A Haitian rebel leader has called on ex-soldiers, who helped oust former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to launch a guerrilla war to unseat the interim government that replaced him.
The call on Saturday came a day after the government asked UN troops to remove rebels who occupied Aristide's former home and called it their new headquarters.
"We called on former military from across the country to organize a guerrilla warfare to give a response to the government," said Remissainthes Ravix, the self-proclaimed commander of the former military, which took over the former Aristide compound on Thursday.
The stand-off over Aristide's home underlined the violence and tensions plaguing Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, despite the presence of some 6,000 Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping troops and police.
At the request of the Haitian government, UN peacekeepers stormed the compound on Friday, disarmed about 50 rebel former soldiers and bused them to the capital's police academy, where they remained on Saturday.
It was not clear what their status was, but Justice Minister Bernard Gousse said their stay at the academy would be temporary. He did not give any details.
"[Police Chief] Leon Charles and the government are responsible for what is happening in the country," said Ravix, who accused the government of betraying former soldiers.
The ex-soldiers, who joined a revolt against Aristide that pushed him into exile in February, have fallen out with the authorities.
The rebels are demanding that the army, disbanded by Aristide nine years ago, be reinstated and that former soldiers be given 10 years in back pay.
Interim authorities, led by Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, have turned down the back pay claim but have agreed to pay an "indemnity" before year's end.
The government has also said a decision on reinstating the military should be made by an elected government scheduled to take office in February 2006.
Rebel soldiers still control large chunks of the Caribbean nation of 8 million. Aristide, the former priest and champion of Haiti's poor, who faced accusations of corruption and despotism in recent years, is living in exile in South Africa.
About 200 people have been killed since early September in gang wars and clashes between Aristide foes and supporters of his Lavalas Family party.
Former military personnel in Petit-Goave, about 60 km south of Port-au-Prince, were holding a policeman hostage on Saturday after police in the neighboring town of Miragoane arrested and detained four rebel former soldiers who attacked a police station there.
The rebels said they would release the policeman in exchange for their colleagues.
Police officers in the provincial city of Mirebalais, in the Central Plateau -- controlled by the rebels -- have fled, fearing reprisals.
Ex-soldiers have confiscated automatic weapons from the police, according to a Haitian police spokeswoman, Jessie Coicou.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was