV

Rebel leader Guy Philippe has said he will take charge of
Haiti's military though he also promised to follow the new
president's wishes.
He said he would seek to arrest Prime Minister Yvon Neptune
who stayed as head of the government after President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled into exile.

Mr Philippe said he welcomed foreign forces now in Haiti,
but said it was his "moral duty" to protect Haitians.

Troops from the US, France and Canada are working to
restore law and order.

The advance contingents of a much larger international
force began to survey key sites hit by the weeks of violent
rebellion which led to the fall of Mr Aristide.

The Caricom group of 15 Caribbean nations is beginning
talks in Jamaica to discuss deploying peacekeepers.

Disarming 'possible'

Mr Philippe told a press conference in the capital,
Port-au-Prince that his rebels would be happy to cede power
once peace had been restored.


I am not interested in politics... the president is the
legal president, so we follow his orders
Guy Philippe,
Rebel leader
But he also described himself as the country's "military
chief" and, in answers which at times appeared
contradictory, said he had a moral duty to ensure peace.
The former provincial police chief said he was already in
control of the nation's security forces and would disarm
the rebels if interim President Boniface Alexandre, asked
for this.

"I am not interested in politics... the president is the
legal president, so we follow his orders."

It was not clear if the foreign forces sent to Haiti would
try to protect Mr Neptune after the rebels threatened to
capture him to face justice.

Earlier, the commander of the marine battalion, Col David
Bergen, said much of the mission was still reconnaissance.

"We'll have a look at key facilities in Port-au-Prince," he
said.

"We won't move any forces initially, but we'll have a look
at them. These are facilities that are important for the
government to reopen and stabilise the city."

About 300 US marines are now in Haiti and reinforcements
will take the total number to about 2,000.

More soldiers will also be sent by Canada and France, and
the United Nations has backed a multinational force to
restore order and then keep the peace.

Denials

On Tuesday Washington was keen to put aside the controversy
over Mr Aristide's departure from Haiti.

"The decision to leave was Mr Aristide's to make and it was
a decision that was in the best interest of the Haitian
people," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

The former president has said he was the victim of a "coup
d'etat," claiming that the US forced him to leave the
country.

He is now in the Central African Republic with his wife and
children after leaving Haiti on a US plane.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3527243.stm

Published: 2004/03/02 20:16:39 GMT

© BBC MMIV


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search - Find what you’re looking for faster
http://search.yahoo.com