Protests in Haiti have escalated
in response to attacks by U.N. peacekeeping troops on students and refugees.
Demonstrations against the massive presence of foreign military forces have
become a regular occurrence. Over 35,000
troops were deployed within
days of the Jan. 12 earthquake, the vast majority from the United States.
On May 23, U.N. troops entered the
State University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince to arrest a student accused of
throwing rocks at U.N. troops. Students immediately began protesting the
presence of armed troops on their campus. According to eyewitness reports and
CNN crews, troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the students, injuring
at least two. Frantz Mathieu
Junior, the arrested student, was released later that day.
The protest spread into a nearby internally displaced people’s camp in a
downtown park. U.N. troops again tried to repress the demonstration. At least
six people were hospitalized and many others, including the elderly and
infants, suffered severe respiratory problems.
