20343: (Chamberlain) Marines kill two as U.S. top general visits Haiti (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Ibon Villelabeitia and Michael Christie

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 13 (Reuters) - Washington's top soldier
vowed on Saturday that foreign peacekeepers would take tough action against
trouble-makers in Haiti, hours after the Marines killed two more gunmen in
a furious firefight in the tense Caribbean nation.
     Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, flew
into Port-au-Prince at the end of a Latin American trip, visiting U.S.
Marines who are leading a force sent to restore order after President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was exiled last month.
     "The multilateral force will not tolerate violence against (itself)
... nor violence against Haitian civilians," Myers told reporters. "Those
who take up arms and those who take up violence will be dealt with
properly."
     He arrived in a capital agitated over the looming return next week of
Aristide to the Caribbean, in a planned visit to neighboring Jamaica that
Haiti's new government and U.S. officials say will feed the fury of his
loyalists.
     Myers, who spent just a few hours in Haiti, was taken by helicopter
from the heavily guarded airport to the Marines' base in another part of
the sprawling capital, avoiding roads that pass through some of the slums
that are a stronghold of support for the ousted president.
     The latest shooting took place on Friday night after Aristide
supporters opened fire on Marines patrolling a slum near the National
Palace in Port-au-Prince. Residents said up to 11 people died or were
injured as bullets flew, but the Marines said they could confirm only two
deaths.
     Leading a U.N.-sanctioned 2,550-member international force, the
Marines have fought more than half a dozen battles since landing on Feb.
29, hours after Aristide was pushed out by a monthlong revolt and U.S.
pressure. French troops have come under fire once.
     Friday night's shooting brought to six the number of Haitians U.S.
forces said they have killed since they arrived.
     Haiti's new prime minister, Gerard Latortue, who lambasted Jamaica for
allowing Aristide to visit, pursued diplomatic efforts on Saturday to
persuade Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to cut short Aristide's
stay.
     Aristide has insisted from exile in the Central African Republic that
he is still president and many of his staunchest fans are convinced he was
kidnapped by Washington.
     "I am in permanent contact with Jamaica. Let's have silent diplomacy
do its work," Latortue told Reuters by telephone.
     Jamaican Foreign Affairs Minister K.D. Knight told reporters on Friday
that Aristide would not be allowed to use Jamaica as a "launching pad" to
try to get himself reinstated.
     Aristide, seen as a savior by many of the poor he championed but
accused of despotism and corruption by his enemies, was expected to arrive
on Tuesday. Jamaica originally said the visit could last up to 10 weeks.
     "There are thousands of assault weapons (out there) and his coming 150
miles (240 km) from Haiti risks provoking violence," U.S. Ambassador James
Foley said, adding he found it impossible to explain why Jamaica would have
allowed Aristide to come.
     Latortue also said he hoped to have his new cabinet complete by
Tuesday or Wednesday, and that he aimed to include members of Aristide's
Lavalas Family party.
     More than 200 people have been killed since an armed revolt erupted
against Aristide on Feb. 5. The rebellion capped months of tensions in the
poorest country in the Americas.