Breaking - Guy Phillipe now in charge of Police Force

[Katarina]

CNN reporting the Guy Phillipe is now in charge of Haiti's police force.

No link yet. Will update as soon as possible.

<snip>
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Rebel leader Guy Philippe (search) on Tuesday declared himself the new chief of Haiti's military, which had been disbanded by ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (search).

Flanked by other rebel leaders and senior officers of Haiti's police force, Philippe told a news conference: "I am the chief." Asked what he meant, he said, "the military chief."

"I am not interested in politics," he said. "The president is the legal president, so we follow his orders."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20040302/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_uprising

[MidwestTransplant]

Who is he?

[trumad]

2. He's now our puppet....

Guy Philippe is a former member of the FAD'H (Haitian Army). During the 1991-94 military regime, he and a number of other officers received training from the US Special Forces in Equador, and when the FAD'H was dissolved by Aristide in early 1995, Philippe was incorporated into the new National Police Force. He served as police chief in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Delmas and in the second city, Cap-Haitien, before he fled Haiti in October 2000 when Haitian authorities discovered him plotting what they described as a coup, together with a clique of other police chiefs. Since that time, the Haitian government has accused Philippe of master-minding deadly attacks on the Haitian Police Academy and the National Palace in July and December 2001, as well as hit-and-run raids against police stations on Haiti's Central Plateau over last two years.

http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1671447.php

[htuttle]

7. He's a US citizen as well

How convenient that we have been negotiating the fate of a foreign country with one of our own citizens.

Even the Roman Empire would have trouble topping that feat.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

15. Is he a SOA (or whatever it's called now) graduate?

(out of interest)

[Tinoire]

16. a hand-picked Haitian officer trained by US Special Forces in Equador

Haven't found SOA proof but hell, this sounds even worse. Sounds like one on one training.

The other leading figure in the armed actions in the north is Guy Philippe, a former member of the Haitian army, which was disbanded by Aristide in 1995. He was one of a group of hand-picked Haitian officers who was trained by US Special Forces in Ecuador during the period of the 1991-94 military regime. After the US intervention, he was made a police chief, first in a Port-au-Prince suburb and then in Cap-Haitien.

http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/fscm2/contentviewer.php?content_id=747

here are the other characters:

One of them is Louis Jodel Chamblain, who, together with Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, led the so-called Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advance and Progress during the 1991-94 period of military dictatorship that followed the overthrow of Aristide, who was first elected president in 1990. The group was known by its acronym, FRAPH, which resembles the French and Creole word "to beat." It carried out the torture and murder of the dictatorship's opponents and the assassination of several prominent political figures, including Haiti's Justice Minister Guy Malary and political activist Antoine Izméry.

Constant, it was revealed, was an operative on the CIA payroll, and he was subsequently granted US protection and asylum. When the Clinton administration ordered a US military intervention in 1994 to restore Aristide to power, US forces seized documents from the FRAPH headquarters to conceal Washington's relations with the right-wing death squad.

<snip>

Meanwhile, in the south, the so-called nonviolent opposition is led by a collection of politicians representing Haiti's ruling elite, including former supporters of the Duvalier dynastic dictatorship and the military regime of Gen. Raoul Cédras, as well as others who had aligned themselves previously with Aristide. Determined only to defend their wealth and privileges in a country where 70 percent of the people are unemployed and half are malnourished, they have tried to dress themselves up as "democratic" campaigners by seizing on manipulation of the results of the last legislative elections. While such manipulation undoubtedly took place, there is no evidence that, had it not, these elements would have achieved significantly greater political power.

At the head of this coalition, which has received ample financial support from both the US and France, is Andy Apaid, a sweatshop owner and a US citizen. These layers are among the most servile in relation to Washington. Their new-found courage to reject the US State Department's power-sharing scheme stems from their confidence that the armed actions in the north are being carried out at least with the tacit acceptance of Washington and will only increase pressure for Aristide to resign. They are also confident that a Republican administration will not intervene to save Aristide—who has long been viewed by the US right as an anti-American socialist.

http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/fscm2/contentviewer.php?content_id=747

[htuttle]

18. I meant to say Andy Apaid is a US citizen, not Guy Philippe

not enough coffee....!

