HAITI: OPPOSITION GROUPS GATHER FOR LARGEST PROTEST YET AGAINST EMBATTLED PRESIDENT ARISTIDE.
Record ID:
647893
HAITI: OPPOSITION GROUPS GATHER FOR LARGEST PROTEST YET AGAINST EMBATTLED PRESIDENT ARISTIDE.
- Title: HAITI: OPPOSITION GROUPS GATHER FOR LARGEST PROTEST YET AGAINST EMBATTLED PRESIDENT ARISTIDE.
- Date: 19th January 2004
- Summary: (EU) PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (JANUARY 18, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. TV: GENERAL VIEW OF DEMONSTRATORS GATHERING, CHANTING 0.08 2. GV/CU: DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING ANTI-GOVERNMENT SLOGANS; SIGNS AGAINST ARISTIDE (2 SHOTS) 0.18 3. OPPOSITION LEADER ANDRES APAID AMONG DEMONSTRATORS (WEARING BALL CAP AND GLASSES) 4. MV/CU: VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING (2 SHOTS) 0.38 5. CU: POLICE ON SITE 0.43 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) APAID SAYING: "We are going to head from here. We will cross town to go to Delmar then come back. At that point, the crowd will be in one of its best positions. We will finish right here." 1.13 7. MV/GV: VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED (2 SHOTS) 1.26 8. MV/MCU: VARIOUS OF POLICE ON SITE (3 SHOTS) 1.40 9. MV: DEMONSTRATOR HANDING OUT SIGNS AS THEY PREPARE TO BEGIN MARCH 1.53 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 3rd February 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
- Country: Haiti
- Reuters ID: LVA71E54SSQQ049ZSDJJV8HWFCJ5
- Story Text: Opposition groups kick off largest demonstration
against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to date.
Thousands of Haitians prepared on Sunday (January
18) to march against embattled President Jean-Bertrand
Ar
istide in an attempt to force him from power despite his
calling for new parliamentary elections within six months.
Passing out signs and chanting anti-government slogans,
university students were joined by opposition political
groups for the first time in what is expected to be one of
the largest anti-Aristide demonstrations to date.
On Wednesday (January 14), Aristide called for
parliamentary elections within six months to overcome a
bloody standoff with his foes, but the opposition said the
ground had not been prepared for a free and fair ballot.
Civil activists and political opponents said Aristide's
appeal after meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush at
the Summit of the Americas in Mexico was meant to appease
foreign critics of his rule over the region's poorest
country.
Once a hugely popular former Roman Catholic priest,
Aristide became Haiti's first democratically elected leader
in 1991 only to be deposed in a coup soon after. He was
restored to power by a U.S.-led invasion and re-elected in
2000.
But his popularity has waned following the tainted
results of parliamentary elections that year, and amid
accusations of corruption and political violence.
Several people have been killed in recent months after
increasingly large anti-government marches were attacked by
pro-Aristide gunmen. The government blames the opposition
for the bloodshed.
The Organization of American States has urged Haiti to
hold new parliamentary elections, under the supervision of
a multi-party council, but the absence of dialogue has
prevented that. The terms of most legislators expired on
Monday, rendering Parliament powerless.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None