Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409230058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
Some demonstrators became angry at the Americans for failing to protect a man who, according to witnesses, was clubbed to death by a Haitian policeman.
After the disturbances, senior U.S. military officers here roared up to Haiti's army headquarters for a lengthy ``talk-to,'' as one American officer put it. At sunset, U.S. military police emerged from their bases at the airport and seaport to begin motor patrols along the perimeters.
The confrontations in the capital, which came as U.S. Marines swarmed ashore at Cap-Haitien on the northern coast, underlined the tensions in Haiti and the danger of factional violence that could drag in the Americans.
U.S. troops are walking a precarious path in trying to build democracy in the impoverished Caribbean nation. Their very presence could embolden mobs to violence against Haiti's military regime, but staying aloof runs the risk of being viewed by the masses as allies of hated Haitian soldiers and police.
Some American soldiers bridled at the orders that prevented them from intervening when police attacked supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first freely elected president, who was ousted in a 1991 coup.
``I feel terrible,'' said Specialist Douglas Walton of Cincinnati, a soldier in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division at the gates of the capital's port. ``To see people beaten and not be able to do anything...''
For now, U.S. officials said, the troops would not interfere in Haiti's domestic affairs. In Washington, Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned the risk of violence was high and said, ``We can be taking casualties at any moment.''
A day after soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., began landing at the Port-au-Prince airport, Marines extended the U.S. military operation to Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city.
U.S. troops in Port-au-Prince appeared to be concentrating on consolidating defense positions and supply depots. Convoys moved among the port, airport, an industrial park and a warehouse district where the Americans were setting up bases.
Following Tuesday's incidents, a senior U.S. Army official walked stiffly into Haiti's military headquarters for discussions.
Marine Lt. Col. Steve Hartly, commander of one of the two task forces landing Tuesday, said under the rules of engagement his men could step in only when murder or rape was involved.
A U.S. Army spokesman, Col. Barry Willey, said the Pentagon was ``looking closely'' at the rules of engagement in this situation but said he didn't expect any major changes.
Several thousand Haitians were gathered outside the Port-au-Prince port Tuesday, hailing the arriving Americans. Haitian police had held back, watching the crowd, but one officer at one point attacked a demonstrator, hitting him on the back of the neck with a club, witnesses said.
At least 500 angry Haitians massed around his body, angry over the death. Some blamed the Americans.
``If they came to help us, no one would be dead,'' said one demonstrator, Melax Dasluvaes. ``I don't know why they are here.''
The crowd briefly drove off the police by throwing grapefruit-size rocks and pieces of concrete. One policeman, bleeding from the stomach, was taken away to an ambulance. Another was chased by the crowd to a building.
But after reinforcements arrived, police fired tear gas at the crowd and charged, forcing 30 of the protesters to jump into the harbor to escape.
American soldiers loaded their assault rifles but took no action. Three U.S. Army Humvees arriving on the scene briefly separated the police and protesters but then drove off.
Disturbances also broke out near Cite Soleil, a stronghold of Aristide's supporters, and near the airport.
More than 5,000 people massed just 200 yards from a police post in Cite Soleil. Many sang ``We are Lavalas!'' - the long-repressed popular political movement of Aristide.
About a dozen Haitian policemen fired automatic weapons into the air and several officers dragged the demonstrators off U.S. Army vehicles. U.S. soldiers again did nothing.
About the same time at the airport, Haitians mobbed another Haitian, beating, choking and grabbing him. The man pleaded vainly for help from American soldiers 10 yards away.
Keywords:
INFOLINE FATALITY
by CNB