20965: (Chamberlain) New Haiti PM says not persecuting old PM (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 30 (Reuters) - Haiti's new prime minister
said on Tuesday that he would take "appropriate measures" if asked to
protect his predecessor, who has gone into hiding after the revolt that
ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
     Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue made the comments on local
radio in response to allegations from former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune,
who told Reuters on Sunday that the rebels -- whom Latortue has praised as
"freedom fighters" -- were threatening to murder him.
     Neptune, an Aristide appointee, said he wants U.S. protection and did
not trust local police because many are working closely with the rebels and
former Haitian soldiers who led the uprising that overthrew Aristide's
government.
     Latortue said Tuesday that if Neptune made a request for protection,
"My government would study it and take appropriate measures."
     He rejected Neptune's accusations that the government was persecuting
members of Aristide's Lavalas Family political party.
     "I want to assure Mr. Neptune that my government is committed to
protecting every Haitian. My government does not have any intentions to
persecute Mr. Neptune nor anybody else in his party," Latortue said.
     The United States, which leads an interim military force trying to
restore order in Haiti, "would take very seriously credible threats against
Mr. Neptune or anybody else in Haiti," a State Department official in
Washington said.
     "We urge Mr. Neptune to be in touch with the interim administration if
he has concerns about his personal security," said the official, who asked
that his name not be used.
     Neptune's house was burned down during the month-long revolt that
drove Aristide into exile. He holed up in his office for two weeks, until
Latortue took over in early March, and has since been in hiding and staying
briefly with friends.
     "The government and the U.S. know that I am in danger," Neptune told
Reuters by cellular phone from hiding. "It is their responsibility to
protect me. If anything happens to me, it will be their responsibility.
     "If Prime Minister Latortue had the will to assume his responsibility,
he would have contacted me because he knows the outgoing prime minister has
the right to protection."
     Neptune said U.S. Marines whisked him into hiding after Latortue
returned to Haiti to take up his new post and guarded him until March 17,
trying to convince him to leave the country. When he refused, the Marines
said he was on his own, and left him to his own devices, Neptune said.
     Neptune is among 37 Lavalas supporters that the new government has
barred from leaving the country. Latortue said the prohibition was a
precaution to prevent them from fleeing while the government determines if
any were involved in corruption.