Haiti Justice Minister Quits; Strike Stalls Capital

Justice Minister Gerard Gourgue, one of the two civilian members of Haiti’s six-man governing council, submitted his resignation Thursday as a transportation strike virtually paralyzed the capital and hundreds of students picketed the National Palace.

No reason was given in the brief announcement of Gourgue’s resignation, broadcast over national television. The students staged the first formal anti-government protest since deposed President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled to France on Feb. 7.

State radio reported that the transportation strike in the city of 1 million was sparked by the killing of five people by soldiers Wednesday.

The radio said the soldiers opened fire on a crowd of several hundred people who began throwing stones after an off-duty army officer tried to arrest a bus driver who had cut him off in traffic.

The radio reported five dead and 10 injured in the confrontation, the first serious clash with security forces since the fall of Duvalier. A spokesman at police headquarters said Thursday there would be no comment.

Had Sought Extradition

Gourgue, who was president of the independent Haitian Human Rights League during the Duvalier regime, had pressed for the extradition and prosecution of the ousted president and other members of the fallen regime.

Gourgue had announced Wednesday on national television that formal extradition procedures had been initiated for the return from Brazil of the capital’s former police chief, Col. Albert Pierre, and former police Sgt. Elois Maitre. A military court has charged them with torture and murder.

Meanwhile, several hundred students carrying anti-government placards mounted an orderly demonstration Thursday outside the National Palace.

Police and military stood by without intervening as the students roped off the picket line and imposed their own security. They carried signs in Creole saying the National Governing Council is the equivalent of Duvalier, an apparent reference to the presence on the council of people identified with the Duvalier regime.

Thursday afternoon, a strike by independent bus and taxi drivers that had erupted in the Carrefour section, in the southern part of Port-au-Prince, was extended city-wide.

Strikers erected barricades, closing off three of the four main arteries in the city, and attacked the few buses and taxis still operating.

A reporter who traveled by bus to the Petionville section Thursday afternoon saw angry strikers attack the bus with sticks and rocks. No injuries were reported.

Some schools, factories and businesses were forced to close Thursday because of an estimated 50% absentee rate as students and workers were stranded by the strike.

The military used army trucks to transport some of the stranded people.