Haiti Declares State of Siege as Violence Flares

Denying reports that he had been overthrown, President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier claimed Friday that he was in firm control of his impoverished island nation. His legislature declared a state of siege as police and looters clashed in the capital.

Duvalier’s statement, which came during a five-minute broadcast on government radio and an early afternoon television speech, contradicted reports by U.S. officials that he had been deposed.

The White House announced Friday morning that Duvalier had fled his Caribbean nation, but reversed itself two hours later after Haitian officials and reporters said they had seen and spoken to the president.

A government official at the National Palace, who spoke to reporters on condition that he not be identified, said Duvalier was “very angry” at U.S. officials for reporting that he had fled the country and planned to visit the U.S. Embassy to show that he still was in the country.

The conflicting reports, which sparked gunfire and looting in the capital, came as the rubber-stamp Haitian Legislature declared a state of siege to quell six days of anti-government violence. The state of siege suspends all normal rights of citizenship in the nation of almost 6 million people.

Also Friday, Dominican Republic President Salvador Jorge Blanco announced that he had ordered his country’s borders closed. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola, midway between Cuba and Puerto Rico.

A U.S. Embassy official in Port-au-Prince said it had monitored a 9 a.m. broadcast in which Duvalier contended that he and his government were “as strong as a monkey’s tail”--a Creole slang expression indicating great power.

“There are bad rumors that I have left the country,” he said. “It’s not true. I’m not going anywhere.

“I’m not playing around,” added Duvalier, 34, calling rumors of his flight the work of “vagabonds.”

Witnesses said Duvalier later was seen touring downtown Port-au-Prince in a caravan of Mercedes-Benz automobiles and Jeeps.

During a 1 p.m. television broadcast, Duvalier called for an end to unrest, which has been sparked by poor living conditions.

“I understand your impatience, your legitimate aspiration to improve your standard of living,” he told his countrymen during the 10-minute broadcast from the National Palace. “But we should remember that disorder and anarchy could only aggravate the situation and make the possibility of a continuous and harmonious resolution of the situation less possible.

“I will continue the economic progress to benefit the majority of the people with courage and dignity.”

The president promised to launch a new plan to improve the economy and pledged to continue reforms in human rights and political liberalization leading to democracy.

Duvalier was dressed in a tropical short-sleeved dress shirt and was flanked by several heavily armed bodyguards and all of his ministers.

About two hours after the radio broadcast, violence broke out in the streets of the capital for the first time since bloody anti-government protests began six days ago. Witnesses said police shot at crowds of looters who gathered after reports that Duvalier’s 15-year-old government had collapsed.

Police fired weapons in the air to disperse the crowds. Unconfirmed reports from witnesses said several looters were wounded or killed in the confusion.

Hospital officials refused to give any information or confirm any reports. But one witness said at least one 16-year-old youngster had been shot and taken to a hospital, and others said that several people were killed in the fighting.

After Duvalier’s announcement, government radio began broadcasting Haitian meringue music, but gunfire was also heard in the capital.

Most merchants in the capital closed their stores. None of the businesses along the route to the airport from the National Palace were open Friday afternoon.

The announcement of the state of siege, which was ratified by Duvalier’s handpicked 48-member Congress, was followed by an order from Police Chief Gregoire Figaro closing several Roman Catholic Church radio stations that had been encouraging anti-government protests.

Demonstrations broke out in at least seven cities Thursday despite government orders that security forces “take all necessary measures” to end a series of uprisings that began last Sunday.

At least eight people have been killed in the unrest, and at least 12 have died since demonstrations broke out two months ago.

The unrest is the most widespread since 1971, when Duvalier took over the presidency from his father, Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier, who ruled for 14 years.

Duvalier has been the target of protests by Haitians who resent his opulent life style in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, and opposition to Duvalier has mounted since a July referendum that increased his powers.

The strongest support for the opposition movement has come from the Catholic Church, a formidable opponent in a country that is 90% Catholic and intensely religious.

Priests explained that they had “opened the people’s eyes” to their living conditions, which are among the most miserable in the world and in sharp contrast to the luxurious lives of the ruling Haitian elite.

Radio reports said crowds in Cap Haitien, about 160 miles north of Port-au-Prince, broke windows Thursday at an automobile showroom owned by Ernest Bennett, Duvalier’s father-in-law.

Many Haitians resent the Bennett family’s accumulation of wealth and power since Michele Bennett’s 1980 marriage to Duvalier.