Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410050109
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
Several hours later, a militia leader renounced violence and called off his opposition to the planned return next week of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
``No more violence,'' said Emmanuel Constant, the leader of the pro-army militia FRAPH, whose headquarters were taken over by American soldiers Monday. ``I'm asking everyone to put down the stones, to put down the tires, and to put down the guns.''
The practice of placing burning tires around someone's neck - known as ``necklacing'' - has been a notorious form of terror in Haiti.
Screams of ``Murderer! Murderer!'' from about 2,000 Haitians who gathered outside the presidential palace punctuated Constant's speech. American troops were protecting Constant, whose group directed terror attacks since its formation in August 1993.
In additional signs of the push toward democracy, Haitians led U.S. soldiers to homes of suspected civilian gunmen to assist in the American disarmament campaign.
And Aristide himself pledged to return quickly, telling cheering delegates at the U.N. General Assembly he would be back in Haiti in 11 days.
Francois' nighttime drive to the Haitian border post at Malpasse came after his soldiers were humiliated Monday - laid out on the ground and handcuffed in front of jeering Haitians - by some of the nearly 20,000 American troops here to ensure the exit of the Haitian coup leaders.
Francois' four-wheel-drive vehicle passed into the neighboring Dominican Republic after daylight Tuesday, en route for Santo Domingo, after several hours of waiting.
Border officials in the Dominican Republic said Francois was accompanied by his brother, Evans Francois, a businessman and former Haitian consul to the Dominican Republic, his wife, two other women and three bodyguards.
Francois left behind a resignation letter defending his actions. ``It was not for me to juggle with the destiny of the country,'' he wrote, in words broadcast on local radio. ``I am proud of myself.''
Francois, who as a precinct chief spearheaded the overthrow of Aristide in September 1991, had masterminded squads of ``attaches,'' or army auxiliaries, responsible for many of the thousands of political killings since.
The news of Francois' departure flabbergasted and angered Haitian soldiers, who demanded an explanation from Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the military leader. Several said Francois, who made a fortune in contraband and corruption since the coup, even skipped out with their pensions.
by CNB