- Haiti's ousted president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, today
called for peaceful resistance to the "occupation" of his homeland
in his first public comments since he was forced to flee a bloody rebellion.
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- Speaking at a press conference in the Central African
Republic, where he has been in exile since March 1, Mr Aristide insisted
he was still the president of the Caribbean state - despite the swearing-in
of an interim president.
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- Mr Aristide said: "I am the democratically elected
president and I remain so. I plead for the restoration of democracy. We
appeal for a peaceful resistance."
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- He also repeated his assertion that he was kidnapped
and forced from power in a coup overseen by the US - a claim the White
House has dismissed as "nonsense".
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- "The fact is there was a political abduction,"
said Mr Aristide today.
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- His comments came after renewed violence in Haiti yesterday.
Suspected supporters of the exiled leader sprayed gunfire into a crowd
of thousands of marchers celebrating his downfall, killing at as many as
six people and wounding many more.
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- The marchers - shouting "Try Aristide! Jail Aristide!"
- demanded he face prosecution for alleged corruption and killings committed
by his militant supporters.
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- The shooting prompted US marines, who were policing the
march, to return fire. This was their first armed action since arriving
as part of an international peacekeeping force a week ago.
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- Prime Minister Yvon Neptune condemned the killings. He
also defended the marines' return of fire, saying the soldiers abided by
"rules of engagement [that] permit proportional force".
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- Mr Neptune - an Aristide appointee whom protesters have
also demanded be tried - ordered the police to search for perpetrators
and "start disarming all who carry illegal weapons".
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- The main rebel leader, Guy Philippe, who was hoisted
on to the shoulders of protesters yesterday and hailed a hero, promised
to disarm last week.
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- However, his fighters say they will surrender their arms
only after Mr Aristide's militants have done the same.
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- The latest attack will strengthen that resolve. It could
also further complicate the formation of a national unity government to
resolve the political rivalries at the heart of Haiti's crisis.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1164862,00.html
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