20316: (Chamberlain) AP: Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By PETER PRENGAMAN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 13 (AP) -- Haiti's new prime minister vowed to
unite his country after a rebellion that pushed President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide from power and criticized Jamaica's decision to host the exiled
leader's return.
   U.S. Marines, on patrol in a pro-Aristide neighborhood late Friday,
killed two gunmen who opened fire on them, Marine Staff Sgt. Timothy
Edwards said Saturday. U.S. troops have killed at least six Haitians after
coming under attack or in efforts to prevent bloodshed.
   The Marines also have engaged in nightly gunbattles with looters. On
Friday, they guarded the National Palace as Latortue took the oath of
office in front of 200 dignitaries and members of Haiti's former
opposition.
   "I"m a man of dialogue," the prime minister said. "I give you the
assurance that I will work and listen to you all as much as possible."
   Latortue said he would begin visiting cities across Haiti, starting with
his hometown of Gonaives, where the bloody rebellion that began on Feb. 5.
   The insurgency ended on Feb. 29, when Aristide fled to exile under
pressure from the United States and France and from rebels just miles from
the capital. At least 300 people have been killed during the rebellion and
in reprisal violence since then.
   Latortue warned that Aristide's plan to return to nearby Jamaica early
next week was causing tension in the Haitian capital; he told Jamaican
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that hosting Aristide would be seen as "an
unfriendly act."
   Aristide, in exile in the Central African Republic, claims he is still
Haiti's legitimate leader. Latortue denied that Friday, dampening
speculation that the trip to Jamaica might lead to negotiations for the
former president's return.
   Latortue is a U.N. career officer and business consultant who arrived in
Haiti on Wednesday after years in Florida. A U.S.-backed council earlier
this week selected him to replace former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, an
Aristide appointee who resigned in a letter dated March 10.
   Latortue said earlier Friday he wants to hold legislative elections in
six to eight months.
   "This is an occasion of hope for all Haitians," he said. "Together, we
will form a responsible government that respects its institutions, and I
will see that every dollar given to development projects will be well
spent."
   Latortue spoke with Patterson by telephone, and said the Jamaican leader
told him Aristide "had no other place to go."
   Patterson said Aristide would visit with his wife, Mildred, for eight to
10 weeks to be reunited with their two daughters, who were sent to New York
City for their safety. Foreign Minister K.D. Knight said Aristide had been
told not to use Jamaica as a staging post for any attempt to be reinstated
in Haiti.
   Patterson, chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, has invited
Latortue to visit Jamaica this weekend for talks on Haiti. Latortue said if
he goes, his trip will not overlap with Aristide's arrival.
   Aristide claims he was abducted and forced from office by the United
States. U.S. officials say Aristide asked for help and that they saved his
life by arranging his departure aboard a U.S.-chartered aircraft during a
bloody rebellion.
   A Caribbean summit in Jamaica last week called for a U.N. investigation
into Aristide's departure, a call echoed Wednesday by the 53-nation African
Union. From Africa, Aristide has urged his followers to offer "peaceful
resistance" to the U.S. "occupation."
   The shadow of the diminutive Aristide, who came to power with fiery
rhetoric about ending misery and uplifting the poor, continued to hang over
the country, even as Latortue moved quickly to appoint a transitional
Cabinet and organizing new elections.
   Earlier, he reassured politicians from Aristide's Lavalas Family that
they would be part of the transitional government.
   "We talked, and at times strongly disagreed," Latortue said. "But we all
agreed on the need for national reconciliation."
   Rebel leader Guy Philippe said Friday he planned to travel around Haiti
for several months "to know what my people want, to see how I can help."
Philippe, who fled to the Dominican Republic amid charges he was plotting a
coup in 2000, stressed he did not plan to run for office.
   U.S.-led peacekeepers said Marines came under fire Friday at an
industrial park producing garments for American companies, and gunmen shot
up a nearby car dealership.
   Marines trained their rifles on workers and checked identity papers at
the industrial park, acting on reports gunmen were planning to confiscate
paychecks. No injuries were reported.
   To promote security, Latortue wants his Cabinet to include retired army
Chief of Staff Herard Abraham, who supports recreating Haiti's disgraced
and disbanded army, a key rebel demand.