MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

State of emergency declared in Haiti

Political turmoil continued in Haiti late Wednesday as Prime Minister Yvon Neptune declared a state of emergency and announced the formation of a commission to oversee security in the turbulent nation

Earlier in the day, Haitian rebel leader Guy Philippe reversed course and said his forces would lay down their arms and no longer patrol the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Philippe told reporters he made the decision after the head of the U.S. Marine contingent assured him international security forces were moving to disarm supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the city.

Neptune declared the state of emergency just one day after Philippe threatened to arrest him and put him on trial for mass murder. It's unclear what the declaration means for the people of Haiti.

Philippe previously declared himself the country's new police chief, but after meeting with the Marines he told to the press his forces would turn in their weapons to interim President Boniface Alexandre, who was sworn in Sunday after Aristide fled the country. Alexandre called for the rebels and forces loyal to Aristide to disarm in a national radio address Wednesday.

James Foley, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, said he fully expected all sides to disarm. "The fact of the matter is they pledged to lay down their arms when President Aristide resigned, and so we are holding them to their pledge," Foley said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington did not recognize Philippe's claim to authority. "There is an orderly and constitutional political process under way in Haiti," Boucher said. "That process needs to be respected by all Haitians, but we're glad to see the violence is decreasing. But the rebels have no role to play in this process, and they need to lay down their arms and go home." Boucher said there was a distinction between the democratic opposition groups seeking a role in a new Haitian government and "groups that perpetrated violence so widely and broadly against the Haitian people in recent weeks."

In another development Wednesday, the heads of 14 Caribbean nations meeting in Jamaica rejected participating in peacekeeping duties in Haiti, saying the way Aristide left office "set a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments everywhere."

"The heads of government expressed dismay and alarm over the events leading to the departure from office by President Aristide and the ongoing political upheaval and violence in Haiti," said a statement from the Caribbean Community, or Caricom.

Early Sunday, faced with a rebellion spreading rapidly toward Port-au-Prince, Aristide resigned and left Haiti aboard a U.S. jet. But after landing in the Central African Republic, Aristide told CNN he was forced into exile by the United States.

Aristide called what happened a "real coup d'etat" and a "modern way to have a modern kidnapping." "I was told that to avoid bloodshed I'd better leave," he said.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell again rejected allegations the United States forced Aristide from power. "The suggestion he was kidnapped is wrong, and absurd," Powell said. Speaking before a House panel, Powell insisted Aristide was not pressured into writing a letter of resignation, and that he left Haiti freely, accompanied by his personal contingent of bodyguards.

U.S. officials said the number of U.S. troops in Haiti is expected to double to 1,000 by Sunday.

French and Canadian troops also have been dispatched to the country, and the U.S. Marine contingent moved to secure the capital's seaport Tuesday.

Philippe said his rebels have withdrawn from the streets of Port-au-Prince and are grouped in an undisclosed location. A day earlier, the rebel forces took over the former headquarters of Haiti's armed forces, burning paintings and looting the building. He said he intended to return to Cap Hatien, Haiti's second largest city, within 48 hours to inform rebels there about his decision. Philippe also demanded the surrender of 20 men he said were leaders of armed gangs loyal to Aristide, and called for Alexandre to re-establish Haiti's army, in which he said he hopes to have a role.

In 1991, Haiti's army overthrew Aristide, the country's first democratically elected president, and after he was restored to office by the United States in 1994, he disbanded it.

Meanwhile, Haiti's long time dictator, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, told a Miami television station he wants to return to his homeland but denied he is interested in seeking the country's presidency.

Duvalier -- whose family ruled Haiti from 1957 to 1986 -- has lived in exile in France since his overthrow. He said he requested a diplomatic passport several weeks ago, when Aristide was still in power.