20022: (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 fired Sunday on thousands of
protesters demanding the prosecution of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, drawing
return fire from U.S. Marines and leaving five people dead in the worst
attack since the Haitian president's ouster.
   Demonstrators scattered as shots crackled across the vast Champs de Mars
plaza in front of the presidential National Palace. Police ducked into
doorways. One fired off a string of shots from a submachine gun; another
threw a wounded colleague over his shoulders and hauled him to safety,
still pointing his pistol down the street.
   Blood slicked the floor of an operating room at a private hospital where
wounded lay waiting for treatment. Women screamed and men cried as the few
doctors short of drugs struggled to treat the wounded. Most of the victims
were in serious condition with wounds from assault rifles, said surgeon
Ronald Georges.
   The shooting marked the first known instance of U.S. Marines opening
fire since they were sent to stabilize Haiti a week ago, but angry
survivors accused the Marines and their French colleagues of not doing
enough to prevent the attack.
   Several witnesses said they saw Aristide militants open fire from the
roof of the Rex movie theater across the plaza as thousands of people
gathered in front of the National Palace. U.S. military spokesman Maj.
Richard Crusan said it was unclear who the gunmen were.
   He told The Associated Press that three Marines on the grounds of the
palace returned fire, shooting in the direction of the theater. No Marines
were wounded.
   Ricardo Ortega, a New York correspondent for the Spanish television
station Antena 3, was shot in the chest and abdomen and died at the
hospital.
   Among more than 30 injured people was Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
photographer Michael Laughlin, 37, who was shot in the face and shoulder
but was in stable condition at the hospital.
   As doctors struggled to treat the wounded, a French military helicopter
made a dramatic landing on the traffic-clogged road in front of the Canape
Vert Hospital. Two men descended to wheel a gurney of emergency medical
supplies.
   The protesters had been calling for Aristide to stand trial on charges
of corruption and the alleged murders of opponents killed by his armed
militants.
   Aristide fled Haiti Feb. 29 as fighters from a popular rebellion were
reaching Port-au-Prince, the capital, and the United States and France were
urging him to step down.
   Some witnesses said gunmen first appeared Sunday 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 the Rex
movie theater at the other end of the plaza from the palace.
   Crusan said three Marines on the grounds of the palace -- not
sharpshooters on the roof -- "heard reports that there was shooting coming
from the direction of the theater and we believe that we responded to
that."
   Some protesters complained the foreign forces had not provided enough
security.
   "The peacekeepers were nowhere near where the shooting was," said Almil
Costel, 31, who was shot twice in the left shoulder.
   French commander Col. Daniel Leplatois defended the peacekeepers. "We're
not able to secure the lives of all of the demonstrators," he said.
   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 separate demonstration Sunday but said
they were offered no protection by the peacekeepers and were afraid of
attacks from anti-Aristide activists. Their protest was rescheduled for
Monday, although leaders said they still were 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."
   On Sunday, Aristide released a statement through government officials in
the Central African Republic, where he is in exile, saying he was "well
looked-after" and would personally address reporters at an unspecified
time. Aristide has said the United States forced him from power at
gunpoint, something U.S. officials deny.
   Earlier, during Sunday's march in Port-au-Prince, demonstrators tore
down a billboard featuring Aristide's face. 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.
   There were also cheers for Louis-Jodel Chamblain, an ex-soldier
convicted in the killings of Aristide supporters. Like movie stars, both
Chamblain and Philippe were surrounded by autograph-seekers.
   Rebels have refused to give up their weapons, despite Philippe's pledge
to disarm. Marines have faced shouted insults from armed Aristide militants
furious over their leader's ouster and what they call "an occupation army."
   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.
   Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, an appointee and confidante of Aristide
whom Sunday's protesters also said should be tried, condemned the violence
and defended the Marines return of fire, saying they abided by "rules of
engagement (that) permit that they use proportional force."
   Among those being considered to replace Neptune 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 laid
the way for the transition to 1990 elections that 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.