Marines Kill Two Haitians in Gun Battles
By PETER PRENGAMAN and IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writers
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - U.S. Marines shot and killed at least two gunmen who opened fire near the private residence of Haiti's outgoing prime minister, Staff Sgt. Timothy Edwards told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
It was the third fatal shooting by U.S. Marines in three days. On Sunday, they killed an alleged gunman who opened fire on a demonstration, and on Monday they killed a driver speeding toward a checkpoint.
Edwards said the Marines were patrolling Tuesday evening near the private residence of outgoing Prime Minister Yvon Neptune when they came under "hostile fire." He said they then shot and killed at least two gunmen. No peacekeepers were wounded.
U.S. Southern Command spokesman Raul Duany said the gunmen were shooting from a rooftop near the prime minister's residence.
The U.S. Defense Department has defended the Marines' actions, saying they acted within their orders to fire when they felt threatened.
The shooting came as peacekeepers tried to begin disarming the general population, a potentially volatile move after weeks of bloodshed. There was little evidence of peacekeeper disarmament early Wednesday.
Many supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide were angry over the decision Tuesday to name Gerard Latortue as the country's new prime minister. Latortue, who lives in Miami and has been critical of Aristide, was scheduled to arrive in Haiti later Wednesday.
"He doesn't understand the reality of the country," said Jacques Pierre, a 49-year-old Aristide supporter. "He doesn't understand our hunger."
Latortue, a former U.N. official and foreign minister, faces the difficult task of helping to restore peace in this troubled Caribbean nation following a monthlong insurgency that helped drive Aristide from power on Feb. 29.
"I can facilitate the national reconciliation," Latortue told The Miami Herald in an article published Wednesday. "It is the most important thing today in Haiti after all the divisions we had in Aristide.
"It is time for us to forget our differences and come together for the country in this bicentennial year."
Aristide fled after rebels seized control of half the country, sparking a frenzy of looting and violence. More than 400 people have died in the rebellion and reprisal killings.
In exile in Central African Republic, Aristide claimed he was forced out by the U.S. government and insisted that he was still the president of Haiti. The U.S. government has denied the claim.
On Wednesday, Aristide's lawyers said they were preparing cases accusing authorities in the United States and France of abducting him and forcing him into exile.
In the United States, "there are preparations for a kidnapping case against the American authorities," U.S. lawyer Brian Concannon said in Paris after meeting Aristide in Central African Republic. Concannon did not provide further details.
Another U.S. lawyer for Aristide, Ira Kurzban, has sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the circumstances of Aristide's departure.
Aristide has been staying in the presidential palace in Central African Republic since March 1. A delegation of South African officials arrived there Wednesday for talks with Aristide about his long-term asylum plans, Central African Republic officials said.
U.S. Col. Charles Gurganus told reporters in Port-au-Prince that a joint disarmament program with Haitian police would begin Wednesday. He called on Haitians to tell peacekeepers who has weapons and to turn in any arms, but he gave few details of how the program will work.
"The disarmament will be both active and reactive, but I'm not going to say any more about that," he said. Rebel groups and Aristide loyalists have threatened violence if weapons aren't taken away from their enemies.
Since the U.S.- and French-led peacekeepers arrived a week ago, there has been confusion over who is in charge of disarming groups. On Monday, Gurganus said disarming rebels was not part of the peacekeepers' mission, but he indicated that could change if police asked for help.
After five days of private meetings, the seven-member Council of Sages settled on Latortue, who also served as an international business consultant in Miami.
Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre will work toward organizing elections and building a new government for Haiti. Under Aristide, the prime minister's position was largely ceremonial. But Latortue's position will be that of a powerbroker and has the potential of carrying enough weight to smooth political divisions.
Council member Dr. Ariel Henry said Latortue was chosen because the council believed he was "an independent guy, a democrat." Councilor Anne-Marie Issa described him as someone "to pull everybody together."
Neptune stayed in his post even after Aristide fled the country, and Aristide opponents have demanded that he be replaced.
Also Tuesday, CIA Director George J. Tenet warned that in Haiti, "a humanitarian disaster or mass migration remains possible."
"A cycle of clashes and revenge killings could easily be set off, given the large number of angry, well-armed people on both sides," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee (news - web sites) in Washington. "Improving security will require the difficult task of disarming armed groups and augmenting and retraining a national security force."
U.S. forces in Haiti, about 1,600 strong, have a limited set of circumstances during which they can use deadly force. They cannot stop looting, even of American companies, nor can they stop Haitian-on-Haitian violence, officials said.
Aristide was a popular slum priest, elected on promises to champion the poor who make up the vast majority of Haiti's 8 million people. But he has lost support, with Haitians saying he failed to improve their lives, condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack political opponents.
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Associated Press Writers Paisley Dodds and Michael Norton contributed to this story from Port-au-Prince and Kingston, Jamaica.