[News] Haiti Updates: Bush's regime change bloodbaths, terror campaigns & slaughter in Haiti......
News at freedomarchives.org
News at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jun 6 11:46:53 EDT 2005
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From: <mailto:erzilidanto at yahoo.com>erzilidanto at yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2005 1:54 AM
Subject: [ezilidanto] Bush's regime change bloodbaths, terror campaigns &
slaughter in Haiti......
***************************************************************************
- Up to 25 People Killed as Police Raid Haiti Slums | By REUTERS, June 4, 2005
- Update from the OAS XXXV General Assembly - About 1,500 protestors
marched near the Convention Center to express their support for former
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the delegates were meeting." June 5,
2005 | Miami, Florida
- Haiti interim premier wants to talk with UN before troops mandate
renewed, AFP
(Latortue coming to New York...)
- AHP News - June 5, 2005 - Eng. translation - Police raids in Bel-Air kill
23 on Friday and Saturday, police decline to comment, MINUSTAH denies any
direct involvement
-Haiti's police ratchet up violence, dismiss human rights concerns, June 5,
2005
- Editorial - U.S. mistakes in Haiti | June 3, 2005 "Rushing to hold
elections in the midst of anarchy is a formula for disaster. The United
States must use its leverage to force the Latortue government to negotiate
with Aristide and Lavalas. Aristide remains the country's most influential
political figure and there will be no solution to the current crisis
without his participation." ContraCostaTimes.com
- AHP News - June 3, 2005 - Eng. translation:
The MINUSTAH military commander affirms that he will never order a massacre
in the populist districts but reaffirms the commitment of his troops to
combat all who terrorize the population
- The interim Prime Minister considers that a good number of the MINUSTAH
Soldiers feel closer to the people from the shantytowns than they do to
people from civil society and the government
-A murder and new cases of kidnapping in Port-au-Prince
- Haiti's kidnappings: The interim Justice Minister announces the arrival
of foreign units to reinforce the PNH Swat Team
- Gérard Latortue announces that his government is preparing to provide a
proportional response to the bandits who set fire to the Tête Boeuf market
- The President of the CEP admits for the first time that some dates on the
election calendar may have to be moved back
- AHP News - June 3, 2005 -Yvon Feuillé affirms that he decided to take a
seat on the commission preparing the national dialogue in order to test the
good faith of the government on a series of issues
- AHP News - June 3 - Lavalas activists denounce the arson attack at the
Tête Boeuf market and calls for the formation of an independent commission
of investigation
-AHP News , June 3, 2005 |Radio Galaxie declares that it has received
threats - the following is a press release issued by the newsroom
------------------------------------
*****************************************************************************
June 4, 2005
Up to 25 People Killed as Police Raid Haiti Slums
By REUTERS
Filed at 10:39 p.m. ET
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - As many as 25 people were killed in
police raids on Friday and Saturday in the slums of Haiti's capital
after the government said it would get tougher on gangs, morgue workers
and witnesses said.
Clerks at the morgue in the General Hospital said they had taken in 17
bodies on Saturday and three bodies on Friday after the raids in
Bel-Air and other Port-au-Prince slums, centers of support for ousted
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
A Reuters journalist also saw five other bodies in two different areas
of Bel-Air.
Residents said the dead were shot by police and accused police of
setting slum homes on fire.
Police officials had no immediate comment on the death toll and it was
not clear whether all the victims were killed in the raids, or if some
were shot as gang members returned fire.
Haiti's interim government, backed by a 7,400-strong United Nations
peacekeeping force, has sought to stabilize the impoverished Caribbean
country since Aristide fled into exile as armed rebels closed in on the
capital in February 2004.
Human rights groups have accused the Haitian police of summary
executions and abuses against supporters of Aristide -- allegations
denied by the government.
Justice Minister Bernard Gousse and other officials said on Friday
authorities planned tougher action against armed gangs in pro-Aristide
slums, where victims of a recent wave of hundreds of kidnappings are
often said to be held.
At least 740 people have been killed in criminal and political violence
in Haiti since September. A French diplomat was shot to death this week
while driving in the capital.
