19804: Lemieux: BBC: Haitian rebels ordered to disarm (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2004/03/04 08:19:05 GMT


Haitian rebels ordered to disarm
The leader of Haiti's rebel movement, Guy Philippe, has
ordered his fighters to lay down their arms.
Mr Philippe acted after apparently coming under strong
pressure from the US embassy in the capital.

The BBC correspondent in Haiti says US soldiers sent to
restore order after former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
fled have stepped up their presence.

Increasing numbers of US marines have begun patrolling the
capital Port-au-Prince and aid is beginning to arrive.

Urgent need for aid

A plane chartered by the UN children's agency (Unicef)
arrived on Wednesday, bringing 30 tons of medical supplies.


The situation is said to be particularly bad in the north,
where the rebels have held sway for several weeks.

"There are areas we haven't been able to access for
months," said Unicef spokeswoman Marixie Mercado, initially
because of floods and then because of the political
turmoil.

Oxfam calculates at least 80,000 people in Port-de-Paix and
60,000 in Cap Haitien have no access to clean water.


Aid workers are warning that security must be restored to
allow the distribution of urgently needed supplies.
As negotiations continued to put in a place an interim
government, Haiti's prime minister Yvon Neptune declared a
state of emergency.

He said that the looting over the past three weeks had
caused more than $3m damage.

US mission expanding

Mr Philippe said he agreed to order the disarmament after
receiving a reassurance that the US troops gathered in
Haiti would guarantee the protection of the Haitian people.


US marines are securing key sites including the airport,
port and presidential palace, but their mission has now
expanded "to protect Haitians from reprisal attacks",
according to Staff Sergeant Timothy Edwards.

"Now there are foreign troops promising to protect the
Haitian people...we will lay down our arms," Mr Philippe,
who has declared himself the country's military chief, told
a news conference in Port-au-Prince.

His comments are an abrupt change from Tuesday when he said
he would take charge of Haiti's military and threatened to
arrest the prime minister, saying he had a "moral duty" to
ensure peace.


Change of heart

The BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Haiti said Mr Philippe was
summoned to the American ambassador's residence in Haiti
and given what one source described as "a frank talking-to"
in which he was asked, or perhaps ordered, to disarm his
rebels.

More than 1,000 US troops are in Haiti as part of an
international force authorised by the United Nations, which
is expected to grow to about 5,000.


There is some evidence that the US soldiers have already
adopted a policing role, our correspondent says.
US marines briefly drove through the capital in a convoy of
heavily-armed vehicles. They helped take down some of the
road-blocks that still clog the streets, but did not
intervene in a gun-fight that took place between
pro-Aristide supporters and the police outside the
presidential palace.

The political fallout from Mr Aristide's sudden departure
is continuing. The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has
announced it will not participate in a peacekeeping force
in Haiti and expressed concern at allegations that Mr
Aristide was forced from office.

The community has called for an independent inquiry into
the claims.

The American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has
reiterated that Mr Aristide had left Haiti voluntarily.

Caricom also said its members were extremely disappointed
with the UN for failing to act sooner. They said they could
not understand why the UN had ignored their earlier
requests for a peacekeeping force to be sent to Haiti.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3530953.stm

Published: 2004/03/04 08:19:05 GMT

© BBC MMIV


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