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Mon 8 Mar 2004
Four dead and 19 wounded as fighting erupts in Haiti IBON VILLELABEITIA AND JOSEPH GUYLER DELVA IN PORT-AU-PRINCE SUSPECTED supporters of the exiled Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, opened fire on thousands of jubilant revellers outside the National Palace yesterday, killing at least four people and wounding 19. The dead included a foreign cameraman who worked for the Antena 3 Spanish television station. There were also unconfirmed eyewitness reports that four other foreign journalists were wounded in the shooting. United States marines leading an international peace mission rushed to the scene in machine gun-mounted Humvees as panicked demonstrators ran for cover and military helicopters hovered over the palace. The shootings, which witnesses said came from pro-Aristide neighbourhoods, capped a largely peaceful demonstration in which thousands took to the streets in a noisy parade to celebrate the fall of Mr Aristide, who fled to Africa on 29 February following a bloody revolt. The march, closely watched by US marines, French troops and Haitian police in riot gear, came two days after thousands of angry supporters of Mr Aristide burst out of slums and marched on the US embassy to protest at the "US occupation" and demand his return. During yesterday’s march, revellers hoisted Guy Philippe, the leader of a band of rebels who helped oust Mr Aristide, on their shoulders. Another rebel commander, former death squad chief Louis Jodel Chamblain, signed autographs. A council of elders is working to pick a prime minister to replace Yvon Neptune, an Aristide ally who is expected to be pushed aside early this week. Earlier, across town, looters hit an industrial area near the airport. Two women were wounded by gunfire as police tried to halt the looting. Mr Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest who became a champion of Haiti’s impoverished masses when he helped overthrow the brutal Duvalier family dictatorship in 1986, was ousted by a bloody revolt that killed more than 200 people and by pressure from the US and other foreign nations. "Aristide criminal - prison for Aristide," the revellers chanted, waving Haitian flags, singing, clapping, punching their fists in the air and honking horns. In pick-up trucks, on bicycles and motorcycles and on foot, a crowd estimated at more than 3,000 moved through the garbage-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince, swaying to blaring music, worshipping the rebel leaders like rock stars and hurling insults at the departed president. "We need democracy in Haiti. Aristide was a drug trafficker and his regime violated human rights," said protester Harry Adeclat, a 38-year-old doctor. From his exile in the Central African Republic, Mr Aristide has claimed he was kidnapped by US forces, an allegation the US government has denied. "We don’t want Aristide back," said Charles Baker, a leader of a political opposition movement. "Aristide is gone but he is still leading the government." This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=269042004 Haiti: http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=133 Websites: FCO travel advice http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385992 CIA World Factbook - Haiti http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ha.html |