Rebels threatened to take over Haiti's second-largest city unless President Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned, as the embattled leader turned down a partial solution to a bloody uprising French aid groups said could soon turn into a humanitarian disaster.
"We are not indifferent to the massacres committed by Aristide's people, and if he does not resign we will liberate Cap-Haitien, then the West," rebel leader Guy Philippe said Wednesday in the rebel-held northern city of Gonaive.
"The international community must tell him to resign quickly, or else we will take the palace," Philippe said in a reference to the National Palace and presidential seat in Port-au-Prince, which is in Haiti's western department.
Philippe, a former police chief, spoke after armed anti-government rebels renamed their movement the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti and made him their commander.
The UN Security Council and South American leaders called for a peaceful solution to the escalating crisis in Haiti, where more than 55 people have been killed in the past two weeks in an armed uprising against the government.
Aristide, meanwhile, refused to name a new prime minister who would enjoy the support of the opposition, as part of a compromise solution for defusing the crisis put together by the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom).
"If you are talking about the opposition that is publicly supporting terrorists, don't think I will have the irresponsibility of handing them over such a post," Aristide said Wednesday in an interview with Radio Canada.
Caricom, which is opposed to a forced removal of the Haitian president, has also called for freeing political prisoners and disbanding armed militias.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS