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| Haiti Rebels: Aristide Made Error |
| 2004-02-24 |
| Sitting poolside and fingering assault rifles, rebel leaders bent on ousting Haiti’s president said Monday his big mistake was sending them home years earlier with their guns. All three have a vendetta against Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "We don’t want any more bloodshed. We just want Aristide to leave," Guy Philippe told The Associated Press in an interview. "Of course, if he doesn’t, then we’ll string him up by his puppy’s guts with a baby duck jammed in his mouth!" He used to be the police chief in Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second-largest city of 500,000 that rebels seized with little resistance on Sunday, the biggest prize in their 18-day revolt. "I think Cap-Haitien was fairly easy to take," Philippe said. "No one wants to fight for Aristide anymore. We want the people to take advantage of their freedom." The only ones fighting for Aristide are those who profited from his rule. Philippe has relied on guerrilla tactics, following a strategy crafted by ancestors who launched Haiti’s revolution to halt slavery from this city two centuries ago. The rebels, whose size has tripled with new recruits added in each town they seize, have systematically driven enemies out, won over the population and moved onto the next target. Wash, rinse, repeat. They effectively control the north now and the central Artibonite District where more than 1 million people live. The triumvirate of leaders that has emerged to command a 300-strong rebel force has a vendetta against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who in 1995 disbanded the army that had ousted him. "He made a big mistake sending us home with our guns" said Remissainthe Ravix. "There’s no such thing as the former Haitian army now. We have the weapons and the expertise to take the country. Nothing can stop us." Aristide thought he might need their guns at some point, took a risk that came back to bite him. The commanders are Philippe, an Ecuadorian-trained army officer who listens to Motown music, plays ping-pong and is a self-proclaimed ladies’ man; Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a leader of a former army death squad accused of killing thousands who has a penchant for gold-rimmed aviator glasses; and Ravix, a muscle-bound ex-army corporal trained in guerrilla tactics. Sitting poolside and fingering assault rifles, eyeing each other, wondering who to trust and who to kill first when the time is right. It’s "Hatian Survivor", next season on Fox! Their next target is Port-au-Prince, the real prize for the commandoes who plan on arresting Aristide and say Haitian history has taught them how to do it. It was in the forests outside Cap-Haitien that a former slave named Boukman in 1791 began and uprising that spread throughout the country until the French were driven away 12 years later, their plantations left in smoking ruin. Another fine example of French military history. On Monday, smoke billowed from the colonial mansion of Mayor Wilmar Innocent, police stations, the courthouse and other government buildings torched by rebels and residents. Soon to be rebuilt by Halliburton Construction, Inc. Well, some body will say it. "We have the same blood running through our veins as Boukman, who was fighting for his freedom and fighting for his country’s freedom," said the slight and fresh-faced Philippe, 35, reclining on lounge chair at the poolside. Using the hillside Mont Joli Hotel as their temporary command center, the rank-and-file rebels are told to stay sharp and steer clear of alcohol. The commanders, however, take breaks to sip Prestige, Haiti’s national beer, and coordinate their assaults. That "not drinking" stuff being for the little people. Some rebels are using the submachine guns, assault rifles and pistols they had in the army. Others have new weapons, some confiscated from police stations, others donated by secret backers. "We cannot be outgunned," says Chamblain, switching from Creole to Spanish he learned in neighboring Dominican Republic. Some rebels are Haitian-Dominicans. Philippe fled there in 2000 when he was accused of coup-plotting. Chamblain has lived there for eight years. Haiti had convicted him in absentia for his role in a 1994 massacre and the 1993 assassination of Aristide financier Antoine Izmery and sentenced him to life imprisonment. "We’re back!" The rebels have asked for volunteers to keep government services running until they oust Aristide. After that, they want to hold presidential and legislative elections, and say they will not fall back into Haiti’s historic pattern of military dictatorships. "We’re not plotting a coup," Chamblain says. "We’re plotting to liberate the people." "ken u han be mi lips? ’anks." Many in this city of 500,000 have cheered in support of the rebellion — a sharp contrast to three years ago when the city was an Aristide stronghold. And if Aristide took the city back, they’d cheer him as well. Whoever has the guns, rules. Some, however, say the rebels are no better than Aristide or any other leader that Haitians have suffered through 32 coups d’etat (during) the 29-year Duvalier family dictatorship. "It’s all the same," said Solomon Ronel, 25. "It’s all terrible." Yup |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 beep beep--ungowa--black power!! |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2004-2-25 3:29:03 AM |
| #3 Hiryu, had the local citizens been armed, then you are right, they would have taken care of the guys with guns - but not in the way that you mean it. A well armed citizenry can stop roving bands of thugs when the government can't or won't do it. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-24 1:36:38 PM |
| #2 This has little to do with gun control and more with making sure always to take good care of the guys with the guns. |
| Posted by: Hiryu 2004-2-24 11:24:34 AM |
| #1 sooo..tell me the benefits of gun control again? |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-24 11:14:21 AM |