Associated Press

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) - Fugitive rebel Guy Philippe made a rare public appearance Thursday and urged Haitians to seize the streets if foreigners try to arrest the president he helped topple eight years ago, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

It was an odd twist to the recent political drama as crowds of people marched in the country's biggest cities to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of Haiti's constitution.

In an interview with the Associated Press Television Network and other journalists, Philippe said Haitians should defend Aristide if outsiders move into Haiti to arrest Aristide. Rumors have circulated in recent weeks that Aristide is wanted on various criminal charges, a claim denied by the United States government and Haitian officials.

"If they arrest him, all Haitians should take to the streets," Philippe said as he acknowledged his past grievances with Aristide. "Everybody knows I'm not a friend of Aristide. They all know I have a problem with Aristide."

Unlike Aristide, Philippe is an actual fugitive who is wanted on a U.S. indictment charging him with drug offenses. He was at the helm of a band of former soldiers that ousted Aristide during the president's second term in 2004.

On Thursday, some of the remnants of the disbanded army, along with hopeful recruits, shadowed Philippe in the colonial streets of Cap-Haitien as they called for President Michel Martelly to fulfill his campaign pledge of restoring the armed forces. Police officers looked on as the men in military fatigue, some carrying handguns, passed through Haiti's second biggest city jammed in the back of pickup trucks.

Western diplomats have opposed Martelly's plan to bring back the military, which Aristide abolished in 1995 because of its history of human rights abuses.

Mariano Fernandez, the top official with the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in Haiti, has called the public appearances by several hundred ex-soldiers in uniform an "unnecessary provocation." Security updates sent to humanitarian groups refer to them as "paramilitary elements."

As in Cap-Haitien, other veterans and their followers drove through Haiti's capital and called for the army to be reinstated because the force is recognized in the constitution. Bystanders cheered them on.

Earlier Thursday, a few hundred Aristide supporters rallied in Port-au-Prince.

They accused Martelly of abusing the constitution because they believe he has dual nationality, something that the charter bars for top officials and would disqualify him from office.

Martelly has denied he is a citizen of two countries. Earlier this month, he showed his old passports at a news conference in an effort to dispel the rumors.

___

Associated Press writer Evens Sanon and APTN videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)