Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410050041
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
A joyous crowd of Haitians gathered to cheer the Americans. As the soldiers pulled away from the paramilitary headquarters, the Haitians surged forward in a jubilant mass and gleefully trashed the place, smashing everything they could lay hands on.
``We love you! We love you!'' Haitians shouted at the soldiers who had raided the headquarters of the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, known as FRAPH.
The club-wielding demonstrators smashed furniture and beat on mattresses, water bottles, refrigerators, telephones - anything associated with FRAPH. One man even turned his anger on a stapler, repeatedly throwing it to the ground.
The raid came hours after Haitians in the southwestern town of Les Cayes shot and wounded a U.S. Special Forces soldier - the second American casualty since U.S. troops arrived two weeks ago.
The wounded soldier was identified as Staff Sgt. Donald M. Holstead of Tampa, Fla., assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group in Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was making good progress after surgery for a bullet wound in the abdomen, officials said. He is believed to have wounded two of his assailants, who fled and left a trail of blood.
``His prognosis is great,'' said Lt. Gen. Hugh Shelton, U.S. commander in Haiti.
There was no indication the raid was in response to the shooting.
Rather, it seemed part of a more aggressive effort by the United States to pave the way for the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. As recently as Friday, the Americans stood back while FRAPH members shot and killed pro-Aristide demonstrators.
U.S. forces also raided FRAPH headquarters Monday in Cap-Haitien, the nation's second largest city, and detained 75 people, a Pentagon official said in Washington on condition of anonymity.
Troops raided three other sites in Port-au-Prince, including two suspected weapons caches, where they found shotguns, grenades, rifles, pistols and explosives, the official said.
A total of 115 people were arrested in Monday's actions, during which U.S. troops encountered no resistance, he said.
Emmanuel Constant, the head of FRAPH, urged his followers to be calm.
He said the U.S. raids were alienating Aristide's political opponents as well as many in the private sector he needs if he is to pull the country together after he returns by Oct. 15.
If previous U.S. demonstrations of reserve disappointed many Haitians, Monday's muscle-flexing went a long way toward repairing the damage.
Gally Droit, a student watching the joyous smashing of FRAPH headquarters in Port-au-Prince and the adjoining Normandie Bar, a FRAPH hangout, was anxious that the world view the scene for what it was.
``To get rid of something evil is good,'' he said. ``But we don't want to loot these things. We Haitians are not thieves. This is spontaneous. It is not to steal this material, it is to destroy it.''
After letting the people smash and break for an hour or so, a small military patrol returned and took up positions near the FRAPH headquarters.
The raid began in late morning when American troops surrounded the FRAPH headquarters with tanks and Humvees. About 100 Army soldiers were involved in the operation, according to Brig. Gen. George Close. Forty people from the scene remained in military custody later Monday, military spokesmen said.
The Americans seized several machine guns and Uzi automatic weapons, as well as machetes, clubs and other weapons.
by CNB