Attacks on Haitian Police May be Linked to Anti-Aristide Political Forces

Interview Between The Lines' Denise Manzari.

On July 27, heavily armed men dressed in the olive green uniforms of the disbanded Haitian Army carried out simultaneous attacks on police facilities in several areas of the country.

The offensive continued until the next day, where five policemen were killed, 14 wounded and weapons and documents reportedly stolen. Thirteen of the wounded were police cadets and three more police officers were taken hostage. According to the Reuters news agency, four former Haitian policemen, who may have been involved in the offensive, had requested political asylum in the Dominican Republic.

The Lavalas family party swept last year's municipal and legislative elections and Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overwhelmingly re-elected to the presidency last November. Although there is widespread confusion over the attackers' motives, the government of Haiti said the recent assaults were an attempt to influence negotiations between Aristide's party and the opposition coalition Democratic Convergence.

Ray LeForest is a labor organizer and co-coordinator of the Haiti Support Network, based in New York City. He spoke with Between The Lines' Denise Manzari about the political tension in Haiti and the forces that may have been behind these latest attacks(A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found At http://www.btlonline.org) .

For more information, call the Haiti Support Network at (718) 435-8100 or visit the Haiti Progres newspaper at Web site www.haiti-progres.com

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