Haiti Declares State of Siege; Arrests of Opposition Reported

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —  The military government of Haiti declared a state of siege Saturday night after the slaying of an army colonel, and police reportedly beat and arrested several opposition leaders.

The government led by Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril said the 30-day decree was needed “to protect democratic accomplishments against terrorism.” But opposition leaders said it was an attempt to silence dissent before elections promised for October.

Government television said that under the state of siege, four articles of the constitution were suspended, including one that forbids the deportation of Haitians.

The government said it also re-established an entry visa requirement for Haitians returning from abroad “to prevent the infiltration of terrorist agents.” The practice, abolished shortly after dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier was ousted in 1986, often was used to screen Haitians returning home.

Privately owned Radio Antilles said police earlier Saturday arrested conservative leader Hubert de Ronceray and Louis Roy, a well-known civic leader who founded the Haitian Red Cross and is co-author of the 1987 constitution. Roy’s nephew, Jean-Claude Roy, confirmed the arrest.

Eight plainclothes gunmen also arrested socialist leader Serge Gilles and three members of his Progressive National Revolutionary Party at Gilles’ home, witnesses said.

The police sweep came after Col. Andre Neptune, his wife and a servant were shot to death while riding home Friday night in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Fontamara. The killings occurred 100 yards from De Ronceray’s home.