Fri, Jan 02, 2004 - Page 6 News List

Little joy to mark Haiti's bicentennial

TROUBLED HISTORY Haiti's slaves smashed Napoleon's troops 200 years ago, but since then the republic's fortunes have only gone downhill

AFP , PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

"We are counting on the support of the people," he said yesterday, adding he does not expect trouble.

Meanwhile, preparation for the celebration was in evidence throughout the capital, with podiums under construction and fresh paint being applied to kiosks and streetcorners.

But once the celebrating is over, Haiti, two-thirds of whose population lives below the poverty level, will face yet another crisis. On Jan. 12 parliamentary terms of office run out, posing the prospect of an institutional vacuum that could deepen political tensions.

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