Haitian capital calm after looting, deaths

Press, 3 February 1986, Page 6

Haitian capital calm after looting, deaths

NZPA-Reuter Port-au-Prince The Haitian capital seemed calm yesterday after militiamen on Saturday reportedly killed at least five people and wounded dozens to stem looting. After a week of demonstrations against the President-for-Life, Mr Jean-Claude Duvalier, there were no indications - in the capital that he was not still in charge. Mr Duvalier, aged 34, went on television and radio on Saturday to show that he was still present and running Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. The area around the white presidential palace was normal yesterday. Only the immediate surrounding streets were blocked off. On Saturday troops and militiamen kept people well away from the area, occasionally firing shots in the air. Saturday’s violence was sparked as looters worked their way through stores in the centre of the capital. Residents said they thought many more than five had been killed but that could not be confirmed. Sporadic rifle shots were heard throughout the night in the streets and a tour of the city yesterday revealed several dozen shops looted and extensive damage to many more. A state of siege was

imposed on Saturday after rumours spread that Mr Duvalier had been overthrown and fled the country. One source of rumour was the United States Government, which first reported and then denied that the nearly threedecade rule of the Duvalier family had ended. People formed small groups In the streets on Saturday as the rumours of his fall spread. They dispersed, many saying they were disappointed, after the rumours were denied. In downtown Bonne Foi all shops and businesses were closed and shuttered yesterday, although the streets were bustling with strollers and street vendors. On some blocks almost every shop had been attacked and only those with barred windows survived the looters. Residents said it was the blue-uniformed militiamen who had done most of the over-night shooting. All independent radio stations have been closed under the state of siege and phone lines one working only intermittently. There was no immediate indication of what was happening in the provinces, where major antiDuvalier demonstrations went on throughout the week. Mr Duvalier, called “Baby Doc,” succeeded his father, Francois "Papa Doc” Duvalier, who was elected as president in 1957.