29396: (news) Chamberlain: Haiti-Slum Protest (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By STEVENSON JACOBS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 27 (AP) -- Hundreds of protesters marched peacefully
through Haiti's largest slum Friday to demand the withdrawal of U.N.
peacekeepers, accusing the troops of killing civilians during gunbattles
with street gangs.
   Chants of "Down with the U.N.!" and "U.N. go home!" rose as marchers
walked through Cite Soleil, a sprawling slum on the edge of Haiti's
capital, Port-au-Prince.
   The protesters came within a few feet of a U.N. military base, and
shouted at Brazilian and Uruguayan troops standing guard at the entrance
and atop six armored personnel carriers -- rifles at the ready.
   The demonstration was one of the largest displays of defiance toward
U.N. troops in months and underscored rising opposition toward the
international force sent to quell violence in the impoverished Caribbean
country after a 2004 revolt.
   "We are really tired of hearing the U.N.'s bullets. The people are
suffering," said marcher Samuel Jean-Baptiste, 38.
   As the crowd swelled, a U.N. soldier tossed two smoke canisters into the
street, scattering protesters in every direction.
   U.N. troops say they only fire when attacked. A U.N. spokeswoman in
Haiti declined to comment on the march, the second anti-U.N. demonstration
this week.
   On Wednesday, dozens of university students took to the streets and lit
flaming tire barricades during another protest to demand peacekeepers'
withdrawal.
   The U.N. Security Council in August extended the force's mandate for
another six months.
   President Rene Preval, who took power in May, has said troops should
stay as long as needed, since it will take Haiti years to rebuild its
battered police force.