Military

DATE=03/04/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=HAITI / UNREST (L)

NUMBER=2-313823

BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE

DATELINE=PORT-AU-PRINCE

CONTENT=

INTRO: U-S and French troops in Haiti began joint patrols with Haitian police on Thursday. V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports from Port-au-Prince, multinational force commanders say Haiti's police are determined to reassert their authority after weeks of political chaos and violence in the Caribbean nation.

TEXT: U-S Marines and French troops are out on foot patrol in

Port-au-Prince with Haiti's police.

There are now more than one thousand U-S Marines in Haiti and nearly one thousand French troops. Brazil says it will send more than one thousand troops and says it could assume command of the multi-national force authorized by the U-N.

While calm has returned to much of the capital, there are still large areas of the city where Haiti's police have little or no control. U-S Marine Colonel Mark Garganus, who heads the multi-national force in Haiti, says no part of the city is off limits to his troops.

/// GARGANUS ACTUALITY ///

There is no place in this town that we will not go.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

Colonel Garganus and his French counterparts say they are not in Haiti as policemen and will only use force if they are threatened, or to save lives. The U-S Marine colonel says he believes Haiti's police are a professional force which, if given time, and additional training can effectively perform its duties.

/// 2nd GARGANUS ACTUALITY ///

These gentlemen are people who want to become professionals and that is step one. They are not looking for my French counterparts and me to do their job. They are ready to get back to doing their job. What they need right now is a little support and help in that regard to gain control of some of the places that are rougher than others.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

Meanwhile, a representative of former President Jean Bertrand Aristide's government, a member of the opposition and a senior U-N official have begun meetings to select a seven-member so-called council of wise men who will appoint a new prime minister and government which will govern Haiti until elections can be held. Participants in the meetings say they expect the council to be formed within a week. (Signed)

NEB/JLT/RH