PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti --
A vice president of the council organizing Haiti's new legislative elections said Saturday he would resign his post to protest the crackdown on opponents of the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Volvick Remy Joseph's resignation is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from government posts amid growing disenchantment with Aristide and his administration's violent response to opposition protests.
"I've resigned because I don't approve of the means utilized by the government to repress the legitimate demonstrations of almost every sector of Haitian society," Joseph told The Associated Press.
Joseph was a former health minister in the regime of ousted dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. His resignation follows that of three Cabinet ministers and the director of a government ministry over the past two weeks. In addition, two senators left Aristide's Lavalas Family party.
In announcing his decision, Joseph did not call for Aristide's resignation but said, "It's the duty of the president to ensure stability. If he can't, he should step down."
Joseph was one of two leaders of an electoral council formed by Aristide to organize new elections for parliament. Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, has been in turmoil since the Lavalas Family party swept 2000 elections widely seen as flawed.
Since then, at least 22 people have been killed during anti-government riots. Earlier this week, police raided a pro-opposition radio station in the north, saying they were looking for weapons, while dozens of anti-government demonstrations have been broken up by Aristide supporters and police.
Aristide, the Caribbean country's first freely elected president, was ousted in a 1991 army coup and restored to power in a 1994 U.S. invasion. He stepped down in 1996 due to a term limit and was re-elected in 2000.
Aristide has refused opposition calls to step down, saying he will serve out his term until 2006.
In the meantime, the terms of most members of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are set to expire Jan. 12 and Aristide would rule by decree if no solution is reached by then.
