Ex-Haitian soldiers threaten violence over back pay
Mon 6 Mar 2006 7:21 PM ET
By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 6 (Reuters) - A group of
former soldiers threatened on Monday to stage violent protests
to force Haiti's government to come up with years of back pay
they say they are owed.
The threat was emblematic of some of the many challenges
facing President-elect Rene Preval, who was declared winner of
a chaotic election in Haiti last month and will soon lead an
impoverished nation awash in firearms where the rich and poor
are divided by hatred.
The claim that ex-soldiers are still owed several years of
back pay has never been disputed by the government.
Former
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide disbanded the military in
1995.
"We are going to take action if we don't find the right
answers to our demands," Jean Fito Moise, a spokesman for the
group of former soldiers, told a news conference.
"We have to get paid without any further delay," he said.
"Otherwise, the government will be responsible for any violence
which may result from this situation of frustration."
Moise was one of about 100 ex-soldiers who gathered outside
a government office that deals with matters involving
demobilized troops.
"We are not looking for trouble.
But we also have a family
to feed," said Joseph Noel, a former corporal.
"We are not
violent, but hunger and frustration can trigger violence."
Haiti's ramshackle capital has been plagued by armed gangs
and kidnappings since long before Preval's election.
The
63-year-old agronomist faces staggering security problems in
the Caribbean nation, where 80 percent are unemployed and
incomes average just $400 per year.
Following Aristide's ouster in an armed revolt in February
2004, Haiti's former military leaders said 10 years of salary
was owed to several thousand soldiers.
The government eventually agreed to disburse more than $24
million in arrears payments, according to former Col.
Jean-Claude Jeudy, the commissioner in charge of the government
office on demobilized troops.
But only about one third of the
money has been paid so far.
"We wish we could come here one day and tell everybody
'come and pick up your check.' But the government does not have
all the money available now. We have to pay gradually as the
government has the money available," he said.
"I don't think the problem can be solved with violence.
I
urge the ex-soldiers to give up all desire to engage in
violence, it can only spoil everything."
Posted by G. Simon on 3/8/06 5:45 PM
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