CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) -- Haiti's rebel leader told The Associated Press today he does not want to
CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) -- Haiti's rebel leader told The Associated Press today he does not want to install a military dictatorship but is seeking to re-establish the army that was disbanded after ousting President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991.
With the rebels threatening to attack the capital of Port-au-Prince, the United States tried to broker a last-ditch peace plan that did not require Aristide to resign. Opposition politicians were weighing the plan, after being persuaded by Secretary of State Colin Powell to delay their formal response to 5 p.m. today.
Rebel leader Guy Philippe, still in the second-largest city of Cap-Haitien that was seized Sunday, said in an interview with the AP that his movement wants to re-establish the army but is not interested in installing another dictatorship in Haiti.
A military dictatorship is "not good for the country," said Philippe, formerly Aristide's assistant police chief for northern Haiti. "The military should stay in the barracks."
Rebels' assertion
Even if the opposition coalition accepts the U.S. peace plan, the rebels insist they will lay down their arms only when Aristide is out of power.
Asked if he was in contact with opposition politicians, Philippe smiled and said "not officially." He refused to elaborate.
Opposition leaders disputed that.
"We refuse to have contacts with the rebels, as well as with Aristide," said Mischa Gaillard, a spokesman for the opposition coalition. "We don't want to be tainted with any suspicion of condoning violence."
The opposition has said they are a nonviolent movement that supports the rebel goal of getting Aristide to step down. Aristide maintains that opposition factions are supporting the rebellion and the rebels are an armed wing of the political opposition.
Premier Yvon Neptune appealed to the political opposition coalition to agree to the peace plan, which Aristide has accepted. The plan would allow him to remain president with diminished powers, sharing with political rivals a government that would organize elections.
Funds for rebellion
Philippe said he was on his way to a Western Union office to pick up donations being sent by Haitians in the United States and Canada. He said his rebellion also was being funded by businessmen in Haiti.
An attack on Port-au-Prince was unlikely today, as Philippe said his fighters had spent the night searching in vain for government forces.
French President Jacques Chirac said today his country is ready to consider contributing to any eventual peacekeeping force approved by the United Nations.
"France does not exclude contributing to a civilian force for peace," he said, adding however that such a deployment "depends on a decision of the Security Council."
In Port-au-Prince on Monday, about 50 Marines in full battle gear rushed off a U.S. Air Force transport plane and secured a perimeter around the international airport. Some Haitians stood on cars or high walls to peer at them.
The Marines then drove to the U.S. Embassy in a convoy of trucks and cars. Western diplomats and a Defense Department official said their mission was to protect the U.S. Embassy and staff.
Ten years ago, the United States sent 20,000 troops to end a military dictatorship that had ousted Aristide in 1991, a year after he became Haiti's first freely elected leader. But Washington has made clear it won't commit a large number of troops this time.
Was popular
Aristide, hugely popular when he was elected especially among the destitute in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, has since lost a lot of support. Opponents accuse the former priest of failing to help those in need, condoning corruption and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs. Aristide denies the charges. Flawed legislative elections in 2000 led international donors to freeze millions of dollars in aid.
Evans Paul, a leading opponent once allied with Aristide, told the AP the international community was hinting it would call for Aristide's resignation if he failed to respect the terms of the peace plan, which calls for him to share power.
Aristide's supporters, fearing the rebels would move on the capital after taking Cap-Haitien, set flaming barricades to block a key road outside Port-au-Prince.
"We are ready to resist, with anything we have -- rocks, machetes," said a teacher guarding one roadblock, who gave his name only as Rincher.
Rebels in Cap-Haitien, meanwhile, hunted down militants loyal to Aristide on Monday, accusing them of terrorizing the population in the days before the city fell.
"I am a brick mason, I didn't do anything wrong," Jean-Bernard Prevalis, 33, pleaded as he was dragged away, head bleeding.
"We're going to clean the city of all 'chimeres,'" said rebel Dieusauver Magustin, 26. Chimere, which means ghost, is used to describe hardcore Aristide militants.
It was not clear what would happen to those detained. One rebel said they were saving them from lynching. But another, Claudy Philippe, said "The people show us the [chimere] houses. If they are there, we execute them."
Thousands of people demonstrated in favor of the rebellion, chanting "Aristide get out!" and "Goodbye Aristide."