Posted on 10/06/2004 8:29:29 PM PDT by BenLurkin
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Enraged supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide armed themselves with machetes, guns, rocks and bottles and roamed a downtown slum, threatening to behead foreigners after U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police arrested dozens of people Wednesday. As gunfire crackled and two helicopters roared overhead, peacekeepers in armored personnel carriers moved into Bel Air, trying to put down a campaign by Aristide loyalists who have carried out gory beheadings in imitation of Iraqi insurgents.
Wednesday morning, the headless body of a man lay in the street in La Salines, a seaside slum. Last week, three police officers were decapitated when Aristide supporters stepped up protests demanding his return from exile in South Africa, launching what they called "Operation Baghdad."
One angry man in Bel Air thrust a gun into the face of an Associated Press reporter Wednesday, yelled expletives against President Bush and U.N. peacekeepers, then screamed: "We are going to kidnap some Americans and cut off their heads."
At least 19 people have been killed in Port-au-Prince. Relief workers say the violence could paralyze attempts to feed tens of thousands of people in the northwest port city of Gonaives, which was devastated by Tropical Storm Jeanne last month.
At least 50 people have been treated for gunshot wounds since Friday, Port-au-Prince General Hospital said.
Aristide loyalists had sealed off Bel Air, a warren of concrete homes overlooking the National Palace in Port-au-Prince. In Wednesday's operation, U.N. troops and Haitian police surrounded the district, searching cars and people at checkpoints near torched cars that residents were using to keep them out.
Police director Renan Etienne said they detained some 500 people for questioning during the sweep of Bel Air, but found no weapons.
"They were all bandits ... They had been firing at police," he told The Associated Press. He was unable to explain why no guns were found.
Police spokeswoman Jesse Coicou said 75 people were arrested.
On Tuesday, a dozen young men and children in Bel Air shot a man and tried unsuccessfully to hack off his head, accusing him of spying for rebels who overthrew Aristide, said Ninger Napoleon, a reporter for Radio Antilles.
The troops and police withdrew from Bel Air Wednesday morning, leaving deserted streets to men and boys armed with machetes, guns, knives, bottles and stones. They lit bonfires to block roads with torched cars, tires, mattresses and old furniture.
"We demand Aristide's return," they said.
One young man peeked out from behind a door and whispered "I just want to go to school. This violence is preventing me from living my life."
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue - whom protesters also have threatened to behead - accused pro-Aristide street gangs of instigating the violence. Aristide supporters say the police started it by firing at unarmed protesters.
"This threatens to paralyze all the humanitarian efforts we have in Gonaives. It's extremely serious," said Anne Poulsen of the U.N. World Food Program.
She said the unrest had scared away workers from the port, stranding 2,430 tons of food there.
The government has only 3,000 ill-equipped officers to police a country of 8 million people, and the Brazilian-led U.N. peacekeeping force has 3,000 troops - well under the 8,000 promised.
Some 750 peacekeepers are protecting relief food supplies and distribution for storm victims in Gonaives. At least 1,870 Haitians were killed by the tropical storm, and nearly 900 more are missing - most presumed dead.
In Gonaives, food aid has failed to reach thousands who are too weak, sick or old to get into rowdy food lines. More than 100,000 remain hungry nearly three weeks after Jeanne's passage, the International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies said.
Saint Amise Dorcelue said she has tried and failed four times to get food for herself and her five boys. Six months pregnant, Dorcelue was left penniless after her husband died trying to save his fishing boat from the storm.
"I'm hungry, too, but I can't fight or my baby might get hurt," the barefoot 30-year-old said, patting her stomach.
Gonaives had never recovered from a February rebellion that began when a street gang torched government buildings, released jailed criminals and forced police to flee. Dozens of people were killed.
Organization of American States Secretary-General Miguel Angel Rodriguez made a one-hour visit to Gonaives Wednesday.
"The most important thing is to keep the help coming with food and the health situation," he said.
Rodriguez said the OAS and the World Bank will soon begin a $30 million environmental project to help ease flooding
Organization of American States Secretary-General Miguel Angel Rodriguez made a one-hour visit to Gonaives Wednesday. "The most important thing is to keep the help coming with food and the health situation," he said.
I beg to differ.
Let the French handle this.They're good at it. NOT.
But . . . but . . if we don't feed them, then they won't have the strength to cut off our heads. It's UNFAIR!
/sarcasm
No wonder this sh!thole of a country hasn't progressed much in 200 years of independence.
Which is cheaper in the long run, rice or napalm?
We've got the Islamofacists to thank for this.
ATTENTION...Madeline Albright...foreign policy expert extrordinaire...you have a courtesy call....
I would like to take this opportunity to thanks MSM's gratuitous promotion of the idea of beheadings without actually showing them
Also the UN is due some thanks for the excellent job it does everywhere. Look how effective they are here in Haiti.
Let us the USA give more money to the UN so we can have more places on earth where innocent civilians are so effectively guarded by these highly motivated and effective PEACEKEEPERs.
SARCASM to the nth degree
This thread simply must have that "Not this ___ Again" picture.
Mebbe it won't be long before our own courts decide that beheading innocent is a protected form of free political speech. sigh.
Revoke the UN lease in Manhattan, and move them all to Haiti. If the parking-ticket shirking "diplomats" at the UN want to show everyone how to run a country, let Haiti be their shining example.
It reminded me of the chaotic scenes in Iraq in the first days after the war -- only the coalition troops didn't cut and run when the crowd swarmed the trucks, and the food got distributed.
Don't forget to thank the Clinton Admin. for putting Aristede back in power with millions of our dollars. Aristede was always a horrible dictator--that is why he was recently invited to leave.
vaudine
Every single time I hear the concept of the UN being in charge of Iraq, I picture this type of situation. I wonder how Kosovo is doing these days?
Gee, wouldn't condoms and "stern words" solve everything?
Yup, Aristede was a FOB ("Friend of Bill").
Midnight basketball
and
legalized drugs.
What a hellhole!
Prayers for all our missionaries down there. And the service organizations.
Why do we even bother to try to bring civilization to this godforsaken place?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.