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Aristide accused of promoting violence

Haiti's interim prime minister accused ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide of backing a wave of violence from exile in South Africa, while a Chinese police unit arrived to join a UN peacekeeping force that has increasingly faced gunfire in the streets.

Many of the 95 Chinese riot police smiled and waved on Sunday after stepping off a jet for their country's first contribution to a UN mission in the Western Hemisphere.

Sporadic gunfire rang out later as Brazilian troops and Haitian police rolled through the Bel Air slum removing charred cars and scrap metal that Aristide loyalists have used to block streets. Brazilian Colonel Luiz-Felipe Carbonell said no one was reported injured, and many of the gunshots apparently were fired in the air by police and civilians.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue blamed Aristide for violence that has left at least 55 dead since Sept. 30, when his partisans took to the streets to demand his return from exile.

Aristide "is the symbol of violence. He believes in that," Latortue told reporters, adding that South African President Thabo Mbeki is "taking a big risk" by aligning himself with Aristide.

"No respectable president would allow a person in his territory to organize violence in another country," Latortue said, without giving specifics. "Mr Mbeki is not respecting international law."

There was no immediate response from the South African government. Aristide has long denied links to violence. He also has accused France and the US of "kidnapping" him when he left the Caribbean country on a US-chartered plane on Feb. 29 amid a bloody revolt. France and the US deny it.

Latortue spoke after laying a wreath at the tomb of independence hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines on the 198th anniversary of his death. Dessalines' battle cry against French colonizers was "Cut off their heads and burn down their houses!"

Some Haitians said they feared the anniversary could bring a new outbreak of violence. Streets in Bel Air grew deserted Sunday afternoon when police cars and Brazilian armored vehicles arrived, with a UN helicopter circling overhead.

One elderly merchant tried to pass the police with a stack of empty baskets on his head, but a police officer shouted for him to show he was unarmed. Trembling, the man took the load from his head and laid it on the ground before picking up the baskets again and walking on. Other passers-by held their hands in the air to show they were unarmed.

Haitian police and Jordanian peacekeepers tried to clear roadblocks Saturday in the same pro-Aristide stronghold but came under heavy gunfire and quickly withdrew, witnesses said.

The 95 Chinese riot police who arrived on Sunday are to support the Haitian police and provide training in riot control, Contingent Commander Zhao Xiao Xun said. They joined 30 other Chinese police who arrived last month.

They are now among more than 3,700 UN peacekeepers in the Brazilian-led UN force, which was originally envisioned to have 8,000 members. UN officials say more troops are to arrive soon.

Aristide supporters say Haitian police started the bloodshed, while the government blames Aristide militants and a terror campaign dubbed "Operation Baghdad."

Police reportedly killed two protesters on Sept. 30 and the bodies of three beheaded police were found the next day.

Police and peacekeepers have detained scores of suspects in the violence during repeated sweeps through the Bel Air slum. Before the troops and police arrived Sunday, Aristide loyalists stood by roadblocks keeping watch.

One man who refused to give his name demanded the authorities release dozens of detained comrades and said: "If, by Tuesday, the government has not responded to our demands, we will respond in the strongest way possible."
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