Bush orders US Marines to Haiti

WASHINGTON, Feb 29 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush ordered US Marines to Haiti as the vanguard of an international security force and urged Haitians to forgo violence and give their political process "a chance to work."

"It essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history," he said after Jean Bertrand Aristide quit power and fled the country for an as-yet unknown destination.

In a brief statement to reporters, Bush noted approvingly that Supreme Court chief justice Boniface Alexandre had assumed interim power, saying "the constitution of Haiti is working. There is an interim president."

"I would urge the people of Haiti to reject violence, to give this break from the past a chance to work. And the United States is prepared to help," the US president said on the White House lawn.

"I have ordered the deployment of Marines, as the leading element of an interim international force, to help bring order and stability to Haiti. I have done so in working with the international community," said Bush.

He did not specify how many troops he had sent or when they would arrive in Haiti but a US defense official said on condition of anonymity that some 500 Marines could fly in as early as Sunday.

The United States was working with France, Canada, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to craft a UN resolution aimed at smoothing the creation of a new Haitian government.

"The international community will facilitate the urgent formation of an independent government that will represent the interests of all of the Haitian people," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement.

Boucher said that Washington had facilitated the departure of Aristide, who resigned Sunday and left his country after months of deadly unrest and growing pressure to leave from France and, later, the United States.

Haiti is celebrating its 200th anniversary of its independence from France.

The White House on Saturday had stepped up pressure on Aristide to step down, sharply questioning "his fitness to continue to govern" and blaming him and his supporters for much of the violence in Haiti.

"This long-simmering crisis is largely of Mr Aristide's making," spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement that cited the embattled leader's "failure to adhere to democratic principles".

"His own actions have called into question his fitness to continue to govern Haiti. We urge him to examine his position carefully, to accept responsibility, and to act in the best interests of the people of Haiti," said McClellan.