20541: (Chamberlain) Diasarmament in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By PAISLEY DODDS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 18 (AP) -- A small pile of rusted, taped and
dilapidated weapons was the first to be surrendered in Haiti's disarmament
campaign -- highlighting the challenges facing a U.S.-led multinational
force in trying to rid the nation of guns.
   Unlike 10 years ago, when U.S. troops offered money for weapons used by
gangs and former soldiers, Haitians today are being asked to give up their
guns with little or no incentive and in a very insecure environment.
   "I gave up my pistol, but if we don't start seeing schools and clinics
in our neighborhood, we'll find other weapons. We'll fight for change with
machetes if we have to," said Jacques Pierre as he and other residents of
the Cite Soleil slum surrendered about 50 pistols, rifles and machine guns
to French troops on Wednesday.
   Disarmament and improved security have been key goals since President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the impoverished Caribbean nation on Feb. 29
amid an armed rebellion that threatened the capital of Port-au-Prince.
   A U.S.-backed interim government took over Wednesday, but it will take
months to rebuild a shattered police force and disarm militants who began
the insurgency, and Aristide loyalists who vow to fight until the ousted
leader returns.
   With scant resources, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue is turning to the
U.S.-led multinational task force to help police the country of 8 million
and begin disarming gangs.
   The scenario is vastly different from 1994, when more than 20,000 U.S.
troops came to Haiti to restore Aristide to power after a 1991 coup. Those
troops were welcomed by Haitians who had voted for the country's first
democratically elected president.
   This time, U.S. troops -- who number fewer than 1,800 -- have recovered
two shotguns. Their Chilean counterparts have confiscated three weapons.
   "Disarmament is extremely important... If the bad guys still have the
weapons it won't be a secure country," said U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Ronald
S. Coleman, the peacekeepers' commander.
   A U.N. force is to take over by May, but it's not known if it will
participate in disarmament, Frederick Schottler, a U.N. spokesman in Haiti,
said Thursday.
   French troops, better-equipped to communicate with French- and
Creole-speaking Haitians, have taken a proactive stance, working with
police to talk to residents in pro-Aristide strongholds where gunfights
occur almost daily.
   Gang leaders said one reason they agreed to surrender their weapons --
considered a fraction of what they have -- was that the French soldiers
talked to residents and sent a military doctor to help staff their clinic.
   Some blame the United States, not France, for removing Aristide.
   "The French came and talked to us. They gave us a doctor to help in the
clinic. We're hoping that others will do the same and help this place,"
said James "Billy" Petit-Frere, 22, who helped organize the weapons
handover.
   Other pro-Aristide groups worry they'll be arrested or killed if they
keep their weapons. Still others refuse to disarm unless Aristide returns.
   "Whenever there is a lack of security and material base in the country,
there's a need to protect yourself," said Alix Fils-Aime, a former
legislator and a political and security adviser in Aristide's first
government. "That's why there are so many weapons in the country. There was
never any real disarmament that was done in 1994 and 1995."
   Fils-Aime said weapons have flowed freely in the last few years through
Haiti's largely unmonitored ports. He said Aristide's administration bought
many guns and gave them to government supporters.
   Sending U.S. troops into maze-like shantytowns where anti-American
sentiment is high adds to the risks, Fils-Aime said.
   "When you get into shantytowns, a rock will become an M-16 and a bottle
will become a submachine gun for the U.S.-led troops," he said. "For many
Haitians, Aristide was their only lifeline, and now that their lifeline is
cut they are desperate and angry."
   Larry Saunders, a police chief from Lakeland, Wash., was in Haiti in
1995 as a U.N. brigade commander. He said forces recovered some 20,000 to
30,000 weapons through buyback programs and by offering training for
soldiers who lost jobs after Aristide disbanded the army. But the effort
was wasted without economic development.
   "We never cleared the island," said Saunders, speaking in a telephone
interview. "There has to be some genuine redevelopment this time.
Expectations have to be met this time. I don't think they'll cooperate with
disarmament until they feel safe."
   U.S. Ambassador to Haiti James Foley agreed. "There were good things
done back then but the ultimate result was failure," Foley said.