27123: (news) Chamberlain: U.N. commander in Haiti kills himself (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The commander of the United
Nations' peacekeeping force in Haiti was found dead in his hotel room  on
Saturday after apparently shooting himself, U.N. officials said.
     Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar's death comes as
the troubled Caribbean country struggles to organize its first presidential
election since a month-long armed revolt ousted then-president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.
     The general, who had been in command of the 9,000-strong U.N. force in
Haiti since the end of August, appeared to have been alone in his suite at
the Montana hotel in the capital Port-au-Prince at the time of the
shooting.
     His gun was found near his body, which was dressed in shorts and a
white T-shirt, witnesses said.
     "It is unfortunate and devastating to see such a good and honorable
general killed in such circumstances," Brazil's ambassador to Haiti, Paulo
Cordeiro de Andrade Pinto, told Reuters as he left the hotel.
     The Brazilian army referred to the incident as a "firearm accident,"
according to news agency reports in Brazil. Bacellar grew up in Brazil's
southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul and was a career military officer.
     The army later released a statement saying the armed forces
"profoundly lamented" the general's death and that it would cooperate with
the police investigation.
     The U.N. mission, known by its acronym MINUSTAH, was sent to Haiti to
keep the peace between supporters and foes of Aristide after the 2004
revolt.
     But the country of 8.5 million people has continued to be afflicted by
political violence and a wave of kidnappings has swept through
Port-au-Prince despite the presence of the Brazilian-led U.N. troops and
police.
     The business sector, which vigorously opposed Aristide, and the
interim government have called on the U.N. force to be more aggressive in
taking on street gangs that control many of the sprawling slums in
Port-au-Prince. Many of the gangs are seen as supporters of the exiled
Aristide.
     In contrast, civil and leftist groups in Brazil have criticized the
U.N. force for being far too aggressive in patrolling the slums. Dozens of
civilians have been caught in the cross-fire during gunfights between U.N.
troops and gangs.
     Originally scheduled for November, the presidential election has been
repeatedly put off and is now expected to take place in February.
     Haiti's interim authorities have blamed the U.N. mission and the
Organization of American States for the delays, a charge both organizations
refute.

     (Additional reporting by Terry Wade in Sao Paulo)