Rusty guns first given up in Haiti's disarmament

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A small pile of rusted, taped and dilapidated weapons was the first to be surrendered in Haiti's disarmament campaign -- highlighting the challenges facing a U.S.-led multinational force in trying to rid the nation of guns.

Unlike 10 years ago, when U.S. troops offered money for weapons used by gangs and former soldiers, Haitians today are being asked to give up their guns with little or no incentive and in a very insecure environment.

"I gave up my pistol, but if we don't start seeing schools and clinics in our neighborhood, we'll find other weapons. We'll fight for change with machetes if we have to," said Jacques Pierre as he and other residents of the Cite Soleil slum surrendered about 50 pistols, rifles and machine guns to French troops on Wednesday.

Disarmament and security have been key goals since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the impoverished Caribbean nation on Feb. 29 amid an armed rebellion that threatened the capital of Port-au-Prince.

A U.S.-backed interim government took over Wednesday, but it will take months to rebuild a shattered police force and disarm militants who began the insurgency, and Aristide loyalists who vow to fight until the ousted leader returns.

With scant resources, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue is turning to the U.S.-led multinational task force to help police the country of 8 million and begin disarming gangs.

The scenario is vastly different from 1994, when more than 20,000 U.S. troops came to Haiti to restore Aristide to power after a 1991 coup. Those troops were welcomed by Haitians who had voted for the country's first democratically elected president.

This time, U.S. troops -- who number fewer than 1,800 -- have recovered two shotguns. Their Chilean counterparts have confiscated three weapons.

"Disarmament is extremely important... If the bad guys still have the weapons it won't be a secure country," said U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Ronald S. Coleman, the peacekeepers' commander.

A U.N. force is to take over by May, but it's not known if it will participate in disarmament, Frederick Schottler, a U.N. spokesman in Haiti, said Thursday.

French troops, better-equipped to communicate with French- and Creole-speaking Haitians, have taken a proactive stance, working with police to talk to residents in pro-Aristide strongholds where gunfights occur almost daily.

Gang leaders said one reason they agreed to surrender their weapons -- considered a fraction of what they have -- was that the French soldiers talked to residents and sent a military doctor to help staff their clinic.

Some blame the United States, not France, for removing Aristide.

"The French came and talked to us. They gave us a doctor to help in the clinic. We're hoping that others will do the same and help this place," said James "Billy" Petit-Frere, 22, who helped organize the weapons handover.

Other pro-Aristide groups worry they'll be arrested or killed if they keep their weapons. Still others refuse to disarm unless Aristide returns.

"Whenever there is a lack of security and material base in the country, there's a need to protect yourself," said Alix Fils-Aime, a former legislator and a political and security adviser in Aristide's first government. "That's why there are so many weapons in the country. There was never any real disarmament that was done in 1994 and 1995."

Fils-Aime said weapons have flowed freely in the last few years through Haiti's largely unmonitored ports. He said Aristide's administration bought many guns and gave them to government supporters.

Sending U.S. troops into maze-like shantytowns where anti-American sentiment is high adds to the risks, Fils-Aime said.

"When you get into shantytowns, a rock will become an M-16 and a bottle will become a submachine gun for the U.S.-led troops," he said. "For many Haitians, Aristide was their only lifeline, and now that their lifeline is cut they are desperate and angry."

Larry Saunders, a police chief from Lakeland, Wash., was in Haiti in 1995 as a U.N. brigade commander. He said forces recovered some 20,000 to 30,000 weapons through buyback programs and by offering training for soldiers who lost jobs after Aristide disbanded the army. But the effort was wasted without economic development.

"We never cleared the island," said Saunders, speaking in a telephone interview. "There has to be some genuine redevelopment this time. Expectations have to be met this time. I don't think they'll cooperate with disarmament until they feel safe."

U.S. Ambassador to Haiti James Foley agreed. "There were good things done back then but the ultimate result was failure," Foley said.