Clashes between protesters and police marred celebrations on Haiti’s 200th anniversary of independence Thursday as embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vowed to save his country from poverty and turmoil.
Underscoring deepening political divisions, more than 15,000 Aristide supporters rallied outside the National Palace shortly before some 5,000 government opponents marched toward downtown, shouting "Down with Aristide !"
Police fired tear gas and warning shots to scatter Aristide opponents, and some protesters lay down before officers, shouting : "Freedom !" Club-wielding police beat back a separate group of student protesters who tried to join the march, injuring at least two students and one professor.
"We will not allow Aristide to be a dictator," said protester Jean Gary Denis, 33. "He is using the bicentennial for his own purposes."
Government supporters were equally fervent, with thousands knocking down a metal fence at the palace and scrambling onto its lawn as they crowded toward the podium, chanting : "Aristide is king !"
The bicentennial was bittersweet as some Haitians questioned whether Aristide is fit to guide the country out of crisis.
"1804 was the stinging bee. 2004 is sure to be the honey," Aristide told supporters. "It is possible to build a new Haiti because of what is on our flag, and that is, ’United we are strong.’"
Aristide listed 21 goals he hopes will be accomplished by 2015, from stabilizing the HIV infection rate to reducing poverty. His term expires in 2006, and he didn’t say whether he expects to be in office in 2015.
Aristide said he is working to bring new legislative elections, but opponents have refused to participate and urged a boycott of Thursday’s state-organized events, including another speech in western Gonaives, where Haitians declared independence on Jan. 1, 1804.
"The time has come... to demand respect for the constitution, respect for everybody without distinction," Aristide told some 2,000 supporters in Gonaives’ central square.
Many supporters rode into town in buses provided by Aristide’s private foundation and wore T-shirts adorned with their leader’s image.
While Haitian roots music blared and revelers danced, police on rooftops occasionally took shots at unidentified targets in the distance.
No injuries were reported Thursday in Gonaives, where protests have surged recently. But gunfire that erupted the previous night wounded at least one girl and led many to take refuge, leaving many streets deserted.
"The people are afraid. A ghost town is celebrating the bicentennial with Aristide," said Rosanne Dalzon, 30, leaving town with a bundle of used clothes on her head to sell.
Sporadic gunfire erupted after Aristide left, and rocks were thrown at departing cars.
The threat of violence hung over celebrations as flaming tire barricades went up on streets across the capital Thursday. A day earlier the charred bodies of two men were found on a Port-au-Prince sidewalk. There was no word on the victims’ political affiliation, but the deaths were believed tied to the unrest.
Some Aristide supporters were seen holding pieces of pipe and unlit firebombs Thursday.
A group of prisoners, meanwhile, broke through a wall at the National Penitentiary and escaped Thursday, police said. It was unclear how many got away.
The government spent US$15 million on the celebrations, including galas, New Year fireworks and the dedication of a monument to Haiti’s forefathers. But many world leaders stayed away.
Those attending included more than a dozen foreign delegations, activists and actors including Danny Glover.
"We celebrate the Haitian revolution because it dealt a deadly blow to the slave traders who had scoured the coasts of West and East Africa for slaves and ruined the lives of millions of Africans," South African President Thabo Mbeki told a crowd. He said a "historic struggle" remains against poverty and conflict on both sides of the Atlantic.
Haiti was born after the world’s first successful slave rebellion. Independence leader Toussaint Louverture was captured by the French and imprisoned in a mountain cell on the French-Swiss border, where he died. But on Nov. 18, 1803, French troops surrendered to forces led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
Independence became official when Haitians presented a declaration in a New Year’s Day ceremony at Gonaives’ central square.
Haiti has seen more than 30 coups since, and a string of leaders drove the Caribbean country into disarray.
Aristide, then a slum priest making fiery promises to the poor, was elected by a landslide _ only to be overthrown in 1991.
He was restored in a 1994 U.S. invasion but forced to step down in 1996 due to a term limit. Now 50, he has been dogged by troubles since his 2000 re-election, largely because of legislative elections that observers called flawed.
Since mid-September, violent anti-government protests have killed at least 41.
Haiti remains the Americas’ poorest nation, and some blame wealthy countries.
At independence, France demanded repayment of 120 million gold francs _ about US$22 billion today _ draining Haiti’s coffers. Among his aims, Aristide said France must pay reparations.
Recently, international lenders and donors suspended more than US$500 million in loans and grants after the disputed legislative elections.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, said the anniversary was cause for celebration but criticized Washington for not helping more, saying Haiti "has never received the support that it deserves."
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