[Tinoire]

17. Found this too

Guy Philippe, former police chief of Cap-Hatien and Duvalier death squad leader in the 1980s, was named l'Arbonite's chief of armed forces. Philippe fled Haiti in 2002 to the Dominican Republic after it was discovered that he was plotting a coup. Philippe returned to Haiti with former death squad leader Louis Jodel Chamblain, and had up to 50 armed supporters with him. Jean Pierre Baptiste, who calls himself General Tatoune, lead the march into the city. He was one of the leaders of the uprising that overthrew Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier in 1986. Under the military regime of the early 1990's, he joined the paramilitary outfit FRAPH (Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti) and was serving life in prison in Gonaves for his role in a 1994 massacre. A close associate of Chamblain, Emmanueal 'Toto' Constant, who lead the coup against Aristide in 1991, has admitted CIA financing for the movement. It has also been claimed that these paramilitaries received "some form" of training while in the Dominican Republic. These paramilitary thugs now control most of Haiti's north, and the rebels are today threatening an attempt to take Port-au-Prince.

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2004/02/103047.shtml

[eablair3]

20. the leader of a failed violent coup attempt is put in a position of power

sounds real democratic to me.

[janx]

1. Did you SEE what happened at the end of that interview?

The correspondent in Haiti was cut off!

[Katarina]

4. uh-huh!

Someone didn't want her talking. At least that was impression I got.

[janx]

8. The only question is who it was who was monitoring her

and trying to get her to stop talking.

[asjr]

5. Another country

ruined by the Chimp in Charge. Who is next?

[janx]

3. Woodruff asked her a question about safety, and the

correspondent said that she there was some "interference" or something, but then right after Woodruff asked the question again, the correspondent could be heard saying to someone, "She asked me a question!" and then Woodruff apologized for "audio difficulties" and concluded the segment.

[Cappadonna]

6. For those who don't know, you will have to say WTF?!!!!?!!

A compromising, left wing former priest is a bad president, but a convicted drug dealer and mass murderer like Guy Phillipe is suited to be the nation's top cop?! Damn, only the the world of the BFEE!!!

[Tinoire]

19. G Philippe - A family man and a fan of Bush (What's the Equador connect?

A family man and a fan of Bush

Sibylla Brodzinsky
Friday February 27, 2004
The Guardian

The rebel leader Guy Philippe is a former army officer who admires President George Bush.
Mr Philippe, the son of coffee farmers who turns 36 on Sunday, trained at a military academy in Ecuador after Mr Aristide disbanded the army, where he received instruction from French troops and the US secret service.
When he returned to Haiti the president named him assistant police chief in Cap Haitien, the city where rebels under his command now hold sway.
After being accused of plotting a coup in 2000, Mr Philippe fled into exile in the Dominican Republic, which shares an island with Haiti. Mr Aristide also accused him of being a drug trafficker, a charge the rebel leader denies.
He likes Mr Bush because: "I like tough guys, guys who protect their country."
The soldier-turned-rebel with an easy smile paints himself as a family man and says when his rebellion is over he would like to go back to his father's coffee farm and lead a tranquil life.
He met his wife, an American, in Ecuador. He refuses to reveal if they have any children.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1157248,00.html

====
Info From Previous Coup Attempt
by http://haitisupport.gn.apc.org Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004 at 5:30 PM

Guy Philippe
Richardson revealed that at the meeting in Santo Domingo, former Cap-Haitien police chief, Guy Philippe, "told us that former Colonel Guy François would organise a backup for us in Haiti." But when the group began the attack, no backup force materialised, he said. His account appears to confirm Haitian police officials' claim to have intercepted radio transmissions in which the attackers identified their leader as Philippe.

Philippe, who is also an ex-soldier who had been assigned to the police force that replaced the army, sought refuge in Dominican Republic in October 2000 along with seven others accused of plotting a coup. (Details of the October 2000 plot appeared in the weekly newspaper, Haiti Progres, at that time. Apparently, Philippe, Nau, and other former police chiefs who had been fired from the force, together with former soldiers and civilians, had two meetings at the private residence of a US military attaché in Haiti, a certain Major Douyon, on October 8 and October 11 2000. Also present or at least expected, according to an unconfirmed report by Radio Kiskeya on October 24 2000, was the US chargé d'affaires, Leslie Alexander. When the Haitian government found out about the meetings, Philippe, Nau and six other police chiefs fled to the Dominican Republic, where they applied for political asylum.)

