21963: White: Haitian Police kill peaceful demonstrators as U.S, "Peacekeepers" stand by. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

Haitian Police kill peaceful demonstrators
as U.S, "Peacekeepers" stand by.

this story with photos at:
http://www.HaitiAction.net/News/HIP/5_18_4.html

May 18, 2004
Port-au-Prince, Haiti


Special Forces units (CIMO) of the Haitian National Police (PNH)
killed Lavalas demonstra-tors today in Port-au-Prince as a larger
U.S. Marine "peacekeeping" force of about 50 soldiers stood by.

About 6,000 Lavalas demonstrators in one of many separate marches
tried to converge near the Champ De Mars for a larger demonstration.
The march had been planned for some time and the organizations that
planned the march received written approval by the PNH to hold this
demonstration on Haitian Flag Day.

It is hard to estimate the actual size of the demonstration but
figures of 30,000 to 60,000 different demonstrators in various parts
of the city seem credible.

A contingent of about 50 U.S. Marines patroled every hour at the
start of one march in Bel-Air trying to intimidate the population
there. One of the marines officers in command tried to threaten an
American journalist who was filming the action. Whenever, any of the
groups of marchers tried to reach Champ de Mars a CIMO unit would
"appear out of nowhere" and commence shooting into the crowds of
demonstrators.

Reports of similar killing is coming in from different areas of the
city. At 10PM in Haiti, there were nine verified dead by the U.S.
trained killers. The Marine's seem to be coordinating this carnage,
and are standing by with heavy artillery in case the population tries
to stop the killers.

Recently the U.S. Marines have been directly involved in the current
violent political repression of Lavalas activists. Last week the
Marines used explosives to gain access to Annette Auguste's home
before they arrested her and her family on the pretense that she was
arming Lavalas militants to attack the Marines during Haitian
Solidarity Week. No weapons were witnessed or found in possession of
any of the protesters today.

Even though the demonstrators were rather angry no rocks were thrown
or violence was witnessed to provoke the shooting.

One demonstrator-who was shot 30 yards in front of the journalist-lay
dying of a gunshot wound to the head. The only item in his possession
was a Walkman disk player. The CIMO unit that shot the non-violent
Lavalasien drove up in a red truck-license plate: 1-0060.

Later reports indicate that the U.S. Marines have begun reprisals for
the large show of solidarity, once darkness descended on
Port-au-Prince

More details on this tragic event later.