PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Police on Monday fired at peaceful protesters marking the one-year anniversary of the ouster of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least two people were killed and nearly a dozen were wounded.
About 2,000 protesters waving Aristide pictures and chugging rum started marching toward the National Palace when they encountered a police vehicle blocking the road in Bel Air neighborhood, an Aristide stronghold.
As crowds passed the vehicle, police fired tear gas, then bullets. With weapons drawn, U.N. peacekeepers surrounded the area.
Residents carried off the body of one man who appeared to be shot in the chest, and police removed the second about an hour later, after firing shots in the air.
Hundreds of U.N. soldiers from Peru and Brazil had accompanied protesters.
“This looked to be peaceful but for some reason, we are not sure why, the Haitian police arrived and decided to disband the demonstration,” said Cmdr. Carlos Chagas Braga, a spokesman for the 7,400-member U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Calls to police were not immediately returned.
Before police opened fire, demonstrators shouted slogans against President Bush, whom Aristide and his supporters blame for his Feb. 29 ouster. U.S. officials say Aristide left voluntarily. He is now in exile in South Africa.
“George Bush is the biggest terrorist!” the crowd yelled before shots rang out.
U.S. troops arrived the day Aristide fled and remained until June. Despite the presence of peacekeepers under Brazilian command, Haiti remains unstable.
Former soldiers in the army that Aristide disbanded in 1995 led the revolt last year. The police, seen as pawns of the U.S.-backed interim government of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, also have faced violent resistance from Aristide supporters.
Latortue’s government denies it has embarked on a campaign against Aristide supporters. Hundreds are jailed without charge, including former Prime Minister Yvonne Neptune.
The country plans general elections in October and November.
AP-ES-02-28-05 2145EST
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