A rebel leader said Tuesday that Haiti's U.S.-backed interim government must meet demands to rebuild the storm-devastated city of Gonaives or face a revolt like that which drove out President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Rebel leader Winter Etienne also told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that his men would try to help end turmoil by rooting out bandits who have hampered aid getting to the city, but said the government must start rebuilding. The rebels, whose insurgency led up to the February ouster of Aristide, have made demands before and backed down — such as their recent threat to descend on the capital of Port-au-Prince to end violence that has claimed at least 61 lives in less than a month.
But the latest move appears part of a strategy to increase pressure on a government made fragile by the devastation last month from Tropical Storm Jeanne. It killed some 1,900 people, left 900 missing and presumed dead, and 200,000 others homeless in Haiti's third-largest city of Gonaives. Etienne made a long list of demands, including the construction of up to 200,000 homes, rebuilding roads, rehabilitating blocked canals filled with contaminated water and sewage and giving each student $55 for uniforms, shoes and school fees. Etienne said his group told interim President Boniface Alexandre on Tuesday morning "that if he cannot respond positively, clearly and precisely to all the demands of the community of Gonaives, that he must turn over power to someone else who can."
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