Port-au-Prince, Haiti ? Thousands of supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide converged Monday in Haiti’s capital, voicing their support for their embattled president as the country prepared for its historic bicentennial.

The march came a day after police arrested a leading spokesman for the opposition in Haiti’s second-largest city during a protest march calling for Aristide to step down.

Police arrested Eliscar Charles, allegedly for organizing an illegal demonstration. Demonstration leaders claimed they had conformed to regulations that require them to notify the police 48 hours before staging the demonstration.

“This is another step in the government’s systematic repression of protest in Cap-Haitien and elsewhere in the country,” said Frandley Denis Julien, leader of Citizens Initiative, a civil society group that belongs to the North District Front.

Charles, a member of the opposition People’s Struggle party, is co-leader of the North District Front, a coalition that includes civil society groups and several opposition parties.

Aristide partisans have accused the Front of attempting to destabilize the government, and the group’s leaders have either been arrested or are in hiding.

Earlier this month, police arrested Front co-leader Jackson Noel and 10 other people, charging them with shooting at a police vehicle.

Witnesses said Noel’s eye was injured while he was being beaten by police. He was later transferred to the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The same day, police stormed the opposition station Radio Maxima, smashed studio broadcasting equipment and shut the station down. They found several weapons on the roof.

Police were not immediately available for comment on Monday.

Radio Maxima, whose owner Jean-Robert Lalane was shot and wounded in the shoulder when he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Nov. 25, had been the voice of the opposition in Cap-Haitien. Lalane, who has since gone into hiding, is a co-leader of the North District Front.

Haiti has been in turmoil since flawed May 2000 elections the opposition charges were rigged. Opposition political parties refuse to participate in legislative elections unless Aristide steps down.

Meanwhile, with at least 41 killed and scores wounded during anti-government demonstrations since mid-September, violence is on the rise across this Caribbean nation.

The Organization of American States and the United States have exhorted the government to respect the rights of assembly and deplored the excessive use of force by the police.