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By Paisley Dodds and Ian James March 1, 2004 - 8:17AM |
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An armed Haitian man rides the front of a stolen ambulance. Picture: AFP
Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and flew into exile today, pressured by foreign governments and a bloody rebellion. Gunfire crackled as the capital fell into chaos, and Washington dispatched Marines. The Marines are expected to be the first wave of a UN-backed international peacekeeping force. France also said it was considering sending troops, with more than 100 to arrive tomorrow to protect its citizens. The head of Haiti's Supreme Court said he was taking charge of the government, and a key rebel leader said he welcomed the arrival of foreign troops. "I think the worst is over, and we're waiting for the international forces. They will have our full cooperation," Guy Philippe told CNN. Later, an Associated Press reporter joined Philippe and three other rebel leaders in a convoy from their Cap-Haitien base in northern Haiti. They said they were moving south to Gonaives, and later Port-au-Prince. Philippe spoke to The Associated Press in a crowd of people celebrating Aristide's departure. "Aristide's out! He's gone!" they crowed. But anarchy raged in the capital. Furious mobs of Aristide supporters roamed the streets armed with old rifles, pistols, machetes and sticks. Some fired wildly into crowds on the Champs de Mars, the main square in front of the National Palace. Looters emptied a police station and hit pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses, mostly on the capital's outskirts. Inmates were freed from the National Penitentiary and other jails around the country. "Chop off their heads and burn their homes," the rioters screamed, echoing the war cry of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the general who ousted French troops and torched plantations to end slavery in Haiti 200 years ago. On the main John Brown Boulevard, Aristide followers armed with shotguns set up a roadblock; at the same spot, hours later, they had disappeared - leaving behind the bullet-riddled bodies of three men sprawled inside an all-terrain vehicle. "The removal of President Aristide in these circumstances sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces" - P.J. Patterson, Jamaican Prime Minister Some anti-Aristide militants began organising armed posses that prowled in pickup trucks, searching for Aristide supporters. In the back of one a man lay unconscious - or dead - with a head wound. Police finally deployed in the afternoon, scared away the crowd in the front of the palace, and the violence ebbed. Residents sat outside their homes in the tropical heat, some listening intently to radios pressed against their ears. Police patrolled several neighbourhoods. "Some people cried" at the news that Aristide had fled, Jackson Thomas, 32, said in garbage-strewn La Saline slum that is a stronghold of the ex-president. "He loves us. He was going to get rid of the slum," he said.
Haitian women run past a Haitian policeman trying to restore order. AFP
UN diplomats said key Security Council members would begin talks Sunday about a resolution to authorise peacekeepers for Haiti, which erupted into violence 3 1/2 weeks ago when rebels began driving police from towns and cities in the north. "The government believes it is essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. This is the beginning of a new chapter," US President George W. Bush said at the White House. "I would urge the people of Haiti to reject violence, to give this break from the past a chance to work. And the United States is prepared to help." But some foreign leaders denounced the apparent forced resignation of Aristide, saying it was antidemocratic. "The removal of President Aristide in these circumstances sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces," said P.J. Patterson, the Prime Minister of Jamaica. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela denounced "the Haitian oligarchy and its foreign allies" who had perpetrated the "tragedy" of Aristide's resignation. South Africa's foreign ministry said "the ousting" of Aristide "did not bode well for democracy." Though not aligned with rebels, the political opposition also pushed for Aristide to leave for the good of Haiti's 8 million people, angered by poverty, corruption and crime. The uprising - only the most recent violence in this Caribbean nation - killed at least 100 people. Prime Minister Yvon Neptune told a press conference that Aristide resigned to "prevent bloodshed," but there were conflicting reports on where the ex-leader would go. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said South Africa was the country most often mentioned. Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred on Saturday with South African President Thabo Mbeki. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Aristide was going to a "third" country, meaning he would not take refuge in the United States as he did the last time he was ousted, in 1991. Aristide's jet refuelled on the island of Antigua and was en route to South Africa, government and airport officials in that Caribbean country said. Officials in Johannesburg said there had been no offer of asylum to Aristide. Powell also spoke by telephone with the foreign ministers of Argentina, France, Jamaica and Panama. Other reports said Aristide would go to Morocco, Taiwan or Panama. Panama's president said she would consider granting the former Catholic priest asylum but had not been asked. But officials in Taiwan said there were no plans to shelter Aristide, and Morocco said he was not welcome. Three hours after Aristide's departure, Supreme Court Justice Boniface Alexandre declared at a news conference that he was taking over, as called for by the constitution. He urged calm. "The task will not be an easy one," said Alexandre, a former jurist in his 60s with a reputation for honesty. "Haiti is in crisis ... It needs all its sons and daughters. No one should take justice into their own hands." Despite Alexandre's declaration that he was in charge, the Haitian constitution calls for parliament to approve him as leader, and the legislature has not met since early this year when its members' terms expired. Half the country is in the hands of the rebels, including former soldiers of the army that Aristide disbanded during a political career tainted by alleged fraud. Philippe, the rebel leader, said his forces would head for the capital but would not engage in any further fighting. "The time is not for fighting any more," Philippe said, in an interview with CNN. He also said rebels wanted to take part in any negotiations about Haiti's future, but had already accepted Alexandre as president. "We just hope no country will accept Aristide, so they will send him back to be judged. He did bad things," said Philippe, a former police chief, speaking at a rebel headquarters in the key northern port town of Cap-Haitien. He told CNN his men would be in the capital by Sunday night or Monday morning. Another rebel commander, Winter Etienne, said the fighters - a motley group also led by a former army death squad commander and a former pro-Aristide street gang chief - would disarm once a new government is installed. As he spoke, rebels rode through Cap-Haitien in trucks, waving at hundreds of people who danced and sang in the streets in celebration. Meanwhile the UN Security Council has approved the deployment of a multinational force to restore order in Haiti. A resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council calls for all sides in the conflict in Haiti to cease all violence and authorises the force to "contribute to a secure and stable environment" across Haiti for up to three months. After that time, a follow-on UN stabilisation force would take over. It was also revealed today that ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide will take up at least temporary residence in the Central African Republic. "He is going there. That's where he is going today," a US official said on condition of anonymity. "I don't know whether he is going to stay on in the long run,'' declared the official, adding that it could be ``a temporary stay". Aristide fled Haiti early today after weeks of pressure from opposition rebels and after major international powers withdrew support. Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso said earlier in the day that Aristide was seeking asylum in an African nation, but did not identify it. She said Panama had offered the former Haitian leader Aristide temporary asylum for two weeks following a US request, but added that Aristide wanted to take asylum "in an African country, where he is trying to go." Crisis in Haiti under Aristide has been brewing since his party swept flawed legislative elections in 2000 and international donors froze millions of dollars in aid. Opponents also accused him of breaking promises to help the poor, allowing corruption fueled by drug-trafficking and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs - charges the president denied. - Agencies
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