World Notes Haiti

When a military coup sent Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile late last month, George Bush's first reaction was to denounce the overthrow and call for the reinstatement of Haiti's first democratically elected President. But last week Bush seemed to back away, citing allegations of human-rights abuses by the activist priest -- charges soon bolstered by an Organization of American States team in Haiti. Most disturbing: a Sept. 27 speech in which Aristide seemed to condone Pere Lebrun, a Haitian form of lynching in which a gasoline- soaked tire is set ablaze around a victim's neck. Officially, the U.S. % continued to advocate Aristide's return, but the likelihood of intervention on his behalf dropped sharply.

Aristide reacted by pledging to fortify democratic institutions if he is returned to power. That prospect became more complicated when Joseph Nerette, 67, a Supreme Court judge, was sworn in as provisional President. The figurehead President was hastily appointed by Haitian lawmakers after soldiers stormed the legislature to close off a constitutional loophole that would allow Aristide's return. Other troops took over the Port-au-Prince airport while the head of the Haitian armed forces, Brigadier General Raoul Cedras, and OAS diplomats were meeting there.

The undisciplined attacks suggested that Cedras, initially considered the coup leader, did not control the army. As events unfolded, it became clear that Major Michel Francois, 34, head of the police force in Haiti's capital, was the mastermind of the coup and the driving force behind the violence that has now claimed 300 lives.