``The police arrived, they started shooting. There were other people
shooting too, but they managed to flee,'' said Ronald Macillon, a
Bel-Air resident. ``The police killed a lot of people and set several
homes on fire,'' Macillon said.
Several other witnesses gave similar accounts.
A spokesman for U.N. troops in Bel-Air, Col. Carlos Barcelos, told
Reuters the Brazilian contingent based in that slum did not take part
directly in the raids, but put up checkpoints and secured the outside
perimeter.
The Central Director for the Administrative Police, Renan Etienne, told
Reuters he could not say how many people were killed or comment on
allegations police set homes on fire, as he had not yet received police
reports.
***************
Update from the OAS XXXV General Assembly
"About 1,500 protestors from several organizations marched near the
Convention Center to express their support for former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the delegates were meeting." June 5, 2005
Miami, Florida
*
HAGC delegates criticized the US Immigration Policy vis-à-vis Haitian
Nationals at the XXXV OAS General Assembly in the dialogue between member
states and civil society organizations. On this dialogue, the Haitian
Government kept its silence on issues related to Haiti and Haitian Refugees.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the new
OAS General Secretary expressed their preoccupation with the current crisis
in Haiti. The Florida Governor in a private conversation with an HAGC
delegate suggested that if 100 marines are sent to Haiti until the
elections are held, the situation would improve. A recent article in the
Washington Post suggest that a battalion of the US army could do the job
but Pentagon Officials are resisting in committing US soldiers in a mission
without a clear exit strategy. The suggestion of the governor to commit
troops until elections are held may well define the exit strategy for the
Pentagon. In the meantime OAS continues to push very hard for the upcoming
elections to take place.
The Brazilian Minister of Racial Equality, Matilde Reibero and Commissioner
Clare Roberts, the Special Raporteur for the Organization of American
States with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and
Representatives from Global Rights will meet with Members of the
Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition on Monday, June 3rd, 2005 at 12:30 PM
at the Marriott Hotel Marina 1880 SE 17 Street Atlantic Ballroom in
Fort-Lauderdale. This meeting is open to the public, no credentials are
needed to attend. HAGC will propose that the Inter-American Commission
send an investigative in several countries
in the region to make inquiry about human rights of Haitian Refugees.
To RSVP, participants can call 305-785-4248.
Delegates of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition will meet
also with the Jamaican Ambassador on Wednesday, June 8, 2005 at the Hyatt
Hotel in Fort Lauderdale to discuss issues related to Haitian Refugees
currently detained in refugee camp in Jamaica. Another meeting is being
scheduled with the Dominican Ambassador to discuss the situation of the
Haitian migrants working in the bateys of Dominican Republic.
About 1,500 protestors from several organizations marched near the
Convention Center to express their support for former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the delegates were meeting. The protests ended
without incident. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Federal, State
and local law enforcement agencies are completely mobilized and look ready
for any eventuality. Broward County appears to be a in a state of siege
with deployment of federal agents at every corner in the streets. If you
plan to come in the neighborhood, it is advisable that your driver license
is in good standing and be aware that your automobile is subject to be
searched by police and federal agents.
**********
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050604/ts_afp/haitiunusviolence_050604090849>http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050604/ts_afp/haitiunusviolence_050604090849
Haiti interim premier wants to talk with UN before
troops mandate renewed
AFP, Sat Jun 4, 5:08 AM ET
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue called on the
United Nations to re-examine its peacekeepers' mandate
after a fresh wave of violence in Haiti, suggesting
their presence was inadequately geared to helping
Haiti's plight.
Latortue also hit out at the United States for
deporting criminals to Haiti once they had served
sentence in the United States, saying he plans to ask
Washington to suspend repatriations until the
situation in Haiti stabilizes.
"We can't have all these (UN) troops in the country
and witness the deterioration of the situation,"
Latortue told reporters.
"Before the extension of the mission's mandate (at the
end of June) we will go next week to New York to make
contact with the UN secretary general Kofi Annan and
the Security Council," he said.
Latortue's comments came amid controversy at the
United Nations over how long an extension of UN
peacekeepers may be granted, with China opposed to a
year's extensions, mainly due to tensions over
friendly relations between Haiti and China's rival
Taiwan.
