Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 1, 1993 TAG: 9311010136
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
Meanwhile, a Navy amphibious assault ship with about 650 Marines aboard has joined the multinational force enforcing the partial embargo of Haiti, the Defense Department said Sunday. But it said they were there strictly on standby.
The troops aboard the USS Nassau completed training exercises at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before the ship sailed into position off Haiti, said a Pentagon spokeswoman.
Later Sunday, a coalition of 20 small right-wing political movements demanded the resignation of Aristide, army commander Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras and U.N. envoy Dante Caputo - the three men who worked out a U.N. plan in July for restoring democracy in Haiti.
The groups were led by the army-backed Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti.
The group's leader, Emmanuel Constant, said the U.N. plan "is completely dead" and Caputo should be replaced by Colin Powell, retired chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was unclear whether the proposal has the support of the ruling military.
"Aristide is not part of the picture. He's not even worth impeachment now," another rightist, Gerard Bissainthe, said.
U.N. spokesman Eric Falt dismissed the resignation demand. "These individuals don't have any legitimacy," he said. "We're involved in the negotiating process and intend to continue," with a meeting set for Wednesday in Port-au-Prince.
Across the Avenue of Liberty, a prominent businessman looked on sadly. "I don't see how we are getting out of this thing," Gerald Allen said, referring to the political and economic impasse. Three months ago, he closed his weekly Journal du Commerce because of the collapse of legitimate businesses in the face of a thriving contraband market.
"There is nothing left to defend," Allen said.
Keywords:
INFOLINE
by CNB