Philippe later moved to Ecuador, but he flew back to Dominican Republic two weeks before last Monday's assault, Dominican officials said. After the attack, he returned to Ecuador, where on Thursday he was being held by immigration police in Quito while he appealed a government decision to deport him to Panama, the country from which his flight had arrived. Haitian government officials have asked Ecuador to extradite him. Philippe, who had phoned Radio Carnival in Miami from the Dominican Republic to deny involvement, meanwhile told reporters in Quito, "How am I going to mobilise troops? By remote control?"

http://haitisupport.gn.apc.org/Richardson.htm

===

October 18 - 24 2000 ((for historical context))

On Monday evening, the National Television of Haiti (TNH) offered an editorial which explained some of the weekend’s events without naming names. "There is a small group of policemen, former soldiers, above all those who studied abroad, who had a meeting on Oct. 8, 2000 with an official of a foreign embassy in Port-au-Prince." The anchor also said that weapons were being smuggled into the country by an unnamed "big industrialist" and that it was time for authorities to investigate the lavish life-styles of some police brass. "One example: how can a police chief transferred to the provinces live in a hotel room which costs about $1500 US for 6 to 7 months while at the same time he pays for an apartment in this same province?" the anchor asked. The program also said that the coup was scheduled to take place in November.

According to a police source requesting anonymity, the coup attempt was the work of a group of officers known as the "Group of 13" or the "Equadorians" because they had studied in Equador before being recruited into the Haitian National Police (PNH). These former soldiers are headed by the Cap Haïtien police chief, Guy Philippe, who appears to be the well-financed officer to whom TNH was referring. He has under his wing other police chiefs such as Jean-Jacques Nau alias Jacky Nau of Delmas and another called the Dragon of Croix-des-Bouquets, according to our source.

Nau was recently almost lynched after disarming a Lavalas street organizer named Ronald Cadavre during an Oct. 2 pro-Aristide demonstration in front of the Provisional Electoral Council on Delmas.

The "industrialist" that TNH did not dare name, according to our police source, is Olivier Nadal. Further clarifying the TNH report, our source says that Guy Philippe lives in the Montjolly luxury hotel in Cap Haïtien. He had served in the police in Port-de-Paix and Delmas, before being transferred to Cap-Haïtien. An arrest has been made at the National Palace in connection with this matter, our source said.

The opposition was clearly gleeful at the reports of an attempted coup, which at the very least could destabilize the situation enough to delay the presidential elections scheduled for Nov. 26. Despite a third visit this week to Haiti by Luigi Einaudi, a mediator of the Organization of American States (OAS), the opposition continues to exhibit complete intransigence in negotiating an end to its hostilities with the FL and the Préval government. However, Einaudi did manage to organize a framework-seeking sit-down of low-level representatives of the opposition, FL, and government on Oct. 17.

<snip>

from: Is a Coup d'État Looming?
http://www.haiti-progres.com/2000/sm001018/eng1018.htm

===

Oh yuck.

The man he most admires is former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet
by Pinochet and Guy Philippe Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004 at 2:28 PM

Guy Philippe
by Andrew Grice on Sun Feb 29th, 2004 at 05:09:42 PM EST
(User Info) http://www.authenticjournalism.org
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8059886.htm

Susanna Nesmith wrote a puffish piece on "rebel" leader Guy Philippe for Knight Ridder. He loves old movies and such. Strange, but she doesn't bother to mention how Philippe was alleged to be involved in an earlier coup attempt. But there is an interesting line if anyone still has doubt over what kind of people these "rebels" are:

"He said the man he most admires, however, is former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who was known for concentrating, not separating, power. "Pinochet made Chile what it is." No. 2 on his list is former U.S. President Ronald Reagan."

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/2/29/162328/211#2

[Logansquare]

21. Ah Ecuador...our new Panama

And ever so convenient for laundering drug profits..er..fighting the drug war. And you can train right wing paramilitaries without any pesky protestors.
http://www.afsc.org/pwork/0112/011218.htm

[peacetalksforall]

9. Ah...someone should make a list of parallels

between the U.S. and Nazi Germany or the U.S. and Communistic silencing in the USSR and PRC.

Slowly, devastatingly, surely, seriously.

[tom_paine]

10. Smells like a Reign of Terror is about to begin

When the Busheviks install a Pinochet-loving Totalitarian "Asset" as Minister of Police and Killing, one should reasonably expect some very serious torture, rape, and murder coming up.

And all in the service of the Imperial Family.

SAVAK, this is Guy. Guy, this is SAVAK...

[htuttle]

11. Pogram already started

Yesterday:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1182705&mesg_id=1182705&page=

[Minstrel Boy]

12. He says his hero is Pinochet. Seriously.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1182034

[enough]

13. If this is true, Bushco has walked into another international snakepit.

Philiipe's story is clear enough that anyone can understand it. Will the U.S. really support this guy?

[htuttle]

14. I'd about guarantee they support him

I watched a bit of CNN over the last few days, and they've been interviewing and treating Philippe and the 'rebels' like they are 'heroes'. If that is the line CNN has been given, then I have no doubt the Bush's intend to support him (including the other scary monsters they released from prison over the weekend).