150 Americans Pulling Out of Haiti by Christmas

In the wake of Haiti’s bloody political disorders, the State Department announced Friday that about 150 Americans--U.S. employees deemed non-essential, together with all dependents of government personnel--will be withdrawn temporarily from the troubled Caribbean island by Christmas.

The recalls will leave about 80 people to staff the U.S. Embassy at Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

The recall was described by State Department officials as a prudent precaution in light of Sunday’s officially countenanced violence, which left about 34 Haitians dead and led to the cancellation of Haiti’s first presidential election in 30 years.

Officials declined to confirm, but did not discourage, suggestions that the move was designed in part as a rebuke to the army-led National Government Council headed by Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy.

“In view of the unsettled political situation in Haiti,” spokesman Charles Redman said, “we will take the precaution of withdrawing on a temporary basis staff involved in activities deemed non-essential. . . .

“Departures will take place over the next few weeks using normal commercial transportation so that between now and Christmas . . . about 150 U.S. personnel and dependents will have left.”

The recall was expected to substantially affect personnel from the Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps, as well as the State Department.

The need for many of these workers was reduced or eliminated Sunday, when the United States suspended $62 million in “non-humanitarian” aid to Haiti, mostly military assistance and economic development money. Unaffected was $32 million in humanitarian assistance.

After Sunday’s disorders, a Pentagon spokesman said, only one member of an eight-man military training group remains in Haiti. One of the two military liaison officers assigned there has been recalled, he said, but two defense attaches at the embassy are staying. A Marine guard contingent will remain at the embassy.

Although the State Department has issued an advisory recommending that travelers postpone visits to Haiti, officials said they have seen no indication of any substantial return to the United States by the estimated 15,000 U.S. citizens who reside there. Many are officials of industries that employ Haitian workers and of private welfare agencies.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate on Friday adopted by a 90-0 vote a non-binding resolution denouncing the Haitian regime’s failure to ensure safe elections and urging other nations to cut off assistance to the ruling council. The House had endorsed the Reagan Administration’s suspension of economic and military aid to Haiti a day earlier.