23413: (Chamberlain) Ex-soldiers gather to fight in PauP (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 13 (AP) -- Former soldiers who led a deadly revolt
against ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide gathered in Haiti's
capital Wednesday, saying reinforcements were coming to help end violence
that has killed at least 46 people.
   Those advancing rebels intended to provide security in Port-au-Prince,
former Army Master Sgt. Joseph Jean-Baptiste said in a broadcast by private
Radio Vision 2000. The development threatens to stir conflict with U.N.
peacekeepers and armed Aristide militants.
   More than 30 men in military fatigues, some heavily armed, gathered in
an apartment in Petionville, a hillside suburb overlooking Port-au-Prince.
Rebel leader Remissainthe Ravix, a former army major, told The Associated
Press that more reinforcements were on their way.
   The core rebel force estimated at 200 has been joined by many recruits.
   Port-au-Prince has been beset by shootouts and beheadings since a Sept.
30 demonstration marking the 1991 coup that overthrew Aristide the first
time. Police reportedly shot and killed two people at the demonstration
held by supporters of Aristide's Lavalas Family.
   The headless bodies of three police officers turned up the next day, and
government officials blamed Aristide militants and a new campaign called
"Operation Baghdad."
   Aristide, a former priest, returned to power in 1994 with military
backing from the United States, but again fled the country in February
after a deadly three-week revolt led by a street gang and former soldiers.
   Aristide supporters are demanding his return from exile in South Africa
and an end to the "invasion" by foreign troops. U.S. Marines arrived the
day Aristide left and were replaced by U.N. peacekeepers in June.
   The rebels, who want to reinstate the army Aristide disbanded, have
accused the U.N. troops of doing little to stabilize the country. Only
about 3,000 of the planned 8,000 peacekeepers have arrived.
   The United States accused Aristide loyalists on Tuesday of "a systematic
campaign to destabilize the interim government and disrupt the efforts of
the international community."
   U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher urged Lavalas Family
leaders to "break with the party's legacy of violence and criminality,"
saying the interim government represented Haiti's best hope.
   Ravix said former soldiers are tired of sitting by as the violence
rages. Aristide supporters plan more demonstrations Friday to mark the 10th
anniversary of Aristide's return from exile, with the backing of 20,000
U.S. troops.
   "We see Lavalas gangsters shooting parents as they take their children
to school. Stores can't open. Life can't continue. The things that are
happening, we can't allow it," said Ravix, displaying a sword with the
inscription, "Haitian Guard, Honor and Fatherland."
   Holding a poster with photographs of alleged criminals, Ravix said:
"This is a list of bandits. The police can't get them. I will arrest all of
them."
   He said the rebel forces "will work with anyone" -- Haitian police or
peacekeepers.
   "All that matters is that they stop the 'chimeres' and provide
security," he said, using the Creole word meaning "angry young men" or
"monsters" to describe gangsters loyal to Aristide.
   Two spokesman for the U.N. mission refused to comment Wednesday on the
rebel plans. One spokesman, Damian Onses-Cardona, said the interim
government would decide how to respond.
   Aristide supporters renewed demands that rebels be disarmed.
   Last week, the government said it would integrate some ex-soldiers,
including those now fighting as rebels, into security efforts, but it did
not clarify their roles.
   The violence in Port-au-Prince has slowed shipments of food aid for
victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne and caused the Brazilian-led U.N.
peacekeepers to redeploy from flood-ravaged Gonaives. About 120 shipping
containers of food aid from the World Food Program are stuck at
Port-au-Prince's port because of the violence, spokeswoman Anne Poulsen
said Wednesday.
   At an empty street market in Port-au-Prince, Marie Joseph blamed the
United States for the lack of security.
   "They drove out the Lavalas government, and nothing has changed," said
Joseph, 36, who hoped to sell a bowl of cherries. "President Bush said he'd
provide security, but he's getting soldiers killed in Iraq and now he's
letting people get decapitated in our country."