Hungry Haitians storm presidential palace in expanding food riots that threaten stability
JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
April 8, 2008 2:24 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Hungry Haitians stormed the presidential palace Tuesday to demand the resignation of President Rene Preval over soaring food prices, and U.N. peacekeepers chased them away with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Food prices, which have risen 40 percent on average since mid-2007, are causing unrest around the world. But nowhere do they pose a greater threat to democracy than in Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries where in the best of times most people struggle to fill their bellies.
''I think we have made progress in stabilizing the country, but that progress is extremely fragile, highly reversible, and made even more fragile by the current socio-economic environment,'' U.N. envoy Hedi Annabi said Tuesday after briefing the Security Council.
For months, Haitians have compared their hunger pains to ''eating Clorox'' because of the burning feeling in their stomachs. The most desperate have come to depend on a traditional hunger palliative of cookies made of dirt, vegetable oil and salt.
Riots broke out in the normally placid southern port of Les Cayes last week, quickly escalating as protesters tried to burn down a U.N. compound and leaving five people dead. The protests spread to other cities, and on Monday tens of thousands took to the streets of Port-au-Prince.
On Tuesday, demonstrators in the capital set fires, barricaded streets and looted stores, and a crowd tried to break down the gates of the presidential palace, demanding Preval's resignation.
''We are hungry!'' the crowd shouted. ''He must go!''
Preval, a soft-spoken leader backed by Washington, was at work in the palace during the protests, aides said. He has made no public statements since the riots began.
''I compare this situation to having a bucket full of gasoline and having some people around with a box of matches,'' said Preval adviser Patrick Elie. ''As long as the two have a possibility to meet, you're going to have trouble.''
The protesters also are demanding the departure of the 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers, whom they blame in part for rising food prices. The peacekeepers came to Haiti in 2004 to quell the chaos that followed the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
They helped usher in a democratic transition, but critics say both Preval and the international community have focused too much on political stability without helping to alleviate poverty. That could spell trouble not only for Preval, but for Haiti's fragile democracy as well.
''We voted Preval for a change. Nothing happened,'' said Joel Elie, 31, who like many Haitians is unemployed. ''We're tired of it and we can't wait anymore.''
While the peacekeepers spend more than US$500 million (euro320 million) a year in Haiti, the World Food Program has collected less than 15 percent of the US$96 million (euro61 million) it says Haiti needs in donations this year. The WFP issued an emergency appeal Monday for more.
Meanwhile, new customs procedures aimed at collecting revenues and stopping the flow of drugs has left tons of food rotting in ports, especially in the country's north. In a country where almost all food is imported, cargo traffic from Miami ground nearly to a halt, though shippers say intervention by Preval last month has improved the situation somewhat.
Government officials say the riots are being manipulated by outside forces, specifically drug smugglers who can operate more easily amid chaos and supporters of Guy Philippe, a fugitive rebel leader wanted in U.S. federal court in connection with a drug indictment.
Annabi, the U.N. envoy, said ''people with political motivations'' were exploiting the demonstrations, but didn't say who he was referring to.
Many in the crowds are demanding the return of the exiled Aristide, and thousands showed up Monday for a rally by a key Aristide ally, the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, in the oceanside slum of Cite Soleil.
But the anger among everyday Haitians over food prices is real.
''The government of America sees that the kids of America are eating and going to school - and that we Haitians are not,'' said protester Frantz Pascal, 45. ''For Haiti to move on, the high cost of living must go down.''
AP-WS-04-08-08 1703EDT
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/printArticle.jsp?ID=565276885366736662&Section=WORLD&Subsection=http://snipurl.com/23ulh