Mbeki visit marred by clashes

2004-01-02 07:48

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - Clashes between protesters and police marred celebrations on Haiti's 200th anniversary of independence Thursday as embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vowed to save his country from poverty and turmoil.

The event was attended by SA President Thabo Mbeki at a cost of R10 million and with the support of an SA Navy vessel, and against the wishes of Haitian protesters.

Groupe 184, a Haitian civil society grouping, said neither Mbeki nor armed South African troops are welcome in Haiti.

"South Africans, please do not be fooled - the majority of Haitians are not pleased, proud or welcoming of President Thabo Mbeki's visit to Haiti," it said in an e-mailed statement.

Underscoring deepening political divisions, more than 15 000 Aristide supporters rallied outside the National Palace shortly before some 5 000 government opponents marched toward downtown, shouting "Down with Aristide!"

Tear gas and warning shots

Police fired tear gas and warning shots to scatter Aristide opponents, and some protesters lay down before officers, shouting: "Freedom!"

Club-wielding police beat back a separate group of student protesters who tried to join the march, injuring at least two students and one professor.

"We will not allow Aristide to be a dictator," said protester Jean Gary Denis, 33. "He is using the bicentennial for his own purposes."

Government supporters were equally fervent, with thousands knocking down a metal fence at the palace and scrambling onto its lawn as they crowded toward the podium, chanting: "Aristide is king!"

Bittersweet bicentennial

The bicentennial was bittersweet as some Haitians questioned whether Aristide is fit to guide the country out of crisis.

"1804 was the stinging bee. 2004 is sure to be the honey," Aristide told supporters. "It is possible to build a new Haiti because of what is on our flag, and that is, 'United we are strong."'

Aristide listed 21 goals he hopes will be accomplished by 2015, from stabilizing the HIV infection rate to reducing poverty. His term expires in 2006, and he didn't say whether he expects to be in office in 2015.

Aristide said he is working to bring new legislative elections, but opponents have refused to participate and urged a boycott of Thursday's state-organized events, including another speech in western Gonaives, where Haitians declared independence from slave-holding France on January 1, 1804.

"The time has come... to demand respect for the constitution, respect for everybody without distinction," Aristide told some 2 000 supporters in Gonaives' central square.

Many supporters rode into town in buses provided by Aristide's private foundation and wore T-shirts adorned with their leader's image.

Police took shots at unidentified targets

While Haitian roots music blared and revelers danced, police on rooftops occasionally took shots at unidentified targets in the distance.

No injuries were reported on Thursday in Gonaives, where protests have surged recently. But gunfire that erupted the previous night wounded at least one girl and led many to take refuge, leaving many streets deserted.

"The people are afraid. A ghost town is celebrating the bicentennial with Aristide," said Rosanne Dalzon, 30, leaving town with a bundle of used clothes on her head to sell.

Sporadic gunfire erupted after Aristide left, and rocks were thrown at departing cars.

Flaming tire barricades

The threat of violence hung over celebrations as flaming tire barricades went up in spots across the capital on Thursday. A day earlier the charred bodies of two men were found on a Port-au-Prince sidewalk. There was no word on their political affiliation.

Some Aristide supporters were seen holding pieces of pipe and unlit firebombs Thursday.

A group of prisoners, meanwhile, broke through a wall at the National Penitentiary and escaped Thursday, police said. It was unclear how many got away.

The government spent $15m on the celebrations, including galas, New Year fireworks and the dedication of a monument to Haiti's forefathers. But many world leaders stayed away.

Those attending included more than a dozen foreign delegations, activists and actors including Danny Glover.

"We celebrate the Haitian revolution because it dealt a deadly blow to the slave traders who had scoured the coasts of West and East Africa for slaves and ruined the lives of millions of Africans," Mbeki told a crowd. He said a "historic struggle" remains against poverty and conflict on both sides of the Atlantic.

- AP