Numerous critiques of peacekeepers' efforts have been
launched, amid claims that UN troops have failed to
intervene in violence targeting Haitian police.
"What is the point of deploying" often French-speaking
troops "in regions where nothing is going on, where
there is no problem, when in Port-au-Prince where
there are lots of problems there are no troops
deployed?" asked Latortue.
"The question of how they are distributed needs
re-examining," he said.
The UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, MINUSTAH, has
6,700 troops, and an international police force of
1,622.
In the Haitian capital, some 2,000 peacekeepers are
present, with backup announced this week of a
battalion that has been serving in Jacmel in the
south.
At a news conference, Haiti's Justice Minister Bernard
Gousse also called for a "permanent presence of
MINUSTAH at police stations and in troublespots" in
the capital.
Latortue suggested Haitians recently repatriated from
the United States were among the culprits for a wave
of kidnappings in recent weeks.
He called them "criminals, professional hitmen who
become kidnappers" once in Haiti.
Oftentimes the most problematic individuals are people
who were "not born in Haiti but whose parents are
Haitian," he said.
It is in the United States "where they have learned to
be criminals," he said.
And while the United States deports such individuals
to Haiti where they cannot be expected to serve a
second sentence, Washington calls on their
"non-essential (diplomatic) personnel to leave" the
country, Latortue charged.
Violence this week saw the shooting to death of the
French honorary consul, and the killing of at least 10
people in an arson and firearms attack in Haiti's
capital, police said.
The attack on the market and on a police station
nearby also wounded four police, one of them
seriously, police spokeswoman Gessie Coicou said.
The market is close to the Cite Soleil shantytown of
300,000 people, a stronghold of supporters of Jean
Bertrand Aristide, who resigned as president and fled
the country in February 2004.
A group of Brussels-based crisis experts this week
called the security situation in Haiti "explosive",
saying that pushing for elections scheduled for late
2005 is "perhaps overly ambitious."
Meanwhile, the United Nations, struggling to agree a
new longer-term mandate for its 7,400-strong
peacekeeping force here, in a stop-gap measure Tuesday
renewed its mandate for 24 more days.
***********
AHP News - June 5, 2005 - English translation (Unofficial)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
At least 23 people have been killed and more than a dozen homes set on fire
during raids by the police in the populist district of Bel-Air
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 5, 2005 (AHP)- At least 23 people were killed and more
than a dozen homes set on fire during operations conducted Friday and
Saturday by patrols from the Haitian National Police (PNH) in the populist
district of Bel-Air in Port-au-Prince.
At least 17 residents of this district were killed on Saturday alone.
Various officials of the PNH reached by telephone Saturday refused to
comment on the deadly raids. However pro-government sectors claimed that
those who were killed were bandits.
Numerous family members and close friends of the victims declared for their
part that the victims were members of the civilian population, because the
people who are used to exchanging gunfire with the police had time to flee
the area, they said.
"The police know full well (who the victims are) but their objective, in
targeting the entire population, is to empty the populist districts in
anticipation of the elections, whose progress is stalled", said several
indignant residents of Bel-Air.
Severely criticized by the interim government and by close supporters of
the regime because of the "refusal by the UN Mission (MINUSTAH) to support
the raids by the police in the populist districts reputed to be supportive
of President Aristide, the MINUSTAH military commander, Augusto Heleno
Ribeiro, declared Friday that he would never order a massacre in the
populist districts.
The interventions must never be made blindly in the populist districts, he
said. The creation of innocent victims must be avoided, he replied to his
accusers during a meeting organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of Haiti (CCIH).
The spokesperson for the Brazilian UN troops, Colonel Carlos Barcelos,
tried Saturday to distance himself from the police raids of the past 48
hours, indicating that "the troops of MINUSTAH did not participate
directly" (in these operations).
Violence and insecurity have reached disturbing proportions in recent
weeks, marked above all by killings and abductions in which various sectors
of the population are said to be involved, including police officers,
police spokesperson Gessy Cameau Coicou indicated recently.
However, it if first and foremost the inhabitants of the populist
districts, notably the residents of Bel-Air and Cite Soleil who are
accused of responsibility for all the violence due to the fact, they said,
that they are calling for the return of President Aristide, who as forced
to leave Haiti on February 29, 2004 and is currently living in exile in
South Africa.
