Haitian ex-soldiers in hiding renew call for president to restore disbanded military

Haitian ex-soldiers in hiding renew call for president to restore disbanded military
By Associated Press,
Published: November 24

MARIANI, Haiti — The leaders of a small group of ex-soldiers who embarrassed Haiti’s government earlier this year by seizing old military bases to press for the restoration of the disbanded army emerged from six months of hiding Saturday to renew their demand.

Contacted on their cellphones after several months of keeping them off, four former sergeants arranged to meet with The Associated Press on a hillside clearing in Mariani, a beach resort town southwest of the Caribbean nation’s capital.

They said the group’s members have been training at the site.

The meeting came a day after Haiti’s Ministry of Defense issued a statement warning the group not to cause disruptions.

The ex-soldiers said they planned to press their campaign without violence.

“They know we can tear down the country — easily,” said one of the former sergeants, David Dorme, 44. “But if we destroyed this country where are we going to go?”

The National Armed Forces of Haiti was abolished in 1995 because of its history of toppling governments and crushing dissent. Many veterans have long complained that they’re owed pensions and back pay.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/haitian-ex-soldiers-in-hiding-renew-call-for-president-to-restore-disbanded-military/2012/11/24/6fead7a4-367d-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html