Haitian rebel vows to lay down arms

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haiti's key rebel leader promised Wednesday his forces would lay down their arms after 1,000 U.S. Marines began patrolling the impoverished capital to restore order and prepare for the arrival of international peacekeepers.

If Guy Philippe, a rebel boss and former police chief, can make good on his vow, it would mark the end of the rebellion that broke out Feb. 5, drove President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into African exile Sunday and left at least 130 Haitians dead.

The 15-nation Caribbean Community, meanwhile, refused to join an international peacekeeping force in Haiti and called for an independent international inquiry into Aristide's allegations that he was forced out of office by the United States.

Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said CARICOM was "extremely disappointed" at the involvement of "Western partners" in the hasty departure of Aristide.

Patterson, speaking for the trading bloc after an emergency meeting in the Jamaican capital, criticized the U.N. Security Council, saying it had ignored an urgent Caribbean appeal to it on Thursday to send peacekeepers to Haiti before Aristide was forced out.

Aristide remained in the Central African Republic, where he had been flown to exile in a U.S. government-chartered jet, unable so far to find a country that will grant him permanent residence.

The Marines moved out of their bivouac at the presidential palace Wednesday in a first reconnaissance mission since they began arriving on Sunday. They walked and drove machine-gun mounted Humvees 30 blocks over trash-strewn streets.

Marine vehicles pushed burned cars from roadways, and riflemen watched the streets for any signs of resistance. Encountering none, the Marines returned to the palace that had been the seat Aristide's power before his departure Sunday, marking the second time he had been deposed from power.

The death toll in the rebellion has continued to rise despite Aristide's ouster, reaching at least 130 Wednesday as workers at the Port-au-Prince hospital said an additional 30 bodies had been brought to the morgue since Sunday.

Holding out the hope that the spasms of violence would now end, Philippe said rebels wanted peace.

"Now that there are foreign troops promising to protect the Haitian people . . . and they have given the guarantee to protect the Haitian people . . . we will lay down our arms," Philippe told a news conference.

Some of his fighters looked on glumly as Philippe said: "This may be the last statement that we're giving here in the name of the Liberation Front."

One of the rebels said, however, there was no question fighters would obey orders.

Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds and Ian James in Port-au- Prince contributed to this report.

Copyright C 2004 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.