Rebels Kill at Least 3 Haitian Policemen

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GONAIVES, Haiti - Police reinforcements fought bloody battles with gunmen as they tried to retake Haiti's fourth-largest city Saturday from rebels who seized it two days earlier in a challenge to President Jean- Bertrand Aristide.


At least three police were killed, and crowds mutilated the corpses.

...

Militants also have attacked police stations and forced out police in at least five small towns near Gonaives, Haitian radio reports said. Judge Walter Pierre told private Radio Ginen that armed men were occupying the police station in the town of Anse Rouge on Saturday and had confiscated weapons.

The rebellion had not yet reached Port-au-Prince, the capital, where throngs of government supporters marched Saturday to mark the third anniversary of Aristide's second inauguration.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&ncid=734&e=1&u=/ap/20040208/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_unrest

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1. Background info on Haiti from wsws.org:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/hait-f06.shtml


"...the Bush administration (fears) that the political crisis in Haiti could spiral out of control, triggering mass unrest in the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and a new influx of refugees to Florida. With U.S. forces in occupied Iraq facing growing popular resistance, Washington’s lies about Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction in tatters, and the US economy hobbled by mounting current account and budget deficits, the Bush administration does not want Haiti to suddenly become a flashpoint of regional instability—all the more so, as 2004 is an election year....

(The opposition group) is led by a loose coalition of disgruntled former Aristide followers, old figures of the Duvalier era, supporters of the bloody 1991 military coup, and a traditional Haitian elite known for its hatred for the “populace.” Cynically exploiting the mass disillusionment with Aristide, these elements are pushing for his removal from power, so that they can have their turn at plundering government assets.

Lacking any credibility among the popular masses, their hopes of sharing in the spoils of power rest on efforts to so disrupt the country as to render it ungovernable and thereby provoke a U.S. intervention. This was spelt out by a leader of the Student Federation at Haiti University, one Hervé Santilus, who was quoted in the New York Times last week as saying: “We’re just going to keep demonstrating to push Bush and the State Department to come get this toxic garbage out of here as fast as they can.”



Will the Bush administration intervene? It's not clear how they would do it. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic, next door to Haiti, is suffering an economic meltdown and is sending waves of refugees to Puerto Rico and Miami. The situtation in the Caribbean is getting more tense every day...


edited for punctuation

[LostInTheMaise]

2. Are these left or right wing rebels?

Who are we rooting for?

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3. mostly right-wing

check out the background article.

Aristide came in to power as a left-wing community organizer, but has since sold out his popular base by collaborating with the IMF. He doesn't have very much support anymore. Still, he's better than the rebels, who are trying to instigate a Bush takeover. The majority of the population is in the middle. (Like usual in the 3rd world.)