Armed anti-government commandos attacked two members of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party (FL) last week, killing one and hospitalizing the other.

The attacks come as guerillas, nostalgic for the Duvalier dictatorships (1957-86), resurfaced on Haiti's Central Plateau, and opposition politicians rallied in Cap Haïtien.

On Feb. 2 in Petit Goâve, heavily armed members of the "Lame san manman" (Bastards Army) murdered FL member, Myrtil Fleurilus, alias Potho. They also severely burned another FL member, Samuel Polo, who is currently hospitalized in Port-au-Prince.

The "Lame Sanmanman" is close to the Washington-backed Democratic Convergence opposition front and is based in the nearby Fort Liberté locality. According to peasants living there, the group hoisted a U.S. flag on the roof of a house they used as a training base. After the attacks, a unit of the Haitian National Police (PNH) made several arrests in the area.

Meanwhile, police arrested six men who officials say were part of an armed group operating on the Central Plateau, particularly around Lascahobas and BelladPre. "A police detachment was dispatched on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003 to BelladPre where six individuals were apprehended in a pick-up truck," Police spokesman Jean Dady Siméon said at a Feb. 10 press conference where the six suspects were presented. "The PNH officers seized a load of ammunition which was in this vehicle. We also found an Uzi machine gun with 9 millimeter rounds. We recall that the autopsy on Judge Christophe Lozama revealed the presence of 9 millimeters bullets. Therefore, we will try to find out if there is any link."

Lozama, an FL activist, was gunned down last Nov. 28 in BelladPre (see Haïti Progres, Vol. 20, No. 40, 12/18/2002). On Dec. 10, an armed commando liberated two of the gunmen arrested for the murder from a jail cell in the Lascahobas police station, killing four policemen.

The police contend that the violence on the Central Plateau and that in Petit Goâve stem from the same armed anti-Aristide network. «We have found links between this group and the one recently created in Petit Goâve known as 'Lame san manman,' which terrorizes the population,» Siméon said. The six men arrested - Jacques Charles, Hérold Edmond, St-Louis Emmanuel, Marc Ogé, Marat Joseph and Milord Joseph - were almost all former soldiers, according to Siméon.

In the seized pick-up, police also found inflammatory flyers aimed, they said, at provoking violence during Carnaval, which will occur from Mar. 2 - 4 this year.

Heavily armed commandos, likely linked to the arrested men, have re-emerged in the locality of Pernal, near BelladPre. In December, the gunmen had fled after specialized agents of the PNH descended on the area following the attack on the Lascahobas police station. The commandos openly admit that they are former soldiers bent on ousting Aristide, who disbanded the Haitian Army in 1995. «We have no problem with the Police, but Aristide should not use them against the people," one of the former soldiers told journalists. "Now, we sincerely say that we are shifting into a higher gear in our fight against Aristide. It's life or death!» PNH units of the Company for Intervention to Maintain Order (CIMO) and the SWAT team have been dispatched to the region to root out the anti-Lavalas guerillas.

Meanwhile, Convergence politicians and self-styled "civic leaders" held an anti-government meeting and demonstration in Cap Haïtien on Feb. 7 and 8. Sponsored by the group Citizens Initiative (IC) of arch-reactionary Frandley Denis Julien, the so-called «Weekend of Hope» called for Aristide's removal from power, but not through elections. Several opposition intellectuals held debates on the matter on Feb. 7, the anniversary of Jean-Claude Duvalier‚s 1986 flight from Haiti. The next day, a few hundred people marched through the city's streets, but most Cap Haïtien residents watched them sullenly from doorways and balconies. The demonstrators marched for several hours chanting anti-Aristide slogans like "Aristide and Bin Laden are twins" and "George Bush, if you are not in complicity, send Aristide packing!" The police finally dispersed the demonstration because, according to a police source, IC organizers refused to respect the initial march route agreed upon with the PNH.

In response, the anti-Aristide demonstrators trashed a Ministry of Public Health vehicle used for transporting medicines, an act which further alienated on-lookers.

Ironically, the leaders of the supposedly «184 organizations » of «Civil Society» accuse the government of sowing violence. But these "civic leaders," like the Convergence politicians, have never condemned the violence and attacks carried out by the anti-government commando units now multiplying around the country.



Honor Our Heroes

by Wendy Francois

As I sit here reflecting on this week's column, I admire my beautiful autographed picture of Haitian actress Garçelle Beauvais, and my mind begins to drift off. I think of my lush culture and the many Haitian men and women who have contributed to our world. Then it hits me. Not many Haitian youths appreciate the heroes that we too have. They are oblivious to the rich culture into which they were born.

It is no accident that these thoughts creep into my mind during Black History Month. No doubt there is a gap between African American culture and Haitian culture ; yet both are the object of prejudice and lack acknowledgment. In fact, I would say that Haitian culture suffers the most disrespect.

I, as a Haitian youth, would like to encourage all Haitians to learn about our heroes and hold them in high esteem, so that they may receive the acknowledgment they are due. Remember people like Jean-Baptiste Nemours who unveiled compas in 1955 and revolutionized Haitian music. Remember the father of Haitian art, and one of the greatest natural painters of modern times, Hector Hyppolite. It is time to beat our own drum and toot our own horn during this February. Through the recognition of our legends, we hope that the entire culture's dazzling light will shine and break open the doors for our contemporary heroes like Edwidge Danticat, a brilliant virtuoso of literature who has transformed the art of writing.

Most importantly, as the acclaim trickles down, hope will be absorbed into the roots that anchor Haitian youths, and dreams will propel them to excel and succeed in spite of financial hardship, family divisions, cultural isolation, and all other circumstances.

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Wendy François is a senior and class valedictorian at Homestead Senior High School. On the National Honor Roll in 2000 and 2001, she also hosts a local radio show on issues affecting Haitian teenagers.