Shooting disrupts march by Aristide opponents

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Shots were fired and at least one demonstrator killed Sunday during a march to demand that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide be tried for corruption and killings by armed militants.

As crowds gathered in front of the presidential National Palace, witnesses said they saw pro-Aristide militants open fire. The identity of the shooters could not immediately be confirmed.

The body of one demonstrator was left on a sidewalk in the central square. U.S. Marines helped treat at least six people who were injured in the violence, many bleeding profusely. Witnesses also saw two Haitian police officers who had been shot and injured.

'Have to do something'

After the shooting, a truck with loudspeakers paraded around the palace, blasting music. One man speaking over one of the van's loudspeakers shouted at the U.S. Marines: "People are dying every day in this country. You have to do something about it."

Pro-Aristide militants had canceled a counter-march, saying they feared reprisal attacks and that peacekeepers offered them no protection. Their protest was rescheduled for today.

"The Americans are only here to protect those who helped oust Aristide," said Ednar Ducoste, 23. "If we had guns, we would be fighting against them right now."

Earlier two leaders of the monthlong rebellion that ousted Aristide joined the crowd, signing autographs for demonstrators. Guy Philippe, a former Aristide police chief accused of coup-plotting, was hoisted onto supporters' shoulders as they chanted "Guy Philippe -- hero! Aristide -- zero!"

During the march in Port-au-Prince, protesters tore down a billboard that displayed Aristide's picture and the slogan: "Haiti is the mother of freedom." They carried it to the palace and set it on fire, as military helicopters circled overhead and black smoke billowed from the front gate.

The protesters also cheered for Louis-Jodel Chamblain, an ex-soldier convicted in the killings of Aristide supporters. He was among the most prominent leaders of the rebels, who began their uprising Feb. 5 in Haiti's north.

Near the state hospital, the stench rose from more than 200 bodies rotting in the morgue, most from the rebel insurgency that drove Aristide to flee exactly a week ago.

A morgue worker said the latest bodies -- two men with gunshot wounds -- were brought in Friday, more evidence that the latest round of bloodshed is not over in the Caribbean nation with a 200-year history of violent politics.

Rebels have refused to give up their weapons, despite Philippe's pledge Wednesday to do so. Marines have faced hostility -- so far, only shouted insults -- from armed Aristide militants furious over their leader's ouster and what they call "an occupation army."

Sunday's anti-Aristide crowd also took up a cry of "Help, yes. Occupation, no!"

It swelled quickly to thousands who ran and danced through the city, chanting, "Try Aristide! Jail Aristide!"

Businessman Liastaud Michel, 56, called the event "a victory march ... to celebrate. We want things to change."

The ex-president released a statement Sunday through government officials in the Central African Republic, where he is in exile, saying he was "well-looked after" by his hosts. He has said the United States forced him from power, something Washington denies.

Outside Port-au-Prince, where U.S. Special Forces and French legionnaires have deployed, rebels groups, including a former street gang and ex-soldiers of the army disbanded by Aristide, insist they will not surrender their weapons until the peacekeepers disarm pro-Aristide militants.

The challenge of disarmament is just one of many stumbling blocks facing the impoverished Caribbean nation.

A recently appointed seven-member "Council of Sages" was to meet for a third day Sunday in the capital to choose a new prime minister. Officials said they hoped to have a decision by Tuesday.

One possibility is Lt. Gen. Herard Abraham, probably the only Haitian army officer to voluntarily surrender power to a civilian. Abraham succeeded ousted Gen. Prosper Avril in 1990 and immediately handed power to Haiti's Supreme Court justice. That allowed the transition that led to Haiti's first free elections in December 1990, which Aristide won in a landslide.

Another choice is Smarck Michel, a businessman who was Aristide's prime minister in 1994-1995 but resigned over differences in economic policy.

The U.S. Marine presence is the third American military intervention in Haiti, which has suffered under civilian and military dictators since a slave rebellion won independence from France in 1804.

The United States sent troops in 1915 who occupied the country for 25 years. In 1994, 20,000 troops came to end a brutal military dictatorship, halt an exodus of boat people to Florida and restore Aristide, who had been ousted in 1991.

Aristide was a wildly popular slum priest when he became Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1990. But his popularity diminished after he was re-elected in 2000. Haitians said he failed to improve their lives, condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack his political opponents.