Desperation Marks Haiti’s 201st Anniversary of Independence

Haitian leaders marked the country’s 201st anniversary of independence Saturday as protesters demanded more help in this flood-ravaged city where the declaration of independence from France was signed.

From a balcony at city hall here, interim President Boniface Alexandre urged Haitians to help pave the way for “free, honest, transparent and democratic elections” this year.

“Haiti had 200 years of suffering, division and hatred,” Alexandre said, addressing a restless crowd of about 200. “In 2005, we must not make our ancestors ashamed. We must all understand the problem is in us.”

The crowed heckled Gonaives Mayor Calixte Valentin, shouting “Get out!” when he introduced Alexandre and other speakers. Valentin told Associated Press he was considering resigning, saying he was frustrated about not having enough funds to meet people’s demands. He did not elaborate.

Earlier, Alexandre and interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue listened to a church sermon while about 200 protesters gathered outside the cathedral. Some demanded that the U.S.-backed government deliver on promises made in October to rebuild the battered city.

Hundreds are still homeless from September floods that killed more than 1,550 people and left 900 more missing and presumed dead.

Piles of dried mud still block roads, agriculture is in ruins, and half the city’s schools have yet to reopen.

Last year, bloody clashes between police and protesters in Gonaives and the capital, Port-au-Prince, ruined then- President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s lavish bicentennial tribute to Haiti’s independence as the world’s first black republic.

A month later, in February, anti-Aristide gangs attacked the Gonaives police station, killing officers and joining with former soldiers to launch a rebellion that drove Haiti’s first democratically elected leader into exile.