23161: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Disarmament (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 15 (AP) -- A disarmament deadline passed without
progress Wednesday, foreshadowing a power struggle for Haiti's U.S.-backed
government with rebels unwilling to surrender control since they ousted
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February.
   Haitian police and government officials set the deadline in July for the
rebels, former soldiers and Aristide supporters to disarm by Sept. 15
without facing arrest.
   The deadline, however, disintegrated with a loosely worded accord signed
over the weekend that called for more dialogue. The rebels, which include
former soldiers who overthrew Aristide the first time in a 1991 coup, have
grown more vocal in their demands.
   The former soldiers say Aristide illegally disbanded them and they are
now owed backpay and jobs. They say they will not disarm until their
demands are met -- a point of contention with Haiti's struggling police,
who are trying to maintain a fragile peace.
   "We cannot hand over our arms, and I think the government understands
that," said Remissainthe Ravix, a former colonel in the Haitian army who is
commanding the rebels, some of whom have taken over a police station in the
southern city of Petit Goave.
   There was no explanation from the Haitian government on why it backed
down from the deadline, which was set in a letter dated July 8 and signed
by interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue.
   "Sept. 15 is not an end date," said Jean-Robert Saget, a spokesman for
Latortue. "The prime minister has found an amicable solution with (the
ex-military), which is negotiations."
   Bands of rebels and former soldiers launched a three-week rebellion in
February that ended with Aristide's ouster on Feb. 29 and the arrival of a
U.S.-led peacekeeping force, which has since been replaced by a
3,000-member U.N. force.
   When the U.S.-led force ended its mission in June, it had collected
about 200 weapons. U.N. troops have not confiscated any weapons, said
Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, a U.N. spokesman.
   U.N. Mission Chief Juan Gabriel Valdes said he supported the
government's efforts to achieve disarmament through dialogue before
resorting to force.
   "We hope the dialogue will not fail but if it fails we hope the
government will keep law and order in the country," Valdes said.
   The U.S. Embassy declined to comment.
   Despite the international presence, the rebels and former soldiers have
refused to abandon police stations across the country, saying that until
the government reinstates the military and the police hire more recruits
they are needed to stabilize Haiti.
   The stance has caused friction with the police, who can't disarm the
groups unless the government supports a disarmament plan, said Bruce
Myrtil, a police spokesman.
   The police force was weakened when recruits loyal to Aristide, who has
since gone into temporary exile in South Africa, fled their posts during
the rebellion.
   While the government has given the rebels and former soldiers more time
to disarm, raids to disarm gangs loyal to Aristide have continued in
strongholds such as Cite Soleil, a seaside slum in the capital of
Port-au-Prince.
   Human rights groups have charged that the government is targeting
Aristide supporters but allowing the rebels and former soldiers to operate
with impunity.
   Latortue has already been criticized for forming alliances with rebels
accused of human rights abuses, including Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a former
paramilitary leader recently acquitted of murdering an Aristide supporter.
   "There cannot be democratic elections in this country without
disarmament, and the government shows no will to disarm armed groups," said
Viles Alizar, program director for the National Coalition of Haitian
Rights.
   Latortue has promised legislative and presidential elections in 2005.