Haiti slum repels police amid angry protests

October 15, 2004

Port au Prince, Haiti(HIP)- Armed units of the Haitian
National Police (PNH) entered the pro-Ariside slum of
Bel Air as thousands of residents took to streets to
demand the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Marchers defied a shutdown of the capital by the
business community and threats issued by the former
military. Heavy gunfire erupted as the police
reportedly fired shots to disperse the crowd. The
police were then forced to withdraw as unidentified
gunmen returned fire from surrounding buildings in a
thunderous volley.

Haiti has been rocked by violence since September 30th
after police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators
demanding the return of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide and condemning political persecution of his
Lavalas political party. Aristide was ousted last
February 29th amid charges he was kidnapped by U.S.
Marines and is living as guest in the Republic of
South Africa.

Two demonstrators were killed on Sept. 30th and the
U.S.-backed government claimed that the headless
bodies of three policemen were later discovered. The
identities of the headless policemen were released at
a funeral held for them earlier this week. The bodies
of the headless men were reportedly cremated before
journalists and human rights groups were given an
opportunity to perform an independent examination of
the corpses to confirm the government’s claims.

In a statement portraying Aristide’s Family Lavalas
party as terrorists, the Haitian Chamber of Commerce
called for a National Day of Reflection today asking
for all schools and businesses to stay closed and for
all residents of Port au Prince to stay in their
homes. The U.S. Embassy closed its doors as well in a
gesture meant to symbolize their approval of the
business community’s initiative. Several U.S. citizens
expressed their anger at the closure stating that it
“left them defenseless” in the event they were
required to evacuate Haiti in the face of mounting
violence.

Tensions heightened in the capital as several
pro-Aristide slums announced their intention to defy
the shutdown and protest on the 10th anniversary of
the ousted president’s return to Haiti in 1994.
Aristide was overthrown by Haiti’s military in a
brutal coup in September 1991and returned to Haiti on
October 15, 1994 after Clinton committed 20,000 U.S.
troops to “Operation Restore Democracy.”

Aristide supporters had braced themselves for today’s
attacks after the U.S.-backed government and United
Nation’s forces allowed armed units of the former
military to enter the capital unchallenged over the
past two days. This has led to charges by Lavalas
representatives of a “second coup” and UN complicity
in allowing the former military to return to power in
Haiti. Two trucks of former military opened fire on
residents at Delmas 2 in the slum of La Saline this
morning and could be seen setting up roadblocks on
Route Frere.

Today’s violence comes two days after the arrest of a
Catholic priest, Father Gerard Jean-Juste, the
government accused of trafficking in weapons and
harboring gunmen in his parish. Human rights
organizations and legal experts have condemned the
arrest as “arbitrary” and an effort by the authorities
to repress political dissent.
Earlier this week, UN soldiers and Haitian police
conducted numerous joint raids in several poor
neighborhoods in the capital known for their support
of Aristide. Hundreds have been arrested yet few
weapons have been confiscated as the violence
continues for a second straight week.

The morgue at the General Hospital issued an emergency
call this afternoon stating that there was no longer
space for new corpses and it had reached full
capacity.
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providing coverage and analysis of breaking developments in Haiti.

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