Word: avril
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...Last Monday, while dispersing demonstrators, troops shot an eleven- year-old girl in the town of Petit-Goave. The next night, an angry mob burned an army outpost. By Friday the protests had spread across Haiti as thousands took to the streets demanding the resignation of Lieut. General Prosper Avril, who seized power in a 1988 coup. At least three people were killed in clashes with troops...
Asked if he would quit, Avril responded, "If I step down hurriedly, it will create a lot of turmoil." On Saturday, Avril stepped down. His temporary replacement, Major General Herard Abraham, is scheduled to hand over power to a Supreme Court member this week...
...much for hope, so much for promises. Last week Haiti lay in the grip of "a state of siege" declared by Avril's government and launched by his 1,200-man Presidential Guard. Citing "an increase of violence," the regime claimed that the crackdown was necessary to "protect the democratic accomplishments against terrorism." In dubious pursuit of that goal, Avril's police and some members of his army embarked upon a frightening expedition, beating up critics of the regime, silencing the media and sweeping up political opponents -- jailing some, exiling others...
...Washington, Francois Benoit, Haiti's Ambassador to the U.S., resigned in protest. In Port-au-Prince, Alvin P. Adams, the U.S. Ambassador, visited Avril to express "outrage," terming Avril's actions "indefensible." French President Francois Mitterrand was reported to have telephoned a tough rebuke to Avril, and later Paris announced that it was suspending aid to Haiti because of the crackdown. The U.S. and the World Bank may reassess plans for financial aid to the country...
Port-au-Prince, meanwhile, was stretched tight with tension last week. During one rumor-filled afternoon, the entire city closed down. Some Haitians wondered whether Avril was trying to pre-empt a revolution in the Palace Guard. Others were certain that Avril never intended to relinquish the presidency in the first place, and was consolidating his power for a long rule. But Avril's grip over his country is not as strong as that of Haiti's greatest dictator, Papa Doc Duvalier, and by week's end the President, showing signs of succumbing to diplomatic and internal pressure, renewed...