21959: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Violence (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 18 (AP) -- Thousands of demonstrators called for the
return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide during a Flag Day rally
Tuesday that turned violent, leaving at least one man dead.
   Waving flags and carrying umbrellas bearing Aristide's smiling face, the
demonstrators marched from the pro-Aristide stronghold of Belair toward the
National Palace, just blocks away from a cathedral where interim President
Boniface Alexandre was attending a Mass.
   As the protesters neared the cathedral, riot police fired tear gas and
then warning shots to disperse the crowd, which reacted by pelting
government vehicles with rocks.
   A 23-year-old demonstrator was shot and killed. It was unclear who fired
the fatal shot, and police were not immediately available for comment.
   U.S. Marines helped the police by conducting patrols but did not fire
any rounds, according to Col. David Lapan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led
multinational force that will be replaced by a U.N. force. Peacekeepers and
international police are scheduled to start arriving on June 1.
   Aristide claims that the United States forced him to resign amid a
spreading three-week revolt on Feb. 29, a claim the United States denies.
   The 15-nation Caribbean Community, which has refused to recognize
Haiti's interim government, has asked the Organization of American States
to investigate Aristide's departure.
   Aristide is in Jamaica with his wife and two daughters but is expected
to arrive soon in South Africa, where he has been given temporary asylum.
   "We demand that Aristide return!" said Natjoska Jean-Baptiste, a
resident of Belair who says the neighborhood has suffered since Aristide
left.