CARIBBEAN

PRO-PREVAL PROTESTS ERUPT IN HAITIAN CAPITAL; AT LEAST ONE DEAD

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – Supporters of Haitian presidential candidate Rene Preval erected smoldering roadblocks across the capital and occupied a luxury hotel yesterday. At least one protester was killed, but U.N. peacekeepers denied witness accounts that they had shot him.

As Port-au-Prince descended into chaos, Mr. Preval returned to the capital for the first time since the election Tuesday. He was the clear winner with about 90% of the votes counted, but supporters claimed electoral officials were tampering with results to prevent him from getting the majority he needs to avoid a runoff.

Barricades made of old tires were ablaze across the capital, sending plumes of acrid black smoke into the sky. Protesters let only journalists and Red Cross vehicles pass.

“If they don’t give us the final results, we’re going to burn this country down!” a protester screamed.

The election will replace an interim government installed after a former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was ousted in a bloody rebellion two years ago. A popularly elected government with a clear mandate from the voters is seen as crucial to avoiding a political and economic meltdown in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. Gangs have gone on kidnapping sprees and factories have closed for lack of security.

– Associated Press

FBI DEFENDS COUNTER-TERROR SWEEP IN PUERTO RICO

The FBI yesterday defended a counter-terrorism sweep in Puerto Rico that turned violent, calling the pepper spraying of journalists a “reasonable use of force.” There has been public outrage on the island, a U.S. Commonwealth, since the FBI on Friday searched five homes and one business with connections to an independence group, the Boricua National Army. Critics have charged the agency with excessive use of force and using terrorism as a guise to rout out opposition on the island.

One of the searches culminated in FBI agents pepper spraying journalists, a move that the island’s chief of police said warrants a federal investigation. The special agent in charge of the San Juan Division, Luis Fraticelli, defended the action yesterday, saying it was the press and onlookers who turned violent. “Various persons assaulted or attempted to assault FBI agents by pushing, kicking, spitting, or throwing objects,” he said. “FBI agents displayed great restraint.”

The governor of the island, Anibal Acevedo Vila, issued new criticisms of the investigation yesterday, saying he should have been informed prior to the sweep. In New York there was a small protest by pro-independence groups at the Federal building in Lower Manhattan.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

PERSIAN GULF

IRAN POSTPONES TALKS WITH MOSCOW, RESUMES URANIUM ENRICHMENT

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran notched up the brinksmanship over its disputed nuclear program yesterday, abruptly postponing talks with Moscow on a plan to enrich Tehran’s uranium on Russian territory to allay fears it is building an atomic weapon.

Diplomats in Europe said Iran had started small-scale enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce fuel for an atomic bomb.

“Uranium gas has been fed into three machines,” a senior diplomat in Vienna, Austria, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the matter said. Another diplomat confirmed that limited enrichment had begun at Iran’s Natanz site. State-run Iranian television later reported that the head of the national security and foreign relations committee in parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the country had begun peaceful nuclear enrichment activities yesterday. Mr. Boroujerdi said inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency were present.

The talks with Russia had been slated for Thursday but were postponed indefinitely because of the “new situation,” said Iranian presidential spokesman Gholamhossein Elham. He was referring to the IAEA’s decision this month to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council because of uncertainty over its nuclear intentions.

– Associated Press