Haitians march for Aristide
2004-07-29 14:14
Port-Au-Prince - Scores of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's supporters marched through the slums of Haiti's capital on Wednesday to demand his return.
Waving posters of the embattled leader, about 2 000 people flowed through the narrow streets of several Port-au-Prince slums before marching past the US embassy where protesters burned small coffins bearing the names of interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and other officials from the US-backed interim government. One coffin simply said, "USA"
A US-led multinational force of 3 600 troops arrived in Haiti after a three-week rebellion that culminated in Aristide's February 29 ouster. Aristide, in exile in South Africa, has accused the United States of being behind his overthrow, a claim Washington has denied.
The US-led force was replaced by a Brazil-led UN peacekeeping mission at the end of June. Currently with 2 300 troops and 205 police, the force is expected to expand to 6 700 troops and more than 1 600 international police.
On Tuesday, Spain and Morocco pledged to contribute an unspecified number of troops.
"We cannot live without Aristide," said 70-year-old demonstrator Solange Michel, who said her son was killed by soldiers during a 1991 coup that ousted Aristide for three years.
US forces landed in Haiti in 1994 to restore Aristide, the impoverished country's first democratically elected president. But international support for Aristide soured after disputed 2000 legislative elections, leading to the freezing of hundreds of millions of aid dollars.
"We think he will return if we keep protesting," said Bob Fonfon, 34, a former port worker who said past protests brought Aristide back to power.
Some of the Aristide supporters say they have been targeted by the new government.
Dozens of former government workers and members of Aristide's Lavalas party have been jailed pending investigations into allegations that range from corruption to murder.
Police found the body of Jocelyn Saint Louis, a former pro-Aristide parliamentarian, on Tuesday in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. A cause of death was not immediately released.
Latortue has vowed to hold general elections for next year.
Haiti has no functioning parliament because the terms of most members of the lower house expired in January, and political strife prevented elections last year.
- AP