Haitian Coup Chief Unswayed by 1st OAS Visit

A high-level delegation from the Organization of American States flew to this island nation Friday to try to reverse a coup that deposed its first elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Representatives of the United States and six other nations confronted the coup leader, Gen. Raoul Cedras, and warned him of unprecedented OAS sanctions unless he returns control of the government to Aristide.

But Cedras had rejected the OAS demand in advance of his two-hour meeting with representatives of the United States and six other countries.

In Washington, President Bush met Friday with Aristide in another show of support for the deposed leader, who was allowed to fly out of the country early Monday morning by the coup commanders. While emphasizing the American wish for democracy to prevail in Haiti, Bush said he is unwilling to commit U.S. troops to restore Aristide. The President did issue a new executive order freezing Haitian assets in U.S. banks.

The OAS delegation, which left Port-au-Prince for an overnight stay in Jamaica without comment about the talks with Cedras, arranged other meetings today with Haitian political and business leaders before deciding on their next step in the Haitian crisis.

As the diplomatic discussions got under way, fresh reports emerged Friday about mass killings of civilians by army troops since the coup began last Sunday.

Radio Lumiere broadcast a story that a group of soldiers killed up to 50 residents of Carrefour in reprisal for the death of an army sergeant who died at the hands of civilians protesting the military takeover.

Journalists seeking to check the radio report said they were prevented from interviewing residents of the area by an army patrol. Soldiers in the patrol threatened them with automatic weapons, the reporters said.

Meanwhile, doctors on duty at the general hospital morgue said Friday that 81 people had died of bullet wounds and 291 others had been treated for gunshot wounds since the coup. The death toll was believed to be much higher but there was no way to confirm a more precise figure.

This normally bustling capital again appeared quiet Friday. Stores and other businesses remained closed and buses did not run for the fifth day in a row. Other services, including water and power, were reportedly operating only in sporadic fashion. The military-imposed curfew remained in effect and many soldiers were patrolling the streets.

En route to Haiti, members of the OAS delegation appeared to be split as to what tack to take when dealing with the junta. Foreign Minister Guido di Tella of Argentina took a hard line against the coup, warning that the junta faces economic and diplomatic isolation unless it allows Aristide to resume power. He said the Haitian coup was the first test of a new international order and a more democratic OAS.

But U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson took a more cautious approach, saying that the OAS team would try to mediate between Aristide and various factions in Haiti. Aronson said the possibility of military intervention is “hypothetical” at this point.

While diplomats attempted to restore democracy in his homeland, Aristide, a 38-year-old priest who won election to the presidency in a landslide last December, has been on a high-level diplomatic tour in the United States. Besides his meeting Friday with Bush, he has appeared at the OAS, on Capitol Hill and at the U.N. Security Council.

But misgivings within Haiti about his conduct since he took office last February may complicate the task of the OAS and other members of the international community to put him back at the head of Haiti’s government, observers here said.

While retaining the fervent admiration of the poor masses, Aristide, they said, has antagonized members of the Haitian Senate and House of Deputies, leaders of other political parties and the business community.

Business leaders expressed fear Friday that Aristide’s return to power might signal the start of a blood bath against the army and other groups, including more affluent members of Haiti’s bourgeoisie. Several businessmen referred to a widely publicized speech Aristide made last Friday in which he appeared to speak favorably of the recent practice by some of his supporters of using a tire “necklace” to burn people alive.

After presenting himself as the soul of moderation during previous appearances at the United Nations and in Miami, Aristide referred to “necklacing” and said to roars of approval from the crowd: “What a beautiful instrument--what a beautiful device. It’s beautiful--it’s such a nice smell--you like to breathe it wherever you go.”

The comments had a chilling effect on Haiti’s business community. As one entrepreneur said: “Who’s going to invest in a country with a president who says I like the smell of burning skin?”

Richard Widmaier, owner of Radio Metropol, added: “If Aristide comes back, this country is going to be hell” because of revenge-taking by his ardent supporters.

Aristide’s speech--viewed as a death threat by his opponents--was reported to be one of the motivations for the coup. Army leaders also were concerned over his establishment of a presidential security guard that they regarded as the start of a private militia loyal only to Aristide.

French Ambassador Jean-Rafael Dufour, who rescued Aristide and negotiated his safe passage out of the country after the coup, said Aristide should renounce the use of violence by his supporters if he is restored to power.

“I think the only solution is the return of President Aristide with only one condition: that he condemn ‘Pere Lebrun’ and respect the spirit of the constitution,” Dufour said in an interview. “Pere Lebrun” is the name of a local tire store. It also is a term used here for killing people by placing burning tires around their necks.