Haiti's Aristide Warns Of Killings

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appealed Tuesday for the world to come to Haiti's aid, warning that thousands of deaths and a wave of boat people could result from political chaos.

"Should those killers come to Port-au-Prince, you may have thousands of people who may be killed," Aristide said. "We need the presence of the international community as soon as possible."

With the rebels threatening to attack the capital of Port-au-Prince, the United States tried to broker a last-ditch peace plan that did not require Aristide to resign. Opposition politicians were weighing the plan, after being persuaded by Secretary of State Colin Powell to delay their formal response to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Aristide agreed to the peace plan Saturday, but his political opponents have stalled, insisting only Aristide's resignation can guarantee peace in Haiti.

Also Tuesday, rebel leader Guy Philippe told The Associated Press he does not want to install a military dictatorship but is seeking to re-establish the army that was disbanded after ousting Aristide in 1991.

At a news conference in Port-au-Prince, Aristide made an emotional call for Haitians to stay in the country, instead of fleeing to Florida, so that they can vote in new elections.

"The criminals and terrorists went to the north, to Port-de-Paix, and burned private and public buses, killing people," Aristide said.

"Unfortunately many brothers and sisters in Port-de-Paix will not come down to Port-au-Prince; they will take to the sea, they will become boat people."

Asked if he was calling for a military intervention, Aristide clarified that he wanted the international community to strengthen Haiti's police force, under an old agreement with the Organization of American States.

Western diplomats in Port-au-Prince confirmed Tuesday that Aristide had asked France for a military intervention last week, though Aristide denies this.

French President Jacques Chirac said Tuesday his country is ready to consider contributing to any eventual peacekeeping force approved by the United Nations.

"France does not exclude contributing to a civilian force for peace," he said, adding however that such a deployment "depends on a decision of the Security Council."

Premier Yvon Neptune appealed to the political opposition coalition to agree to the peace plan, which Aristide has accepted. The plan would allow him to remain president with diminished powers, sharing with political rivals a government that would organize elections.

Even if the opposition coalition accepts the U.S. peace plan, the rebels insist they will lay down their arms only when Aristide is out of power.

Opposition leaders say they have no connection to the armed rebels. Rebel leaders are coy about whether a link exists.

The rebel leader Philippe, still in the second-largest city of Cap-Haitien that was seized Sunday, said in an interview with the AP that his movement wants to re-establish the army but is not interested in installing another dictatorship in Haiti.

A military dictatorship is "not good for the country," said Philippe, formerly Aristide's assistant police chief for northern Haiti. "The military should stay in the barracks."

Philippe said he was on his way to a Western Union office to pick up donations being sent by Haitians in the United States and Canada. He said his rebellion also was being funded by businessmen in Haiti.

An attack on Port-au-Prince was unlikely Tuesday, as Philippe said his fighters had spent the night searching in vain for government forces.

Aristide's supporters, fearing the rebels would move on the capital after taking Cap-Haitien, set flaming barricades to block a key road outside Port-au-Prince.

"We are ready to resist, with anything we have — rocks, machetes," said a teacher guarding one roadblock, who gave his name only as Rincher.

Rebels in Cap-Haitien, meanwhile, hunted down militants loyal to Aristide on Monday, accusing them of terrorizing the population in the days before the city fell.

More than half of Haiti now is beyond the control of the central government.

On Saturday, the State Department issued a warning to Americans that "it is unsafe to remain in Haiti in view of the deteriorating security situation." More than 20,000 Americans live there.

Ten years ago, the United States sent 20,000 troops to end a military dictatorship that had ousted Aristide in 1991, a year after he became Haiti's first freely elected leader. But Washington has made clear it won't commit a large number of troops this time.

Aristide, hugely popular when he was elected especially among the destitute in the Western hemisphere's poorest country, has since lost a lot of support. Opponents accuse the former priest of failing to help those in need, condoning corruption and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs. Aristide denies the charges.

Flawed legislative elections in 2000 — in which several pro-Aristide senators won elections without facing a second round of voting because of a controversial vote-counting formula — led international donors to freeze millions of dollars in aid.