23918: Craig (pub) AP: Ex-Soldiers Take Over Aristide's Home (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <sak-pase@bimini.ws>

AP: Ex-Soldiers Take Over Aristide's Home
December 15, 2004
AMY BRACKEN
Associated Press


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A band of former soldiers took over ousted
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's former home early Wednesday and
said they would use it to provide security in the neighborhood on the
outskirts of the capital.

Dozens of ex-soldiers entered Aristide's abandoned compound before
dawn, said former Sgt. Remissainthe Ravix, their spokesman.

Armed men wearing fatigues guarded the walled entrance of the estate
as two men painted two big white pillars mustard yellow, the color of
the Haitian military.

There were no U.N. peacekeepers or Haitian police at the scene, and
their spokesmen could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some of the 50 former soldiers had pickaxes and were breaking cinder
blocks that had sealed off doorways and windows. The plundered home
had been abandoned since Aristide fled the country Feb. 29.

The ex-soldiers will use Aristide's former house in the suburb of
Tabarre as a base of operations so "we can provide security to the
population there," Ravix said.

Some of the men were carrying shovels and inspecting the rooms of the
two-story house, littered with hundreds of history books and old
photos of Aristide.

The ex-soldiers, whose previous base was in suburban Petionville, say
that Haiti's ill-equipped police force is not able to provide
security in the Caribbean country of 8 million people, and they have
offered their services.

Ravix said Tabarre's mayor gave the house to the former soldiers, who
led the three-week rebellion against Aristide that forced him to
flee. The mayor could not be immediately reached for comment.

The rebels include members of the army, which Aristide disbanded in
1994. The ex-soldiers have grown increasingly frustrated with the
government, which has yet to formally reinstate the army. They have
refused to lay down their weapons and want back pay for 10 years.

They patrol some parts of the country, mostly in provincial towns,
although human rights groups have complained they have no right to do
so and represent a danger to stability.

Separately, a few dozen men marched in a seaside slum Wednesday to
protest a major U.N. operation aimed at rooting out pro-Aristide gang
members who have sown political violence since Sept. 30, leaving more
than 100 dead. They called on the U.N. troops to leave and for
Aristide to come back, chanting "Like it or not, Aristide must
return!"

On Tuesday, hundreds of U.N. peacekeeping troops stormed the Cite
Soleil slum - an Aristide stronghold - in an attempt to control
flashpoints of violence. At least four people were killed in separate
incidents throughout the day.

Cite Soleil has been plagued by violence since September, when
Aristide loyalists stepped up protests to demand his return.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has accused Aristide of
orchestrating recent violence from exile in South Africa - a charge
Aristide has denied. Aristide says the United Stated forced him to
leave the country, a claim U.S. officials deny.

Neither the U.N. peacekeeping mission, which has 7,000 members in
Haiti, nor the interim government have done much to disarm gangs or
rebels who still control much of the countryside, patrolling towns
and undermining police.