US condemns Haiti's deadly crackdown on protesters

Saturday, January 10, 2004

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): The United States on Friday condemned the deadly crackdown by Haitian police on anti-government protesters this week, which left two dead and about 30 injured.

"We're condemning the actions of the Haitian government in response to the political demonstrations that occurred January 7 in Port-au-Prince," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"Some police officers at these demonstrations collaborated with heavily armed hired gangs to attack the demonstrators," he said.

"We believe these actions contradict the government's own declaration that it seeks compromise, and we call on the government to end immediately its efforts to suppress peaceful dissent."

Leading rights watchdog Amnesty International also called for an end to the violence in the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation, urging political leader to reign in their supporters and calling on police to respect the right to protest.

"Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the nearly incessant clashes between pro-and anti-government activists in Haiti, in which several people have lost their lives already this year," the London-based group said in a statement.

"We are fearful of the human rights impact of this spiral of violence, and ask the authorities, with the cooperation of political parties, to immediately bring those responsible to justice," it said.

Gunfire and clashes broke out Wednesday around an anti-government demonstration in Port-au-Prince, on the eve of a two-day general strike called by the opposition to press its demand for President Jean Bertrand Aristide to step down.

The strike succeeded in shutting down most shops in the capital, although street vendors and open markets remained open. Public transport ran less frequently than usual, and state-run banks were the only financial institutions that opened their doors Friday.

But the strike was not observed in Haiti's second city of Cap-Haitien, and failed to take off in other regions.

Meanwhile, two homes belonging to Aristide supporters were burned down Wednesday night in the town of Gonaives by unknown armed attackers, a local journalist told AFP.

And the bullet-ridden body of businessman Claude Bernard Lauture, who was kidnapped Tuesday, was found at the morgue Port-au-Prince General Hospital.

The Haitian capital has seen mounting tension in recent months as the campaign against Aristide, a former priest, has gathered momentum. The unrest overshadowed celebrations on January 1 of the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence from France.

The opposition has accused Aristide of corruption and mismanagement, demanding that he stand down. Aristide, who still has two years of his five-year term to serve, has refused. 

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