Rebel leader vows to disarm as Marines increase
Great news (possibly) from Haiti - as reported by the
Palm Beach Post
bq.
Rebel leader vows to disarm as Marines increase
Haiti's most prominent rebel leader promised Wednesday that he and his ragged troops would lay down their arms, possibly paving their way for a peaceful transition to an interim government and the end of four weeks of vicious bloodletting.
bq. As the U.S. Marine presence in Haiti grew to at least 1,000 as part of a multinational peacekeeping force, rebel commander Guy Philippe abandoned the former Haitian army headquarters he had occupied the day before.
bq. "Now that there are foreign troops promising to protect the Haitian people, we will lay down our arms," Philippe said one day after he had declared, "I am the chief."
bq. Philippe made his surprising announcement just hours after a closed-door meeting with U.S. Ambassador James Foley. He also said he would travel to other areas of the country and tell rebels there to disarm.
He still has to prove himself but if he can bring the country around, bring care to his people, bring clean water and food, he will do well. These are things that Aristide did not do despite being a priest... Talk about vows of poverty and then becoming the dictator of a nation.
Posted by DaveH at March 3, 2004 10:49 PM