THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408170407
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
``Idle brains,'' Thomas Fuller wrote in 1732, ``are the devil's workhouses.''
Given fresh proof of the English clergyman's wisdom, the U.S. military said Tuesday it will try to find new recreational and educational activities to occupy more than 16,000 Haitians encamped at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.
But despite a miniriot on Saturday that caused minor injuries to 20 military police and 45 Haitians, there are no plans to arm the guards patrolling the tent cities built last month to accommodate the refugees.
Pentagon spokesman Dennis Boxx said American authorities attribute the melee to frustration over ``the boredom level'' and uncertainty among the Haitians about their futures.
U.S. officials don't condone the rock- and bottle-throwing and other violent actions that were part of the demonstration, he added, but ``you can understand that the frustration levels are up.''
In a visit to the camps three weeks ago, refugees could be seen playing soccer and baseball on makeshift fields they had marked out on their own in open areas. Some activities had been set up for them, including English classes.
Officials at the base don't believe that the violence, or the attempt by 120 Haitians to swim across the bay to communist Cuba, is a sign of things to come, Boxx said. But they recognize a need to find ways to keep the Haitians busy, he said, until they can be returned home or relocated.
``This was not an anti-U.S. demonstration - it was a pro-Aristide demonstration,'' Boxx said, referring to exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The U.S. opened the Guantanamo camps last month as thousands of Haitians took to the sea to escape their island's military dictatorship. The exodus was sparked by the Clinton administration's agreement to consider refugees for admission to the United States.
The refugee flow has slowed to a trickle since the administration reversed that stand and offered to keep the Haitians in ``safe havens'' at Guantanamo and elsewhere until Aristide is returned to power.
Saturday's demonstration was not disclosed by the Pentagon until late Monday afternoon after reporters began getting calls from families of service members stationed at the base. Boxx said that because of a breakdown in communications, Defense Secretary William Perry was unaware of the fracas until shortly before it was publicly revealed.
``The secretary was very unhappy'' about that, he said, and the military has taken steps to assure that top officials are kept abreast of any future problems at the base. by CNB