23342: radtimes: Haiti slums under siege (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

Haiti slums under siege

http://207.44.245.159/article7018.htm

10/04/04 "ICH" -- Haiti Information Project (HIP) -

Residents in the slum of Bel Air exchanged gunfire today with police
surrounding their neighborhood. Heavily armed units of the Haitian National
Police cordoned off the area earlier this morning following an ultimatum
issued by residents demanding the release of three of their leaders who
were arrested on Saturday. Lavalas militants threatened to take to the
streets in a new wave of protests unless Former Deputy Roudy Hérivaux,
former Senator Yvon Feuillé, and former Senator Gerald Gilles were freed
unconditionally.

Haitian officials announced earlier in the day that they would free Gilles
citing a lack of evidence implicating him in the violence of September
30th. Minister of Justice Bernard Gousse continues to maintain that
Hérivaux and Feuillé were the "intellectual authors" of the violence.

Bel Air is a slum in the capital of Port au Prince that served as a
launching site for recent demonstrations commemorating the thirteenth
anniversary of the 1991 military coup against President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. The slum has been under siege by police since violence erupted on
September 30th after police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators. Witnesses
say a unit of the Unite de Securite Presidentielle (U.S.P), a special
security detail assigned to Interim President Boniface Alexandre, came
under attack after police opened fire on the marchers. Members of the
special police unit were seen firing on demonstrators and collecting bodies
before masked gunmen returned fire killing three and wounding a fourth who
later died in the hospital.

The U.S.-backed government claims that the headless bodies of the policemen
were later recovered and that Aristide supporters have launched a campaign
emulating beheadings in Iraq called "Operation Baghdad." Representatives of
Aristide's Family Lavalas party have denied the allegations. A party
spokesman in Bel Air reiterated "it was the police who provoked the
violence by firing on demonstrators who were demanding the return of
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide." Aristide was ousted last February 29th
amid charges he was kidnapped by U.S. Marines and remains in exile in the
Republic of South Africa.

The police action in Bel Air began this morning after a spokewoman for the
Haitian National Police (PNH) asked listeners on local Radio Metropole to
call the police "if you suspect there are Lavalas chimere in your
neighborhood. We will come and get them immediately." There are no reports
of casualties on either side as the police continue to control all
entrances to the Haitian slum.

Reports from throughout the capital describe heavily armed police units
backed up by unidentified paramilitaries taking up positions at major
intersections in Port au Prince. Witnesses are also reporting heavy gunfire
in Cite Soleil another slum known for its staunch support of Aristide.

The Haiti Information Project (HIP) is a non-profit alternative news
service providing coverage and analysis of breaking developments in Haiti.

Contact: haitiinformationproject@yahoo.com Phone: U.S.: 510-868-0215

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