By Amelie Baron
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Anti-government street protesters plan to shut down Haiti's capital for two days starting Monday as the country plunges deeper into political and economic crises even as many prepare for the annual Carnival, normally a time of peaceful revelry.
Protest organizers warned residents of the capital to stay off the streets during the two-day strike over gasoline prices, saying that those who ventured out would risk their lives.
Prime Minister Evans Paul made an appeal for calm via Twitter over the weekend and said the government would guarantee security.
The impoverished Caribbean nation is in the midst of a political crisis after the previous prime minister was forced to resign in December and parliament was dissolved over the failure to hold municipal and legislative elections.
For three months, President Michel Martelly has faced radical government opponents calling for his removal, with students joining the protests last week.
Haiti's government badly needs to raise cash from the sale of gasoline to pay off its mounting fuel debt with Venezuela's preferential PetroCaribe program, which has ballooned to about $1.5 billion.
The government "cannot lower the price of gas. It's not that we do not want to, it's because we are not able to," Paul said in a statement.
After a one-day fuel strike last Monday, the government announced lower fuel prices, reducing gasoline to 195 gourdes ($4.25) per gallon from 215 gourdes ($4.62).
"We are asking for gasoline prices to be reduced to 100 gourdes (1 pound) a gallon," said Assad Volcy, one of the leaders of the protest movement.
More than 6 million Haitians, about 60 percent of the population, live on two dollars a day, according to a recent World Bank report.
The U.S. State Department and the United Nations peace-keeping force in Haiti have so far stood by Martelly, praising his efforts at compromise, and urging all sides to agree to hold the overdue elections.
On Saturday, the 29th anniversary of the overthrow of the dictatorship of Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, several thousand protesters marched in protest in Port-au-Prince to demand the departure of Martelly and for lower gasoline prices.
The protesters, who threw rocks and blocked streets with burning tires, were dispersed by police using tear gas. Police prevented them reaching an area near the presidential palace where the three-day Carnival will be staged starting Feb. 15.
"Today, we have a spiritual son of Duvalier in power, who has done everything to shut down parliament. We're giving a lesson of democracy to Martelly ... to show him we are not accepting the return of dictatorship," Volcy said.