20895: (Chamberlain) Bodies found (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By STEVENSON JACOBS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 27 -- Nearly a month since Jean-Bertrand Aristide
fled Haiti, many of his followers say they're being harassed, threatened
and even killed.
   This week, the bodies of five people who backed the ousted president
were found dumped in the capital -- some say as part of a brutal crackdown
against those faithful to the fallen leader.
   Among them was Joel Lafrance, 21, whose mother said she would like to
remember him as the shy, handsome young man he was, not the morgue
photographs of his blood-splattered corpse, wrists bound with steel wire.
   "His face was completely ripped apart. I was only able to recognize him
from a birthmark on his foot," said Marie Carmelle Saint-Hilaire in the
teeming La Salines slum.
   The claims of persecution have complicated efforts to heal a nation
traumatized by a rebellion that killed more than 300 people and injured
scores more.
   Five police officers are being held on suspicion of killing Lafrance and
the four others, though no charges have been filed, according to the
National Coalition for Haitian Rights.
   Some say the police officers were members of pro-Aristide gangs known as
"chimere," sent to silence the youths about past abuses. Others claim the
officers are simply vying for power now that Aristide is gone.
   Even with some 3,500 foreign peacekeepers in Haiti, young men have gone
into hiding.
   "If they see me on the streets, they'll kill me too because we loved
Aristide and they hate us for that," said Nassom Pierre, a 30-year-old
security guard.
   The attacks come as Haiti's new government wages its own score-settling
with the old regime, announcing Friday that it will block dozens of former
Aristide officials from leaving the country, including former Prime
Minister Yvon Neptune.
   Justice Minister Bernard Gousse said he ordered the move to guarantee
that the officials would be available for investigations into charges of
corruption and other crimes.
   "This does not mean that they are guilty. It will be for the justice
system to decide," Gousse said.
   Amid the uncertainty, dozens of members of Aristide's Lavalas Family
Party have reportedly gone into hiding, including Neptune, who has said he
intends to stay in the country despite receiving threats.
   "The people that are in power say they are not involved in a witch hunt,
but it seems to me that is what they are participating in," Neptune said in
a telephone interview with The Associated Press last week.
   Meanwhile, residents of La Salines, a traditional Aristide stronghold
and home to about 40,000 people, are hoping they can halt future violence
by cooperating with authorities.
   On Saturday, they turned over about 20 weapons -- mostly old and rusted
rifles and pistols -- to French troops and local police as a peace gesture.
   "They want to work with the new government," said French Lt. Col. Pierre
Van Langhenhove, who supervised the weapons surrender. "They feel that
Aristide used them so they're full of hope now."
   But just a few yards away, three women broke into song, swaying their
arms in the air and stomping as they sang: "Five more years for Aristide"
and "Aristide's blood is our blood."
   Mondestin Elysee, a 28-year-old La Salines resident, said he hoped the
disarmament wouldn't invite more attacks on residents, many of whom have
already fled.
   "If our enemies see that we are weak, what's to stop them from coming
and killing us again?" Elysee said as a crowd of 200 people gathered around
the surrendered guns, neatly displayed atop a table.
   Some say the attacks have already begun. During a Friday funeral
procession for the five slain men, several police officers opened fire on
mourners, injuring five, said Sonia Nozan, a 31-year-old community leader.
   The incident could not be confirmed.
   "Young men are hiding; they're scared to leave their homes," Nozan said.
She added that she hopes foreign troops will do more than oversee symbolic
weapons surrenders so La Salines can finally know peace.
   "They came with promises so we hope they'll build schools and clinics
for us," she said. "That's why we're disarming -- so we can have a future."