'The poorest but the bravest'
2004-01-01 18:32
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - President Jean-Bertrand Aristide pledged to help impoverished Haitians reach the fruits of their independence as supporters knocked down a fence at the National Palace and crowded toward the podium on Thursday in a celebration marking Haiti's 200th anniversary of independence from France.
Despite the chants of "Aristide is king!" from the crowd of about 10 000, Haitians marked a bittersweet bicentennial as their country struggles with worsening economic troubles and political divisions.
"1804 was the stinging bee. 2004 is sure to be the honey," Aristide told the crowd.
Aristide listed 21 goals he hopes will be accomplished by 2015, from stabilising the rate of HIV infection to reducing poverty. Aristide's term expires in 2006, and didn't say whether he expects to still be in office in 2015.
Aristide said he is working with the opposition to bring new legislative elections, but opponents called for a boycott of Thursday's state-organised events, including another speech by Aristide planned in western Gonaives, where Haitians declared their independence on January 1, 1804.
Thousands who crowded toward the National Palace steps waved Haitian flags, jumped on the lawn and shouted out the name of their embattled leader. Riot police blocked the crowd.
"This is a sacred day for us. It's the most sacred day of all," said Louis Larieux, a 40-year-old among those who knocked down the metal fence. "We may be the poorest nation in the Americas, but we're the bravest."
More than a dozen foreign delegations, civil rights activists and actors were attending the celebrations, but many world leaders stayed away and some entertainers were boycotting state events.
"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," South African President Thabo Mbeki told the crowd, saying a "historic struggle" remains for people to overcome poverty and conflict on both sides of the Atlantic.
Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie called the bicentennial "a matter of great pride and symbolism everywhere".
Haiti's government was spending $15m on events including state galas and the dedication of a monument to Haiti's forefathers.
Haiti was born after the world's only successful slave rebellion. Toussaint Louverture's army of former slaves crushed Napoleon's troops, making Haiti the first black republic and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, which still flourished in parts of the United States.
Meanwhile, Haiti remains the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, and violent anti-government protests have killed at least 41 people since September.
- AP