[ppi] [ppiindia] pemberontak Haiti akan menyerang ibukota haiti-- rasanya akan ada banyak korban

** ppi-india **
Rebel Fighters Converge on Haiti Capital=20=20=20=20
13 minutes ago=20=20

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer=20

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti - Rebels began moving toward Haiti's capital of=20
Port-au-Prince on Thursday and are awaiting the order to attack, a=20
guerrilla leader told The Associated Press.=20

The leader, Guy Philippe, said their mission was to arrest President=20
Jean-Bertrand Aristide if he did not resign, so he could be tried on=20
charges ranging from corruption to murder.=20

"I don't want him to die. It would be too easy. He has to pay for=20
what he has done to the Haitian people," Philippe said in an=20
interview with the AP in Cap-Haitien, the country's second-largest=20
city that fell to the rebels Sunday.=20

Pressure is mounting for Aristide to resign, with France blaming him=20
for the chaos in its former colony in the 3-week-old rebellion and=20
urging that he be replaced by a transitional government. The U.N.=20
Security Council scheduled a meeting for later Thursday.=20


Foreigners are fleeing Haiti amid isolated looting, and President=20
Bush (news - web sites) said the United States is encouraging the=20
international community to provide a strong "security presence."=20

"We've decided to go toward Port-au-Prince. They're on their way,"=20
said Philippe, leader of the uprising that has overrun half of Haiti=20
and killed at least 80 people. "They're taking their places. They=20
know what to do."=20

Aristide, who has shown determination to keep power, has said a rebel=20
attack on the capital could kill thousands.=20

Most of the barricades that had been erected by Aristide supporters=20
in Port-au-Prince were removed Thursday and streets were empty,=20
except for motorists lining up for dwindling supplies of gasoline.=20

The rebel movement already has sleeper cells in the capital but they=20
would be reinforced by fighters from rebel groups moving in from=20
variety of locations in the north, Philippe said.=20

Asked if an attack was imminent, he said: "It doesn't mean that we're=20
going to attack today. We're just going to take our positions and=20
wait for the right time."=20

Scouts were checking "pockets of resistance," he said. That might=20
include the government-held town of St. Marc, on the main road from=20
Gonaives to Port-au-Prince.=20

On Wednesday night, rebel commander Winter Etienne and others crowded=20
around a map of Haiti on the wall of the Mont Joli Hotel, discussing=20
the best route to take and whether to use boats to get around St.=20
Marc.=20

"It won't take a lot of days. We don't have all our lives to wait for=20
what a dictator is going to do," Philippe said Thursday.=20

A government official said Aristide's National Palace was defended by=20
about 100 officers in Haiti's force of fewer than 4,000. Philippe has=20
boasted he now commands 5,000 men =97 thanks to volunteers from the=20
scores of towns they have passed through in northern Haiti.=20

Philippe said Wednesday he was going to give Aristide a chance to=20
step down. On Saturday, Aristide agreed to a U.S.-backed plan to=20
share power, but the opposition rejected it, saying he must step=20
down.=20

"We saw there was no hope for peace," Philippe said. "We spent a week=20
waiting for this peace to come. We can't stay waiting for him to=20
decide while his people are killing people. ... Every day, innocent=20
people are being killed, houses are being burned."=20

Concerned about the increasing chaos, France called for Aristide's=20
resignation, saying "he bears grave responsibility for the current=20
situation."=20

"It's up to him to accept the consequences while respecting the rule=20
of law," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in a statement.=20

French diplomatic officials confirmed Thursday that de Villepin was=20
calling for Aristide to resign.=20

Abel Descollines, a member of the opposition Democratic Platform=20
coalition, praised France's statement and asked the United States and=20
Canada to do the same.=20

"We hope American and Canadian authorities will rally behind the=20
French position to help Haiti avoid a civil war," he told French RTL=20
radio.=20

French Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau said it was=20
too early to discuss whether there would be a role for the military=20
in ensuring a peaceful departure by Aristide, should he leave the=20
island.=20

Aristide, a 50-year-old former slum priest, once commanded widespread=20
support as Haiti's first democratically elected leader and savior to=20
the poor, but he has steadily lost support as poverty deepened after=20
his party swept flawed legislative elections in 2000 and=20
international donors suspended aid.=20

De Villepin called for the establishment of a civilian peacekeeping=20
force. "This international force would be responsible for=20
guaranteeing the return to public order and supporting the=20
international community's action on the ground," de Villepin said.=20

As order in the impoverished country of 8 million unraveled,=20
Aristide's two daughters flew to the United States.=20

American Airlines delayed three of its five daily flights to the=20
United States on Wednesday because crew and passengers had trouble=20
passing the roadblocks. Air Jamaica canceled its flights to Haiti=20
indefinitely.=20

U.N. nonessential staff and their families were being evacuated, and=20
dozens of Mormon missionaries also left.=20

Canada and the Dominican Republic sent small teams of soldiers to=20
protect their embassies.=20

Fearing an exodus of Haitians, the Dominican Republic doubled the=20
number of troops along its 225-mile border with Haiti.=20

Haitians fled a political crisis in large numbers 12 years ago. There=20
has been little evidence of a repeat of that situation thus far=20
although a freighter with 21 Haitians on board was intercepted by the=20
Coast Guard off the coast of Miami Beach. Bush has said the U.S.=20
Coast Guard (news - web sites) would turn back Haitian refugees=20
reaching American shores.=20

French and U.S. diplomats say Aristide used police and supporters to=20
crush dissent, contributing to the violence, and failed to fight=20
corruption in the police and judiciary. Aristide has, for his part,=20
accused the rebels of leading the uprising through drug-trafficking=20
proceeds.=20

A convicted drug lord, meanwhile, provided damning testimony against=20
Aristide, saying the president had profited from cocaine trafficking.=20

Beaudoin "Jacques" Ketant testified Wednesday in Miami after being=20
sentenced to 27 years for money laundering and allegedly shepherding=20
41 tons of drugs for Colombian drug cartels through Haiti to the=20
United States from 1987 to 1996.=20

"He turned the country into a narco-country," Ketant said. Ira=20
Kurzban, an attorney for the Haitian government, dismissed the=20
allegations from "a lying, convicted drug dealer"=20






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