Following the arson attack Wednesday at one of the main public markets in
the capital, (the Tête Boeuf market), which left some 10 people dead and
caused substantial property damage, the interim Minister of Justice,
Bernard Gousse announced that the authors of the acts of violence as well
as the places where they are located, would be struck.
He also announced that the Swat Team specialized unit of the Haitian
national police had received the support of members of a foreign Swat
Team, however he refused to identify the country of origin of the
reinforcements.
The interim Prime Minister, Gérard Latortue for his part said that his
government is in the process of preparing a proportional response to the
bandits who set fire Tuesday to the Tête Boeuf market.
Latortue had declared however that he would avoid resorting to blind
repression in his fight against the bandits.
He announced measures aimed at helping the victims and called on those
responsible for the security of the country to assume their
responsibilities, and announced at the same time some changes in the team
in charge of security for the country.
According to police sources, the interim authorities are aware that former
Haitian soldiers, as well as individuals who had been forcibly deported
from U.S. prisons, and groups of civilians who had taken up arms in
February 2004, are still very active.
Indeed, former Haitian soldiers have returned to their base in Pernales
(Central Plateau) along the Haitian-Dominican border, from which they
launched attacks in 2004 and held the population hostage under the Aristide
government.
AHP June 5, 2005 12:30 PM
------------------------------------
***********
Haiti Information Project
June 5, 2005
Haiti's police ratchet up violence, dismiss human rights concerns
Port au Prince, Haiti (HIP) - Haitian police continued attacks against
a
pro-Aristide neighborhood for a third straight day. The area, known as
Bel Air, has been a launching site for recent large demonstrations
demanding the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It is
also said to be a home to what Haitian police have alleged is a growing
"urban guerilla" movement to destabilize the government before upcoming
elections.
According to several residents, the police raids began on Friday
evening
and have been followed by several waves of armed assaults on the
community. Residents also reported being unable to flee indiscriminate
shooting by the police without running into roadblocks and checkpoints
set up by U.N. forces surrounding the area. Many complained of
arbitrary arrests of relatives by U.N. forces collaborating with the
Haitian police as they tried to escape the gunfire.
Journalists entering the neighborhood were shown huge pools of blood
where victims were reportedly shot without warning and early reports
indicate that more than 30 people have been killed during the police
raids. Gunfire could still be heard throughout Bel Air Sunday night as
police launched another deadly assault.
"They are killing us. They are trying to slaughter us all," shouted an
unidentified woman whose home was burned to the ground after police set
fire to the area. More than 12 homes were reportedly burned to the
ground in what many human rights observers have described as a
"scorched earth" policy being used by the Haitian police.
The police raids come one day after a spokesman for Aristide's Lavalas
movement in Haiti's capital, Mr. Sanba Boukman, condemned a recent
attack and firebombing against a popular market in Port au Prince. At
least 10 people are reported to have died in last week's blaze that was
started after unidentified gunman began shooting in the area. This
prompted U.S. Ambassador James B. Foley to join Haiti's business elite
in calling for tougher measures to be used against what they have
characterized as "armed gangs loyal to Aristide."
Haiti's latest wave of violence and insecurity began after the Haitian
police fired on thousands of peaceful demonstrators in the capital
demanding the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 28 and
April 27. At least 11 unarmed demonstrators were killed in the two
attacks forcing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to echo demands of
human rights organizations for an official investigation. The
U.S.-installed government of Gerard Latortue has dismissed the
allegations despite statements made by Brazilian General Heleno Ribera
and video footage taken by a local television station confirming the
unprovoked attacks. The video footage also shows members of Haiti's
police force planting guns on corpses to justify the slayings on April
27.
Recent violence in Haiti's capital has also decreased the chances of
holding elections scheduled to begin in October of this year. The body
overseeing the election process, the Provisional Election Council,
announced on May 30 that only 60,000 people have registered out of an
eligible 4.5 million potential voters since the process began more then
a month ago.
