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<font size=3><br><br>
</font><h5><b>Thousands of Fanmi Lavalas supporters demonstrate to mark
the fourth anniversary of the second inauguration of Aristide as
president: the police open fire <br>
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</b></h5><font size=2><b>Port-au-Prince, February 8, 2005 (AHP)-
</b>Several thousand Fanmi Lavalas supporters demonstrated peacefully
Monday in Port-au-Prince in observance of the fourth anniversary of the
inauguration of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's second term.
<br><br>
The demonstrators called for the return of constitutional government,
which was cut short, they said, with the forced departure of
President Aristide on February 29, 2004. <br><br>
They also denounced the summary executions and political persecutions
directed against supporters of Mr. Aristide. <br><br>
The demonstration was interrupted by a police patrol accompanied by
individuals in civilian dress, known as attachés, who reportedly began
shooting at the demonstrators, injuring several of them. <br><br>
Soldiers from the United Nations mission who were following the
demonstration then intervened, enabling the demonstrators to return to
their base. <br><br>
Reacting to these incidents, a spokesperson for the Lavalas
activists, Samba Boukman, said that the interim government is
making a mistake if it thinks that violence will persuade the activists
to give up their deeply held beliefs. <br><br>
"We are going to continue to struggle peacefully until
constitutional government returns because Haitians have had enough of the
violence and the poison of social exclusion and corruption", he
said. <br><br>
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</font><h5><b>AHP February 8, 2005 8:40 AM<br><br>
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No serious election is possible without Lavalas, according to Marc Bazin
<br>
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</b></h5><font size=2><b>Port-au-Prince, February 8, 2005 (AHP)- </b>The
leader of the MIDH party (Movement for the Establishment of Democracy in
Haiti) Marc Bazin, indicated Tuesday that no serious election is possible
in Haiti without Lavalas, which constitutes the majority party.
<br><br>
There are many people who are way off base as they attempt to have people
believe that Lavalas is no longer popular, said Bazin. <br><br>
"I could act like certain other political leaders, but I myself am a
realist, I am willing to see the reality in front of me", said the
MIDH leader. He explained that he has met with many people who do not
express themselves in public. "The majority of them are sympathetic
to Lavalas", he observed, adding that a dialogue is
indispensable. <br><br>
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</font><h5><b>AHP February 8, 2005 8:50
AM</b></h5><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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