UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, September 28, 1994
9A
Gun buy-back in Haiti getting off to a slow start, only a handful turned in
Cash-for-weapons
Kun Tian / Knight-Ridder Tribum
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Under camouflaged shelters on a scorching Haitian airbase, American soldiers waited patiently yesterday for Haitians to turn in guns in exchange for cash.
The Associated Press
Patience was required.
Only a handful of weapons dribbled in during the first hours. But in a country where, by some accounts, 75 percent of the population is armed, the United States sees the program as a key to stability.
Prices ranged from $50 for a pistol to $300 for a machine gun — huge sums in a nation where the average daily wage is $1.20. But prices on the street can run up to 10 times what the Americans are offering.
The program, publicized by radio, loudspeakers and leaflets, is supposed to last three weeks but may be extended.
A similar program in Panama after the 1989 American invasion brought in thousands of weapons, from modern military rifles to museum-piece muzzle loaders.
"We don't know how to gauge it this early," said Capt. Andy Mazur of Youngstown, N.Y. "We suspect people will go back and tell their friends that there is credibility here, that we have the cash."
Col. Barry Willey, representative for the American forces in Haiti, said payment could be increased if the program seemed to lag. He urged that it not be judged too early.
The haul in the first few hours included pistols, a World War II-vintage M-1 Garrand rifle and a 9mm Uzi submachine gun, the soldiers said.
"We don't ask them who they are. You have a gun that shoots, we'll buy it, no questions asked," said Pvt. Amos Brown of Honolulu, a Haitian-born Creole speaker working with the program.
Some Haitians questioned the effectiveness of the "Gourdes for Guns" program, named after Haiti's currency, the gourde.
Haitians on the street speculated there could be a reluctance to turn in weapons until Haiti's situation shook itself out, and they knew who was likely to remain in power.
American troops expand their mission from disarming the Haitian military to taking up posts around the Parliament building and City Hall, a day before Haitian lawmakers are to discuss a bill authorizing amnesty for the country's top military leaders.
What's happening in Haiti? Yesterday's Developments in Haiti:
U. S. forces suffer their first fatality, as an American soldier is found shot to death at a hillside mansion being prepared to house Haitian legislators. A Pentagon spokesman said the soldier's death was being investigated as an apparent suicide. The identity of the soldier, from the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y., was not immediately released.
American soldiers pay cash to Haitians who turn in guns or other weapons, part of an effort to increase security and stability in the streets. Prices range from $50 for a pistol to $300 for a machine gun — large sums in a nation where the average daily wage is $1.20.
About 2,000 people riot at a relief feeding center in Port-au-Prince. The rioters flee when American military police drive up, then resume looting when the MP's leave.
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The United States urges Security Council members to lift U.N. sanctions against Haiti once President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns to power. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says a sanctions-lifting resolution is likely to be passed tomorrow and will take effect following Aristide's return in mid-October.
In Washington, the State Department said it is working closely with "legitimate authorities" to ensure that both houses of Parliament are able to meet in special session today.
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