Students urge Haiti leader to quit

By Claire Marshall BBC correspondent in Port-au-Prince

Thousands of students have marched through the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Riot police are a familiar sight on the streets of the capital

The crowd of around 4,000 sang: "Too much blood has been shed, Aristide has to leave!"

One man, his face running with sweat in the Caribbean heat, said: "Aristide is a criminal. He should stay in Mexico; we don't want him here".

Earlier, the president refused to mention the current political crisis in a news conference before he left for the Summit of the Americas in Mexico.

He completely ignored the recent mass demonstrations against him and failed to clarify that he has now started ruling by decree.

Mr Aristide also failed to comment on the lack of a functioning legislature, now the mandate of most members of parliament has run out.

Spiralling crisis

The president arrived at Port-au-Prince Airport surrounded by an extraordinary array of security.

A helicopter buzzed overhead, while a long convoy of black vehicles raced across the tarmac. At the front was an open-backed van with a mounted machine gun.

Aristide's supporters have stepped back as protests increase in size

Haitian commandos armed with M-16s kept guard from the rooftops.

The president gave a speech referring to Haiti's founding fathers.

In what sounded like a sermon, he finished by saying: "May the light of peace shine everywhere in the country".

Then the president left in a huddle of bodyguards.

He walked down a red carpet onto his private jet to fly to Mexico for the Summit of the Americas.

He gave no indication of how he intends to deal with the spiralling political crisis in Haiti.

However, the opposition movement's strategy is clear: to keep agitating and protesting until the president goes.