The current crisis in Haiti also prompted an editorial in a California
newspaper on Saturday, the Contra Costa Times, to conclude, "Rushing to
hold elections in the midst of anarchy is a formula for disaster. The
United States must use its leverage to force the Latortue government to
negotiate with Aristide and Lavalas. Aristide remains the country's
most influential political figure and there will be no solution to the
current crisis without his participation." Such positions are said to
infuriate U.S. policy makers who are accused along with France and
Canada of fomenting a coup against Aristide Feb. 29, 2004.
*
The Haiti Information Project (HIP) is a non-profit alternative news
service providing coverage and analysis of breaking developments in
Haiti. For more information visit:
<http://www.teledyol.net/HIP/about.html>http://www.teledyol.net/HIP/about.html
Contact: <mailto:HIP at teledyol.net>HIP at teledyol.net
*************
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11805459.htm
EDITORIAL - Jun. 03, 2005
U.S. mistakes in Haiti
Long before "Operation Iraqi Freedom" there was "Operation Restore
Democracy." That U.S. invasion nearly 11 years ago was supposed to restore
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted in a military
coup, liberate the Haitians from their barbaric military, and, most
importantly, stop the exodus of Haitian boat people to Florida.
President Clinton sent 23,000 American troops. Although Republicans worked
furiously against it, Aristide was returned to power. Clinton proclaimed
that democracy had been restored. The problem, however, is that it's
impossible to restore something where it never existed. More than a decade
after the U.S. withdrew its troops and moved on, Haiti has lapsed into
total anarchy.
Violence -- both random and politically motivated -- has always been a
serious problem. Now, it is out of control. Armed gangs roam the streets
with Uzis, carjacking and kidnapping people at will. Rival groups rampage
through the slums terrorizing the residents. The ill-equipped police and
U.N. peacekeepers have been unable to quell the violence.
Human rights groups say that 620 people have been killed since September.
Aristide, once again in exile, claims 10,000 have died since a coup in
February 2004 forced his departure during his second term.
The U.S. State Department has told all American citizens to leave Haiti and
sent its non-emergency personnel in Port-au-Prince packing. The
U.S.-installed puppet Prime Minister Gerard Latortue objected bitterly:
"It's a hard blow that the Americans have dealt to us."
The whole thing does remind one of rats leaving a sinking ship. The United
States, along with Canada and France, bear a large share of the
responsibility for the current mess in the former French colony. It was the
United States that encouraged a band of killers from the Dominican Republic
-- former soldiers in the Haitian military implicated in several massacres
of Aristide supporters -- to invade Haiti. There is strong evidence that
the U.S. supplied their weapons. Instead of protecting Aristide, who
despite his many flaws, is still Haiti's democratically elected president,
the U.S. forced him onto a plane bound for the Central African Republic.
Today, most of the fighting appears to be between the supporters of the
Lavalas party who want Aristide to return and supporters of the former
military. According to human rights groups, the Latortue government has
killed hundreds of Lavalas supporters and forced many others into hiding.
Lavalas gangs also have done their share of killing.
The United States insists Haiti will hold elections in October. Lavalas,
the largest political party, has said it will not participate.
Rushing to hold elections in the midst of anarchy is a formula for
disaster. The United States must use its leverage to force the Latortue
government to negotiate with Aristide and Lavalas. Aristide remains the
country's most influential political figure and there will be no solution
to the current crisis without his participation.
****************
AHP News - June 3, 2005 - English translation (Unofficial)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MINUSTAH military commander affirms that he will never order a massacre
in the populist districts but reaffirms the commitment of his troops to
combat all who terrorize the population
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro,
military commander of MINUSTAH, declared once again Friday that he will
never order a massacre in the populist districts.
Augusto Heleno Ribeiro made these comments during a debate organized under
the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti (CCIH)
concerning the problem of insecurity and the role of MINUSTAH in Haiti.
According to the UN commander, interventions must not be conducted blindly
in the populist districts. Innocent civilian casualties must be avoided, he
said, in response to those who are asking MINUSTAH soldiers to crack down
on the residents of the poor districts accused of responsibility for acts
of insecurity.
" There is no prescription for this type of crime", said Gen. Ribeiro,
adding that he would never wish to have to answer for crimes before the
International Criminal Court.
He declared that the violence taking place in the populist districts is
closely connected to the misery of the inhabitants.
