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Haitians live in mortal fear of their lawless police force

People scatter as black-clad police officers speed through crowded slums, a knee-jerk reaction these days as fearful residents accuse the force of summary killings and strong-arm tactics as the country prepares for elections this year.

The US and UN have tried and failed to build a protective Haitian police force over the years and, despite repeated defeats, offered help again last year after rebels ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide during a three-week revolt.

Mistrusted by residents who have seen political regimes use the police as brutal enforcers, Haiti's police are once again being blamed for operating above the law, allegedly targeting opponents and using trigger-happy tactics.

On Monday, five officers trying to block unarmed protesters escorted by UN peacekeepers fired tear gas, then bullets, into a crowd of hundreds.

When they stopped shooting, two men lay dead in the street.

"Police could have hit us by shooting that way," said one angry Brazilian peacekeeper.

This time the victims were Aristide supporters marking the first anniversary of his flight from Haiti with demands that he return from exile in South Africa.

A little more than a year ago, Haitian police were shooting at demonstrators calling for Aristide's downfall. Former soldiers led a three-week revolt to oust Aristide that left scores of policemen dead or mutilated.

Many police officers ran away from their posts. Some fled the country.

UN Civilian Police arrived last year to find a depleted, demoralized and outgunned force.

The US-backed interim government purged the force of 200 corrupt or inexperienced officers yet "some HNP officials were implicated in corruption, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking ... [and] committed human rights abuses,'' according to the US annual human-rights report, published on Monday.

Military historian Georges Michel said Haiti has a tradition of repressive law enforcers inherited from France colonizers. "Haiti was born in blood" during the only successful slave rebellion that won independence in 1804 "and when we had massacred all the whites, we adopted their plantation mentality," he said.

The interim government has conducted a massive recruiting campaign, but the force is still tiny compared to the security risks facing the impoverished country of some 8 million people.

"They have approximately between 2,000 and 3,000 [officers]," said Dan Moskaluk, a spokesman for the training and support mission run by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Haiti's police, armed with new M-16 rifles, sawed-off shotguns and pistols, arrive in slums filled with Aristide supporters where their opponents often are better armed, mostly with guns looted during the uprising.

Despite numerous telephone calls about various incidents, and a visit to the police headquarters, reporters have been unable to get police to comment for more than a week.

One officer said they were trying to make a difference, but still are mistrusted.
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