20528: (Chamberlain) Slum gangs hand over weapons to police in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Ibon Villelabeitia

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 17 (Reuters) - Street gangs loyal to
ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide handed over dozens of old weapons
to the police in one of Port-au-Prince's most desperate slums on Wednesday,
in the first surrender of arms since last month's popular revolt.
     As French troops from an international peace force looked on and
reggae music blared, leaders of pro-Aristide militias surrendered about 70
weapons -- mostly rusty shotguns and termite-eaten rifles -- to the Haitian
police in the overcrowded slum of Cite Soleil.
     "There are no more weapons in Cite Soleil. Peace will soon return to
Cite Soleil. Now the government has to give us jobs and protect us," said
Amaral Duclousa, who wore a black T-shirt and a gold watch and necklace,
after handing a wheat bag bristling with arms to Haitian Police Chief Leon
Charles.
     Hundreds of ragged slum dwellers thronging the port erupted into
chants of "Long Live Aristide!" and "Now disarm Philippe!"
     They were referring to former police chief Guy Philippe, a rebel
leader who helped oust Aristide on Feb. 29 after a bloody uprising that
began in the provinces.
     Supporters of Aristide, a former priest regarded as a hero of the
poor, fear they will be victims of reprisal killings by rebels, who have
repeatedly pledged to lay down their weapons but have not done so.
     Although most of the weapons dumped by gangs  -- known in Creole as
"chimeres," or ghosts -- were dilapidated and appeared beyond use, the
handover could boost efforts by a international peacekeepers to encourage
other gangs to disarm.
     Experts estimate there are tens of thousands of weapons in the hands
of roaming gangs in Haiti, from automatic assault rifles to home-made
pistols.
     U.S. Marines spearheading a U.N. peace mission to restore order after
Aristide fled have fought half a dozen gunbattles with suspected
pro-Aristide gangs. One Marine was shot in the arm on Sunday, the first
U.S. casualty.
     "This is a first step. We hope more armed groups will come out and
disarm," said Col. Daniel Leplatois, deputy commander of the multinational
force, which also includes Canadian and Chilean troops. U.S. troops did not
take part in the handover.
     Leplatois said the gangs contacted the French troops in Haiti and
decided to disarm "voluntarily" after local officials agreed to reopen two
police stations in Cite Soleil and increase security.
     But fear of reprisal killings runs deep in Cite Soleil, a labyrinth of
slums where 400,000 people live in crowded shacks, huge hogs wander among
piles of garbage and sewage runs through the alleyways.
     "They take our president. Now they take our weapons. What are we going
to do?" said Jean Paul, speaking near a recently-built swing park named
Aristideville.
     "Who is going to protect us?"