"When, in these neighborhoods, people are unable to have a hot meal even
once per day, it is completely normal for there to be acts of violence",
said Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro, who reaffirmed the commitment of his
troops to fight against those who sow terror in the Haitian capital by
reinforcing patrols in the areas where tension is highest.
The Brazilian general said he is counting on the collaboration of all
dynamic sectors of the country in the effort to establish a climate of
lasting peace in Haiti.
Commander Ribeiro also indicated that the situation in Haiti s extremely
complex and that the problems are not easy to resolve.
"If Haiti's problems could be resolved easily, that would have happened a
long time ago", decalred the Brazilian general, affirming that it is time
to rebuild the country along a path that includes respect for human rights,
not carnage.
The President of the CCIH for his part took issue with the remarks
suggesting that much of the violence in Haiti is related to extreme poverty.
He alleged that the MINUSTAH military commander knows that the violence is
being perpetrated by what he called "political gangs linked to Lavalas".
Many Haitians living in the populist districts have been killed in recent
months during demonstrations in which they called for the release of
political prisoners or for better living conditions without their having
been any serious investigation carried out to apprehend those responsible
who are linked to the police, according to families of the victims and
human rights organizations.
According to many sectors, in addition to Lavalas activists, who are
accused of responsibility for all acts of violence committed in Haiti,
numerous other groups are in possession of weapons. These include the
former Haitian soldiers who vanished into the undergrowth along with their
weapons, as well as people who were forcibly deported to Haiti, and gangs
reputed to be close to sectors of the former opposition to Aristide.
A senior official from OPL (the Organization of the People in Struggle),
Paul Denis, on Monday attributed the acts of violence to several sectors,
while declaring that it would be too easy to impute responsibility for all
the violence solely to the Lavalas sector. He said also that there sectors
who do not wish to see a strong State nor authorities who are capable of
assuming their responsibilities.
These sectors feel more at ease in a climate of disorder and anarchy in
their quest to occupy the spaces of power and make money under bad
conditions, just as they have always done, and without fear of being caught
by the justice system, said Mr. Denis.
AHP June 3, 2005 2:30 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The interim Prime Minister considers that a good number of the MINUSTAH
Soldiers feel closer to the people from the shantytowns than they do to
people from civil society and the government
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue
asserted Friday that some members of MINUSTAH feel more at ease with the
inhabitants of the shantytowns, particularly the people of Bel-air and
Cité Soleil, for sociological and psychological reasons, he said.
"A number of them can feel much closer to the people of these districts
than they do to members of the government and civil society", said Mr.
Latortue.
The head of the interim government did not elaborate on these remarks,
however many members of the military force of MINUSTAH come from poor
countries and shantytowns.
Mr. Latortue said that these are problems to be solved. With this in mind,
he announced that he will soon visit the United Nations to discuss possible
changes at the level of the UN forces.
AHP June 3, 2005 2:40 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A murder and new cases of kidnapping in Port-au-Prince
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- A Haitian business man was killed this
Friday in Port-au-Prince.
The owner of the shop named "Elegancia ", Pierre Guillaume Amazan, was
killed by armed individuals in Delmas as he was driving his children to
school.
At the same time, close to ten kidnapping cases were reported in the capital.
Four shopkeepers and the cashier from an electronics store were abducted
this Friday. Four members of the same family were also kidnapped. At the
same time, a student from the Sainte-Rose School in Lalue was abducted and
then released after a ransom was paid.
As of this Friday, the family of Jean Gérard Gilbert, the director of the
Classic Training Center, who was kidnapped Wednesday had heard no more news
about him, despite having paid the ransom that was demanded by the
kidnappers.
The school director's wife, Maryse Gilbert, said that according to the
latest information received from the kidnappers, her husband was said to be
in a coma.
Interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue blamed the kidnappings
on ex-prisoners who have arrived in Haiti through a program of forcible
deportation from the United States. He called for an end to these
deportations, judging that most of these individuals have learned to kill
and steal outside Haiti.
On Thursday, several people suffered gunshot injuries Thursday during
clashes between Haitian police officers and a group of heavily armed
individuals in the Poste-Marchand district.
