20016: (Chamberlain) AP: Haiti (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By
 IAN JAMES
 and
 PAISLEY DODDS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 7 (AP) -- Gunmen opened fired Sunday on thousands
of unarmed demonstrators calling for the prosecution of Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, killing four protesters and a foreign journalist in the worst
attack since the Haitian president's fall.
   Blood slicked the floors of a private hospital where victims were
rushed. Women screamed and men cried as the few doctors tried to treat the
injured with little medication.
   Angry survivors accused U.S. and French peacekeepers of not doing enough
to protect the protesters.
   A French Air Force helicopter made a dramatic landing on the road in
front of the private Canape Vert Hospital, and two men descended to wheel a
gurney of emergency medical supplies to the gate. Most of the victims were
in serious condition with wounds from assault rifles, said surgeon Ronald
Georges.
   Several witnesses said they saw Aristide militants open fire from across
the vast Champs de Mars plaza as thousands gathered in front of the
presidential National Palace. U.S. Marine Maj. Richard Crusan said it was
unclear who the gunmen were.
   Ricardo Ortega, a New York correspondent for the Spanish television
station Antena 3, was shot in the stomach and died at the hospital.
   Also killed was Haitian Cesar Milfort, whom relatives described as an
unemployed former university student.
   Among more than 30 injured people was Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
photographer Michael Laughlin, 37, who was shot in the shoulder and face
but was in stable condition at the hospital.
   Some witnesses said gunmen first appeared outside the old Defense
Ministry building on the plaza, then kneeled on the sidewalk and opened
fire.
   Others said gunmen in two all-terrain vehicles started the shooting,
while others said they saw gunmen shooting down from the roof of a movie
theater.
   "The peacekeepers were nowhere near where the shooting was," said Almil
Costel, 31, who was shot twice in the left shoulder.
   Crusan said the Marines moved vehicles in front of the National Palace
when the shooting started. He said no Marines were wounded.
   French commander Col. Daniel Leplatois defended the peacekeepers: "We're
not able to secure the lives of all of the demonstrators."
   After the shooting, a truck with loudspeakers drove around the palace,
blaring music. One man speaking over its loudspeaker shouted at the U.S.
Marines: "People are dying every day in this country. You have to do
something about it."
   Aristide supporters had planned a joint demonstration Sunday but said
they were offered no protection by the peacekeepers and were afraid of
reprisal attacks from anti-Aristide activists. Their protest was
rescheduled for Monday, although leaders said they were still worried about
security.
   "The Americans are only here to protect those who helped oust Aristide,"
said Ednar Ducoste, 23, an Aristide supporter. "If we had guns, we would be
fighting against them right now."
   Aristide released a statement Sunday through government officials in the
Central African Republic, where he is in exile, saying he was "well-looked
after" by his hosts and would personally address reporters at an
unspecified time. Aristide has said the United States forced him from
power, something U.S. officials deny.
   Peacekeepers have removed barricades in central neighborhoods but have
avoided Aristide strongholds, like La Saline and Cite Soleil.
   "They come here with their missiles, and they do nothing for us," said
Leo Bertrand, 27. "They kidnapped our president, and now they're here to
hold us down."
   Earlier, during Sunday's march in Port-au-Prince, demonstrators tore
down a billboard featuring Aristide's face and the slogan: "Haiti is the
mother of freedom," then carried it to the palace and set it on fire.
Military helicopters circled overhead as black smoke billowed from the
front gate.
   Rebel leader Guy Philippe was hoisted onto supporters' shoulders as they
chanted "Guy Philippe -- hero! Aristide -- zero!"
   Philippe, a former Aristide police chief accused of coup-plotting,
reiterated Sunday that he had no political aspirations. On Wednesday, he
said his fighters would lay down their arms. There were no weapons in sight
Sunday.
   There were also cheers for Louis-Jodel Chamblain, an ex-soldier
convicted in the killings of Aristide supporters. Like film stars, both
Chamblain and Philippe were surrounded by autograph-seekers.
   Rebels have refused to give up their weapons, despite Philippe's pledge.
Marines have faced hostility -- so far, only shouted insults -- from armed
Aristide militants furious over their leader's ouster and what they call
"an occupation army."
   Sunday's anti-Aristide crowd also took up a cry of "Help, yes.
Occupation, no!"
   It swelled quickly to thousands who ran and danced through the city,
chanting, "Try Aristide! Jail Aristide!"
   Businessman Liastaud Michel, 56, called the event "a victory march ...
to celebrate. We want things to change."
   A recently appointed seven-member "Council of Sages" met for a third day
Sunday in the capital to choose a new prime minister. Officials said they
hoped to have a decision by Tuesday.
   One possibility is Lt. Gen. Herard Abraham, probably the only Haitian
army officer to voluntarily surrender power to a civilian. Abraham
succeeded ousted Gen. Prosper Avril in 1990 and immediately handed power to
Haiti's Supreme Court justice. That allowed the transition that led to
Haiti's first free elections in December 1990, which Aristide won in a
landslide.
   Another choice is Smarck Michel, a businessman who was Aristide's prime
minister in 1994-1995 but resigned over differences in economic policy.
   The U.S. Marine presence is the third American military intervention in
Haiti, which has suffered under civilian and military dictators since a
slave rebellion won independence from France in 1804.
   The United States sent troops in 1915 who occupied the country for 25
years. In 1994, 20,000 troops came to end a brutal military dictatorship,
halt an exodus of boat people to Florida and restore Aristide, who had been
ousted in 1991.
   Aristide was a wildly popular slum priest when he became Haiti's first
freely elected leader in 1990. But his popularity diminished after he was
re-elected in 2000. Haitians said he failed to improve their lives,
condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack his
political opponents.

------
Associated Press writer Joseph B. Frazier contributed to this report from
Cap-Haitien.