Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 29, 1994 TAG: 9409290069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI NOTE: ABOVE LENGTH: Medium
But gunshots slowed the first few steps toward democracy, with pro-army militiamen firing on marchers who support the return of elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. One man was critically wounded.
The shooting broke out just blocks from the seaside Legislative Palace, where politicians met under U.S. guard to begin work on an amnesty for the military leaders who ousted Aristide three years ago.
Ten pro-Aristide lawmakers ended their exile for the parliamentary session, flying in on a U.S.-chartered jetliner.
At least 3,000 jubilant well wishers, some standing on walls or hanging from trees, cheered as vans carried the legislators toward the white colonnaded building, which was sealed off by barbed wire and 600 American soldiers armed with assault weapons. Amnesty for the coup and the human rights abuses that followed was part of a last-minute deal between the ruling junta and an American delegation led by former President Jimmy Carter. The Sept. 18 deal forestalled a U.S. invasion.
U.S. officials have strongly backed an amnesty to defuse violence by desperate Haitian soldiers, who fear retribution if Aristide returns.
As American troops wearing camouflage fatigues looked on, several of the returning lawmakers hugged friends who greeted them as they stepped off a Boeing 737 jetliner from Miami.
Before they left Miami, several of the returning lawmakers said they opposed granting the military rulers amnesty, but would go along with it in order to restore the elected government to Haiti.
Human rights groups have blamed soldiers and army-backed gunmen for the deaths of about 3,000 people since the 1991 coup.
by CNB