Police officer beheaded in Haiti's capital

The Associated Press ^ | 4-7-2005

[kingattax]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A policeman was beheaded and burned in Haiti's capital in the latest attack against a beleaguered police force accused of targeting supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, officials said Wednesday.

Police found the decapitated and burned body of a private security guard Tuesday on a street in St. Martin, a neighborhood near downtown Port-au-Prince, said Dan Moskaluk, a spokesman for the U.N. civilian police.

The guard was an off-duty Haitian police officer, said U.S. Army Capt. Tracey Golden, a U.N. military spokeswoman.

There were no suspects in his slaying - the fourth decapitation of a police officer reported in Haiti since September.

Aristide supporters accuse police of harassing them and carrying out executions.

Police have opened fire on two pro-Aristide marches in the recent weeks, killing three protesters. U.N. officials have criticised police for using excessive force, while the U.S.-backed interim government has defended police for doing their best in difficult circumstances.

Government officials say the 3,000-member police force is outgunned and outnumbered in the volatile nation of 8 million people.

Haiti has been gripped by outbursts of violence since a three-week uprising that drove Aristide into exile on Feb. 29, 2004.

He remains in South Africa.

At least 400 people have been killed since September in clashes between pro- and anti-Aristide gangs, police, peacekeepers and former soldiers who led the revolt last year.

U.N. officials said they received reports of sporadic gunfire throughout Port-au-Prince Tuesday, but could not confirm reports by Radio Metropole that two people were killed in shootings.

Moskaluk said a supermarket also was set ablaze Tuesday in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Delmas.

The violence came after Aristide supporters marched peacefully through Cite Soleil, a vast slum on the edge of the capital.

Peruvian peacekeepers battled street gangs in the slum of Cite Soleil on Sunday, and U.N. mission spokesman Lt. Col. Elouafi Boulbars said troops saw at least 11 dead or wounded fighters dragged from two vehicles after the gunbattle.

That number was up from an initial estimate of five dead or wounded.

Peacekeepers have been coming after armed gangs more aggressively inside the slum. U.N. and interim officials are struggling to control flashpoints of violence ahead of promised elections later this year.

Boulbars said peacekeepers have heard from several sources that Emanuel "Dread'' Wilme, a prominent pro-Aristide gang leader, was shot in the arm and abdomen in Sunday's fight. - AP

[Mr. K]

lets see... which former impeached president helped create this mess down there?

[mlc9852]

Haiti has been in turmoil for years. Doesn't seem anyone can change things. And Haitians who can will keep floating into Florida.

[xrp]

Haiti's been a mess since before it's independence. I don't think anything will ever fix that country. It has been a disaster for over 200 years.

[b4its2late]

lets see... which former impeached president helped create this mess down there?

I might be able to guess. Can you give me a few more hints?

;-)

[Uncle Miltie]

"Police officer beheaded in Haiti's capital"

Didn't realize the ROP was active down there...

[Victor]

Haiti....Clowntoon's "other" legacy.

[SJSAMPLE]

I demand to know Clinton's exit strategy!

How about a few billion dollars more?

[Lee Heggy]

"There were no suspects in his slaying"

Haitian 'suicide', happens all the time. If there were any perps involved in this they naturally would have shaved the fur off a black cat and buried the clippings under a threshold and made themselves invisible.

[twigs]

It has been a disaster for over 200 years.

With help from the French. Some things don't change.

[Fam4Bush]

My friend, Vanessa, left for Haiti today to bring a baby with severe medical needs to the U.S. for surgery. She wrote yesterday:

"I will be in Haiti for 10 days. I will come home sooner if I can get the medical Visa. As you all know things are heating up politically in Haiti. I will not go downtown if it is not safe. Please pray that a medical visa is issued quickly and we are safe while getting it."

She's always keenly on top of Haiti's political situation; looks as though things are not good. MSM won't touch it much for awhile.

Prayers for Vanessa and little Bernard are much appreciated.

[drpix]

" A policeman was beheaded and burned in Haiti's capital in the latest attack against a beleaguered police force accused of targeting supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, officials said Wednesday. "

"Had he been sitting in the Oval Office last weekend as rebel forces were threatening to enter Port-au-Prince, Senator John Kerry says, he would have sent an international force to protect Haiti's widely disliked elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "
Kerry Condemns Bush for Failing to Back Aristide (NYTimes 03/07/04)

Beheadings in Iraq. Now, beheadings in Haiti. And again, George Bush has us on the wrong side!
If only John F'n Kerry was President we could have been on the side of the beheaders and not the beheaded.
JOHN F'N KERRY IN 2008 - BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE