24354: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Protest (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 25 (AP) -- Dozens of protesters burned tires and
threw rocks at U.N. peacekeepers in a Port-au-Prince slum Friday, accusing
them of standing by while Haitian police shot dead at least two men and
left their bodies in a nearby street. U.N. troops said they did not know
how the men died.
   They were the latest among 10 victims shot and killed in escalating
violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
   Brazilian troops in jeeps and light armored vehicles drove up and down a
major street in Bel Air, a slum filled with supporters of ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, with M-16s and rotating machine guns at the ready.
   "No more U.N.! No more U.N.!" protesters screamed as they hurled rocks
and then ran behind parked cars. The crowd also called for the return of
Aristide.
   "No Aristide, no peace," chanted Florette Pierre, 25, as others joined
in. "Only Aristide can help us."
   Haiti's first freely elected president was toppled Feb. 29 after a
three-week rebellion led by former soldiers and a street gang, but remains
the most popular politician in the Caribbean nation of 8 million.
   Witnesses said Haitian police, flanked by U.N. troops, came into the
neighborhood and opened fire indiscriminately.
   "The police just started shooting everywhere and we all started
running," said Woody Charles, 34.
   Haitians in Port-au-Prince say scores of people have been killed in this
manner since September, when Aristide militants stepped up protests and
blocked streets to demand his return from exile in South Africa.
   U.N. troops and an interim government installed after Aristide's have
struggled to control escalating violence. At least 270 people, including 25
police officers, have been killed in clashes in the capital.
   Aristide supporters say the interim government of Prime Minister Gerard
Latortue has persecuted officials and supporters of Aristide, detaining
dozens who are being held without charge.