21230: (Hermantin) Miami Herald-Rebels fill power vacuum (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Apr. 11, 2004

Rebels fill power vacuum

Armed elements still control several regions of the country as human rights
groups call on the government to take decisive action.

By MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

mottey@herald.com


MILOT, Haiti - The three men dressed in camouflage uniforms stood in the
middle of the main road to this village, posturing with handguns, rifles and
shotguns.

They peeked inside passing vehicles, stared at strangers, and just as scores
of others like them in Haiti's far-flung regions, patrolled dusty streets as
self-appointed peacekeepers.

More than a month after former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Haiti
amid a bloody revolt, former rebels still control large swaths of northern
Haiti, sometimes jailing suspected criminals, sometimes persecuting Aristide
supporters while hoping to eventually become paid police officers or
soldiers in a new Haitian army.

In places like the northern port city of Cap Haitien, they live an uneasy
coexistence with Haitian National Police and French peacekeeping troops. But
in many smaller towns, such as Milot and Port-de-Paix, there are no police,
no foreign troops, only former rebels acting as lawmen.

This troubles human rights groups such as Amnesty International, which on
Wednesday said it was concerned that ``a large number of armed groups
continue to be active throughout the country.''

Louis Jodel Chamblain, convicted in absentia for the 1994 Raboteau massacre,
spends much of his time in Cap Haitien with his men. Their fight against
Aristide won, the men, most of them 20 to 35 years old, have a new long-term
objective: to serve in a new version of the Haitian army that Aristide
abolished in 1995 as a coup-prone machine responsible for human rights
violations.

PRO-ARMY SIGNAL

Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has said he favors the appointment of a
commission to study resurrecting the military. But his appointment of Hérard
Abraham as minister of the interior and security, a former general who has
indicated his support for a new military, is seen as a strong pro-army
signal.

While the politicians discuss the issue, former rebels told The Herald
they've been told the army's return is a done deal.

''It's not a matter of if,'' said Tony Francois, 27. ``It's a matter of
when.''

Francois is one of about 40 former rebels who have been entrenched in the
northern city of Port-de-Paix for more than a month. They said they arrived
from Gonaives, 45 miles to the south, because pro-Aristide thugs were
causing trouble.

They have been patrolling the streets and dispensing their own brand of
justice, arresting and jailing alleged criminals.

And they readily admit going after Aristide backers.

''That's our main objective,'' said Francois as he and three others stood
watch outside an orphanage. ``We want to find Aristide people to put them in
jail.''

Asked what he would do with Aristide backers, Toussaint Innocent, 28, said
he would throw them in the jail.

But Innocent and other former rebels said they so far have not been faced
with that in Port-de-Paix because Aristide supporters have either fled or
were killed in the February revolt.

Innocent said he would welcome the return of police to Port-de-Paix along
with French troops, who recently entered the city but promptly returned to
their base in Cap Haitien.

Maj. Xavier Pons, a spokesman for French troops, said the plan is to
eventually send soldiers to Port-de-Paix, but that Fort Liberté, 35 miles
east of Cap Haitien, which also is in the hands of former rebels, is a
greater priority.

POWERFUL FORCE

But even in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, the rebels are a
powerful force despite the French troops.

Former rebels still hold the main police station. The police, who are slowly
returning, have not asked the rebels to leave.

Pons said the French soldiers have no relations with the rebels and deal
exclusively with Haitian police. He added that it is not the role of French
troops to disarm the rebels, a sharp contrast to U.S. peacekeeping forces in
Port-au-Prince who routinely conduct weapons searches.

''It's not our job to take their weapons. Our job is to provide safety in
the area for the local population. Disarmament is a problem of the
government,'' Pons said.

The French position may be changing. The Associated Press reported Friday
that French peacekeepers and Haitian police briefly detained Wilford
Ferdinand, a rebel commander who had been accused of kidnapping a Haitian
police officer. The AP also reported that U.S. and French troops helped
Haitian police arrest Jean Robert, a rebel sympathizer and gang leader
accused of terrorizing Aristide supporters in northeast Haiti.

''You have more police on the streets and day by day the situation is more
quiet,'' Pons told The Herald. ``Institutions are starting to function
normally.''

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