French President Hollande arrives in Haiti; promises investment in education

President Francois Hollande has arrived in Haiti to boost France's role in what was once its richest Caribbean possession but is now a desperately poor nation with a bitter colonial legacy.

Haiti's President Michel Martelly rolled out the red carpet at the airport for his Parisian counterpart yesterday, but Hollande's visit provoked small demonstrations by protesters demanding France pay damages for its past wrongs in Haiti.

"No negotiation, no compensation can repair the wounds of history that still mark us today," Martelly told Hollande in a speech before an invited audience of dignitaries in the capital Port-au-Prince.

"Haiti has not forgotten, but Haiti is not stubborn," he added, attempting to put an end to a fierce debate in Haiti about whether it can rebuild relations with its former colonial power without demanding reparations.

Hollande, in turn, promised Martelly that France would finance a large-scale program to modernize Haiti's education system, but steered clear of the question of a multi-billion-euro cash payout.

"You're not asking for aid, you want development," he told Haitians. "You're not asking for welfare, you want investment."

Later, after private talks with Martelly, Hollande repeated that France's investment in education should be seen as an appropriate effort to make amends for history.

"It's the best symbol that we can offer together," he said. "We can't change history, but we can change the future."

The leaders' words will not appease all Haitians.

"It's the money we need!" shouted protester Philistin Servilus from behind police lines as the guests gathered by a statue of Toussaint Louverture, a Haitian independence hero who died in a French jail.

Haiti rose in a slaves' revolt after the 1789 French Revolution promised freedom, equality and brotherhood for all, but created a new regime that fell far short of those ideals in the country's colonies.

In 1804, Haiti threw off its chains and became the first black republic, but France would have its revenge. Paris demanded Haiti pay damages or face invasion and a return to slavery.