29148: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Gang Disarmament (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By STEVENSON JACOBS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 11 (AP) -- Three gang members surrendered their
guns Monday in the first handover of weapons in a U.N.-led effort to disarm
hundreds of Haitian criminals.
   The men held the guns above their heads as they approached Brazilian
peacekeepers to the cheers of supporters during the handover ceremony in
the gritty Port-au-Prince slum of Solino. They agreed to disarm after
peacekeepers promised they would not be arrested.
   Haiti's government and U.N. peacekeepers are trying to persuade up to
1,000 gang members to lay down their arms with offers of money, food and
job training.
   The impromptu ceremony marked the start of what officials acknowledge
will likely be a lengthy campaign to disarm the gangs, which are blamed for
a recent wave of kidnappings and shootings in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
A U.N. spokesman declined to comment on the weapon handover.
   The men handing in guns -- one gang leader and two followers -- said
they were tired of fighting with rival gangs in the slum, a warren of
crumbling cinderblock homes, dirt roads and open sewers only a few blocks
from the National Palace.
   "Now we want the freedom to go where we want without being arrested by
police," said the gang leader in Solino, known as "Bibi."
   The guns and about two dozen rounds of ammunition were splayed out on a
table in front of a mural of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former Haitian
president who has retained the loyalty of some gangs since he was toppled
in a 2004 revolt.
   A government commission was appointed last week to oversee the U.N.
disarmament initiative.
   The U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Edmond Mulet, has said only gang
members not wanted for killings, human rights abuses or other serious
crimes would be eligible for the benefits after they give up their weapons.