Shaffer
03-10-04, 01:03 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Haiti's interim president took the reins of his country's shattered government Monday as supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide demanded the ousted leader's return. U.S. Marines acknowledged they killed one of seven people gunned down in weekend violence -- the first armed action of their week-old mission here.
Military helicopters circled overhead and U.S. Marines in armored cars patrolled the streets Monday outside the National Palace as Boniface Alexandre was formally installed.
"Aristide or death!" Aristide supporters yelled at the gates of the palace during the ceremony, their shouts carrying into the room where Alexandre urged his countrymen to remain calm.
"We are all brothers and sisters," said Alexandre, who has served as president for a week and was officially sworn in Feb. 29. "We are all in the same boat, and if it sinks, it sinks with all of us."
Earlier, Aristide declared from his African exile that he was still president of Haiti and urged "peaceful resistance" in his homeland.
"I am the democratically elected president and I remain so. I plead for the restoration of democracy," Aristide said from Bangui, Central African Republic, in his first public appearance since he fled Haiti Feb. 29 aboard a plane chartered by the U.S. government.
Aristide said his departure was a "political kidnapping (that) unfortunately opened the road to an occupation."
The United States denies Aristide's charge that he was forced to step down. But the 15-nation Caribbean Community has called for an international investigation.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "If Mr. Aristide really wants to serve his country, he really has to, we think, let his nation get on with the future and not try to stir up the past again."
Aristide was a wildly popular slum priest, elected on promises to champion the poor who make up the vast majority of Haiti's 8 million people. But he has lost support, with Haitians saying he failed to improve their lives, condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack his political opponents.
U.S. Marines and French Legionnaires have been in Haiti since Aristide's departure Feb. 29, the vanguard of a U.N. force to restore peace to the country, where a monthlong rebellion left more than 130 dead. On Monday, there were about 1,600 Marines, 800 French soldiers and police and 130 Chilean troops in Haiti.
Military helicopters circled overhead and U.S. Marines in armored cars patrolled the streets Monday outside the National Palace as Boniface Alexandre was formally installed.
"Aristide or death!" Aristide supporters yelled at the gates of the palace during the ceremony, their shouts carrying into the room where Alexandre urged his countrymen to remain calm.
"We are all brothers and sisters," said Alexandre, who has served as president for a week and was officially sworn in Feb. 29. "We are all in the same boat, and if it sinks, it sinks with all of us."
Earlier, Aristide declared from his African exile that he was still president of Haiti and urged "peaceful resistance" in his homeland.
"I am the democratically elected president and I remain so. I plead for the restoration of democracy," Aristide said from Bangui, Central African Republic, in his first public appearance since he fled Haiti Feb. 29 aboard a plane chartered by the U.S. government.
Aristide said his departure was a "political kidnapping (that) unfortunately opened the road to an occupation."
The United States denies Aristide's charge that he was forced to step down. But the 15-nation Caribbean Community has called for an international investigation.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "If Mr. Aristide really wants to serve his country, he really has to, we think, let his nation get on with the future and not try to stir up the past again."
Aristide was a wildly popular slum priest, elected on promises to champion the poor who make up the vast majority of Haiti's 8 million people. But he has lost support, with Haitians saying he failed to improve their lives, condoned corruption and used police and armed supporters to attack his political opponents.
U.S. Marines and French Legionnaires have been in Haiti since Aristide's departure Feb. 29, the vanguard of a U.N. force to restore peace to the country, where a monthlong rebellion left more than 130 dead. On Monday, there were about 1,600 Marines, 800 French soldiers and police and 130 Chilean troops in Haiti.