As Haiti celebrated the 207th anniversary of its liberation from colonial rule on Saturday, many people took the opportunity instead to protest against the country's president.
Reporting from the northern city of Gonaives, where Haiti was declared independent from France in 1804, the BBC's correspondent says protesters are demanding that President Rene Preval step down immediately.
It has been a year of woe for Haitians: first there was the massive earthquake on 12 January, then a cholera epidemic and, in November, a presidential election marred by allegations of fraud.
Mr Preval remains in office till the result of a run-off election between the two highest-polling candidates on 16 January is officially declared.
In an independence day address he said everything changed after 12 January and the country was turned upside down.
But protesters in both Gonaives and the capital, Port-au-prince, remain angry, the BBC reports, mainly because of two things: what's perceived as the poor handling of the cholera outbreak that has killed more than 2000 people, and the perception of election fraud and voter intimidation.
