Following the example of past student movements that helped topple two presidents, university students marched against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Wednesday in a protest marred by bloody clashes that left at least two dead and more than two dozen injured.
Aristide partisans armed with clubs, bottles and pistols swooped down from pickups to block the marchers, who were joined by thousands of anti-government demonstrators shouting "Freedom!" and "Down with Aristide!" as riot police fired shots to keep government partisans away.
PHOTO: AP
At the beginning of the protest, Aristide partisans attacked demonstrators, hitting one with a rock and shooting another. Later, police shot and killed an Aristide supporter after he opened fire on the crowd. One anti-government protester also was shot and killed.
At another leg of the march, government partisans opened fire, wounding two demonstrators. The Aristide supporters, known as chimeres or thugs, then surrounded a group of students, stabbing one and beating six others. Students beat two Aristide supporters.
News reports said that 30 people were injured and being treated at hospitals.
"We have no future," student Rodeny Williams said Wednesday as he marched to shouts of support by shopkeepers and street vendors. "We are not afraid."
Gunfire crackled throughout the day as smoke billowed from burning tire barricades and demonstrators regrouped when Aristide supporters attacked with bullets and rocks. Organizers stopped the march when police warned they could no longer guarantee security.
The anti-government demonstrators and students accuse Aristide of hoarding power and failing to help the poor. In a country where an estimated 40 percent of the 8 million people are under 18, the student's wishes carry weight and have historical clout.
Student protests and strikes helped oust former President Elie Lescot in 1946, followed by former President Paul Magloire in 1956. Their opposition also led to the weakening of the Duvalier family dictatorship, which imprisoned many students during its 29-year regime until 1986.
The marchers join a swelling youth protest movement as many face a bleak future. Most Haitians are jobless or without regular work, foreign investment is at a standstill and foreign visas to countries such as the US and France are increasingly hard to obtain.
"Under Aristide there will be no progress," said protester Leopold Willeens, a 26-year-old student who hopes to start a publicity agency. "I'm the first student in my family to go to university, and I want a better life."
Aristide rose to power by making promises to the poor and to the youth. In 1986, he helped start a home for street children, but his popularity among the youth was already waning when he proposed a new leader for Haiti's state-run university in 2002.
The government removed University of Haiti Rector Pierre-Marie Paquiot, saying Paquiot's mandate was up, and appointed an interim board.
But the students protested the removal of Paquiot and accused the government of violating the constitution, which protects the university's autonomy.
Paquiot was reinstated and has since become an icon of the student protest movement.
Last month, at least two dozen were injured in violence that broke out after police separated dozens of Aristide backers from about 100 students. Paquiot was beaten with an iron bar and at least four students were shot and wounded.
Student demonstrations have surged along with protests by others. Members of civic groups, clergy, business leaders and artists who oppose Aristide joined Wednesday's march.
"The signal we're sending today is that we want another Haiti," said Andy Apaid Jr., a businessman and prominent Aristide critic.
Tensions have been rising in the Caribbean country since Aristide's party swept disputed 2000 elections.
The opposition refuses to participate in elections unless Aristide steps down, but he plans to serve out his elected term until 2006.
Haitian sociologist Laennec Hurbon, who as a student fled to Paris under Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, said unlike past university students who were wealthier and against widely unpopular governments, the students today come from poor families who helped propel Aristide to power.
"Haiti has its own rhythm," said Hurbon. "To know the future, you must know its past, and the students have been a very important part of the past."
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS