Haitians storm presidential palace over food shortages

UN peacekeepers used rubber bullets and tear gas to chase away Haitians who stormed the presidential palace yesterday.

The rioters, who were demonstrating against soaring food prices, tried to break into the palace by charging its chained gates with a rolling trash bin, demanding the resignation of President Rene Preval.

“We are hungry! He must go!” they shouted.

Mr Preval, a leader backed by Washington, was inside the palace at the time. He has made no public statements since the riots began last week.

Brazilian soldiers in blue UN helmets arrived on jeeps and assault vehicles, forcing the protesters away from the palace gates. But as the demonstrations turned into looting, the outnumbered peacekeepers watched as people broke into shops around the palace.

After dark, the looting spread. People broke into stores and factories on a road to the airport, witnesses said. Blackouts were reported from Port-au-Prince, the capital. Frightened residents barricaded themselves behind locked doors.

On one street, a group of men swarmed a slow-moving car and tried to drag its driver through the window. She appeared to get away.

The US Embassy suspended visa services and routine operations today because of the violence and advised Americans in Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes to remain indoors. Embassy buildings were pelted with rocks but there were no reports of injuries to US citizens.

Food prices, which have risen 40 per cent on average since mid-2007, are causing unrest around the world. But they have especially hit Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries.

“I think we have made progress in stabilising the country, but that progress is extremely fragile, highly reversible, and made even more fragile by the current socio-economic environment,” Hedi Annabi, the UN envoy, said after briefing the Security Council yesterday.

Riots broke out in the normally placid southern port of Les Cayes last week, quickly escalating as protesters tried to burn down a UN compound, leaving five people dead. The protests spread to other cities, and on Monday tens of thousands took to the streets of Port-au-Prince.

“I compare this situation to having a bucket full of gasoline and having some people around with a box of matches,” said Patrick Elie, an advisor to the President. “As long as the two have a possibility to meet, you’re going to have trouble.”

The protesters demanded the departure of the 9,000 UN peacekeepers, whom they blame in part for rising food prices. The peacekeepers came to Haiti in 2004 to quell the chaos that followed the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Critics say both Mr Preval and the international community have focused too much on political stability without helping to alleviate poverty. “We voted Preval for a change. Nothing happened,” said Joel Elie, 31, unemployed. “We’re tired of it and we can’t wait anymore.”

While the peacekeepers spend more than $500 million a year in Haiti, the World Food Program has collected less than 15 percent of the $96 million it says Haiti needs in donations this year. The WFP issued an emergency appeal for more.

Government officials say the riots are being manipulated by outside forces. They have accused drug smugglers of provoking the anger as well as supporters of Guy Philippe, a fugitive rebel leader wanted in US federal court on drug charges.

Mr Annabi, the UN envoy, said “people with political motivations” were exploiting the demonstrations, but refused to say who he was referring to.

Many in the crowds are demanding the return of the exiled Aristide, and thousands showed up on Monday for a rally by a key Aristide ally, the Reverend Gerard Jean-Juste.

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