23516: (Chamberlain) Efforts to stem violence (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 20 (AP) -- Peacekeepers and police were struggling
to stem violence in Haiti as government officials announced talks were
underway to purchase weapons after a 13-year U.S. arms embargo.
   While there was no immediate confirmation on the reported lifting of the
arms embargo, the U.S. State Department has said it would consider
individual requests from the Haitian government for weapons purchases.
   The United States imposed the embargo in 1991 after a military coup
first ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. U.S. troops restored
Aristide in 1994 but maintained the embargo.
   Justice Minister Bernard Gousse said last week that Haiti's interim
government had ordered an unspecified number of weapons for the police
force. An adviser to the police, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
confirmed the order on Tuesday with The Associated Press.
   The State Department said Friday "restrictions on arms exports" to Haiti
remained in place but promised to "consider requests from the interim
government."
   Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue denounced the embargo in
September, saying it was crippling efforts to restore stability months
after rebels ousted Aristide in February after a three week rebellion.
   Talk of arming the country's ill-equipped police force came as gun shots
rang out in the Aristide stronghold of Bel Air on Tuesday.
   An Associated Press Television News reporter saw a group of two dozen
men firing into the air as they walked through the slum, sending residents
scrambling for cover. One 14-year-old boy was reportedly hit by a stray
bullet and taken to the hospital. His condition was unknown.
   At least 55 people have been killed since Aristide supporters took to
the streets Sept. 30 to demand his return.
   The recent violence has strained more than 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers in a
Brazilian-led force.
   The government ordered rebels and Aristide supporters to disarm by Sept.
15, but it has done little to enforce the deadline.
   Aristide backers say the police started the recent bloodshed, while the
government blames Aristide militants.
   Police reportedly killed two protesters on Sept. 30 and the bodies of
three beheaded police were found the next day.
   Port-au-Prince's General Hospital has received at least 100 gunshot
victims since the clashes erupted, compared to 114 for all of September,
said director Albert Camille Archange.
   Nine more victims, including four police officers, arrived since Monday,
according to hospital records viewed by the AP.
   Despite the continued unrest, nearly all employees at Port-au-Prince's
port were back at work on Tuesday, freeing up shipments of food and other
aid to some 200,000 homeless flood victims in the northwestern city of
Gonaives. Most employees had been too scared to leave home before.
   Some 113 food containers from the World Food Program were being
transported to a warehouse in the capital, said Anne Poulsen, a
spokeswoman. Since the violence erupted, the World Food Program had only
been able to get 22 containers out of the port, she said.
   Haiti was devastated last month by Tropical Storm Jeanne, which killed
more than 1,900 and left hundreds more missing and presumed dead.
   ------
   Associated Press writer Michael Norton contributed to this report from
Puerto Rico.