22673: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Guns (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By PETER PRENGAMAN

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 12 (AP) -- Haitian police and top government
officials have given armed rebels and militants loyal to ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide two months to hand over their guns before facing
arrest.
   The Sept. 15 deadline allows time for armed factions to cooperate by
turning in illegal weapons while also allowing the police additional time
to strengthen, Police Inspector General Jean Yonel Trecil said Monday.
   "We are trying to take a peaceful approach," Trecil said. "We don't want
to go too brusquely."
   The deadline also was spelled out last week by top government and police
officials in an open letter to rebel leaders and prominent Aristide
supporters. The letter, dated July 8, was signed by five top government
leaders, including interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue.
   Police say most weapons on the street in Haiti are illegal. But the
police force -- trying to rebuild and reorganize following the three-week
rebellion that led to Aristide's Feb. 29 ouster -- has been ill-equipped to
aggressively root out illegal weapons.
   Leaders of both Aristide supporters and opponents have promised to put
down their guns if the other side does the same.
   Disarming both sides is a major obstacle to stability in the Western
Hemisphere's poorest nation. A number of Haitians see Aristide as the
legitimate leader, raising doubts about the interim government's control
among armed groups.
   Before handing over command to U.N. peacekeepers last month, U.S.-led
troops collected about 200 weapons.
   Police from several countries now are here to assist the Haitian police
as part of the Brazilian-led U.N. peacekeeping mission.
   As leaders of the U.N. military force in Haiti, Brazilian troops are
expected to aid Haitian police in disarmament efforts.
   "We've been pushing for the police to begin disarmament," Brazilian
Cmdr. Carlos Chagas Braga said.
   Chagas said that beyond helping the Haitian police with disarmament,
U.N. forces were drawing up their own plan to remove weapons, but he
declined to give further details.
   Gilvert Angervil, spokesman for Aristide's Lavalas Party, said the
interim government was unconstitutional and therefore couldn't expect
people to comply.
   "The fact that they have to announce the decision shows this government
has no legitimacy," Angervil said.
   Aristide, now temporarily exiled in South Africa, has said he was forced
out by U.S. and French forces -- a charge flatly denied by Washington and
Paris.
   Top leaders of the rebels who staged the uprising against Aristide
couldn't immediately be reached for comment about the disarmament plan.