Disarmament deadline passes without progress in Haiti

Thursday, September 16, 2004

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A disarmament deadline passed without progress yesterday as Haiti's US-backed government faced a looming power struggle with rebels unwilling to surrender control since they ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February.

Haitian police and government officials set the deadline in July for the rebels, former soldiers and Aristide supporters to disarm by Sept 15 without facing arrest.

The deadline, however, disintegrated with a loosely worded accord signed over the weekend that called for more dialogue. The rebels, which include former soldiers who overthrew Aristide the first time in a 1991 coup, have grown more vocal in their demands.

The former soldiers say Aristide illegally disbanded them and they are now owed backpay and jobs. The former soldiers say they will not disarm until their demands are met - a point of contention with Haiti's struggling police who are trying to maintain a fragile peace.

"We cannot hand over our arms, and I think the government understands that," said Remissainthe Ravix, a former colonel in Haitian army who is commanding the rebels, some of whom have taken over a police station in the southern city of Petit Goave.

There was no explanation from the Haitian government on the apparent backtrack. The deadline set in a letter dated July 8 was signed by interim prime minister Gerard Latortue.

"Sept 15 is not an end date," said Jean-Robert Saget, a spokesman for Latortue. "The prime minister has found an amicable solution with the ex-military, which is negotiations."

Bands of rebels and former soldiers launched a three-week rebellion in February that ended with the ouster of Aristide on Feb 29 and the arrival of a US-led peacekeeping force, which has since been replaced by a 3,000-member UN force led by Brazilian troops.

When the US-led force ended its mission in June, it collected about 200 weapons. UN troops have not confiscated any weapons, said Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, a UN spokesman.

UN Mission Chief Juan Gabriel Valdes said he supported the government's efforts to achieve disarmament through dialogue before resorting to force.