Haiti Aims to Thwart Slum’s Gangs Before Presidential Vote

Haiti’s new national police force has been instructed to dismantle the gangs in the notorious Cite Soleil slum outside the capital before Sunday’s presidential election, according to a senior government official.

“If we don’t do it this week, we will probably face serious problems in Cite Soleil on election day,” said presidential chief of staff Leslie Voltaire.

Dismantling the heavily armed gangs that virtually run the impoverished urban settlement of about 250,000 people is essential to assuring peaceful elections, Voltaire said in an interview this week.

As the election approaches, concerns about peaceful balloting are growing. To date, only isolated incidents of violence have been reported, such as a drive-by shooting Tuesday at the home of one candidate. No one was injured.

Still, Haiti’s history of electoral violence has stirred apprehension. Analysts see the ability to conduct peaceful elections as a crucial test of the democracy that was restored when U.S. troops returned President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power last year, ending a three-year military dictatorship.

There are 14 presidential candidates; the constitution bars Aristide from seeking reelection. Some observers thought targeting the Cite Soleil gangs might provoke violence rather than prevent it.

“This is a critical situation in Cite Soleil, where maintaining law and order is more difficult than anywhere else for the national police,” said Eric Falt, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

The U.N. troops, scheduled to leave Feb. 29, have been providing support for major police actions, Falt said. He said he did not know whether they have been asked to participate in the anti-gang actions.

The gangs concentrate on theft and drugs, showing no inclination toward politics, Falt said.

Voltaire acknowledged that the gangs appear to be apolitical but added: “These people can be manipulated for money.”