19224: (Chamberlain) Ship Intercepted (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By RACHEL LA CORTE

   MIAMI, Feb 25 (AP) -- A freighter with 21 Haitians on board was
intercepted by the Coast Guard off the coast of Miami Beach on Wednesday,
hours after President Bush urged Haitians not to flee their homeland
despite escalating violence.
   Coast Guard Lt. Tony Russell said the approximately 200-foot ship had 28
people on board -- seven crew members and 21 Haitian nationals. It was
stopped about seven miles offshore about 5:30 p.m. Immigration and Coast
Guard officials boarded the ship two hours later.
   "The situation is under control and peaceful, and we're working to keep
it that way," he said. No injuries were reported.
   Russell would not confirm reports that the boat had been hijacked or
that the Haitians were seeking asylum.
   The vessel's last port of call was Gonaives, Haiti, the nation's
fourth-largest city and the site where rebels began the uprising Feb. 5.
   Earlier Wednesday, Bush repeated the United States' oft-stated policy in
recent days that it will turn back any Haitian refugees trying to reach
American shores.
   Rebels began an uprising Feb. 5 and control more than half of the
Caribbean nation about 650 miles from Miami.
   During Haiti's military dictatorship between 1991 and 1994, more than
65,000 Haitians were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard, and most were
sent back home. The flow of refugees eased after the United States sent
troops to Haiti in 1994 and restored President Jean-Bertrande Aristide to
power.