Heavy weapons fire was heard in several other parts of the capital, notably
in the Bel-Air, Nazon and Lalue districts and in the vicinity of the
National Palace.
AHP June 3, 2005 1:20 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haïti's kidnappings: The interim Justice Minister announces the arrival of
foreign units to reinforce the PNH Swat Team
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Interim Justice Minister Bernard Gousse
has announced a series of measure designed to combat kidnappings.
The kidnappers must no longer feel safe in the Haitian capital, declared
Bernard Gousse.
Foreign units have arrived to reinforce the ranks of the national Swat Team
in order to put an end to this scourge, he said.
Bernard Gousse also appealed for reinforcements for the office of the
Inspector General of the Haitian National Police (PNH) in order to carry
out investigations into certain police officers who are serving as
informants to the bandits.
For his part, interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue singled out former
prisoners who have been forcibly deported from the United States as being
the principal authors of the kidnappings.
Mr. Latortue said that steps will be taken to press the U.S. government to
end these deportations.
AHP June 3, 2005 4:35 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gérard Latortue announces that his government is preparing to provide a
proportional response to the bandits who set fire to the Tête Boeuf market
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue
said Thursday that his government is in the process of preparing an
appropriate response to the bandits who set fire to the Tête Boeuf market.
Mr. Latortue declared, however, that he will avoid engaging in blind
repression in the fight against the bandits.
He announced measures aimed at helping the victims and called on those
responsible for the country's security to assume their responsibilities
while at the same time he announced changes in the nation's security team. .
The Minister for Women's Affairs and Women's Rights, Adeline Chancy, for
her part informed the public of a Wednesday meeting with the Mayor
of Port-au-Prince, Ms. Carline Simon and her assessor, Yanick Mézil, in
connection with the fire at the Tête Boeuf market.
About 10 people were killed in that fire Tuesday's. Substantial property
damage also took place.
Adeline Chancy said that her Ministry is directly concerned by this tragedy
because most of the victims are women.
The Minister for Women's Affairs committed herself to supporting, she said,
every effort by the government to assist these victims, and called on the
interim regime to reinforce security measures to enable the victims to
resume their activities.
For his part, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Fritz Kénol, said that
the interim government will do everything it can to help the victims of the
tragedy at the Tête Boeuf market.
According to Mr. Kénol, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance has already
been approached with a view to developing a program that will allow all the
victims to be reached, beginning with the small retailers.
AHP June 3, 2005 1:50 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The President of the CEP admits for the first time that some dates on the
election calendar may have to be moved back
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Max Mathurin, provisional President of
the provisional Electoral Council, acknowledged for the first time Thursday
that the scheduled dates set for the elections might not hold.
"We can always move back the date scheduled for the municipal and local
elections", declared Mr. Mathurin in response to questions from a radio
station in the capital.
The CEP is not a slave to any date, he said.
The CEP's provisional president also recognized that the voter registration
process is not going along very well because, he said, of the climate of
insecurity that prevails in the country.
Only some 56.000 voters have registered since the start of the process a
little over a month ago, with only two months left to go in the
registration period.
The new secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS),
José Miguel Insulza, warned Thursday that the growing insecurity in Haiti
is threatening the democratic process in the country.
Jose Miguel Insulza, who took office on May 26, declared that the
representatives of OAS member states will discuss the Haitian crisis with
UN officials during the OAS General Assembly from June 5-7 in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
"The diplomats will discuss the role of the OAS in organizing the general
elections called in order to fill the vacuum caused by the forced departure
from Haiti of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
AHP June 3, 2005 11:00 AM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yvon Feuillé affirms that he decided to take a seat on the commission
preparing the national dialogue in order to test the good faith of the
government on a series of issues
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Haitian Senator Yvon Feuillé affirmed
Friday that he agreed to take part in the preparatory commission for the
national dialogue in order to test the good faith of the interim government
on a range of questions including the arbitrary imprisonment of Lavalas
party leaders and activists.
Provisional President Boniface Alexandre inaugurated the commission Tuesday
at the National Palace, naming it the Independent Preparatory Commission of
the National Dialogue".
Yvon Feuillé said he recognizes that his presence in this commission is not
unanimously supported within Fanmi Lavalas.
He said he is sitting on the commission to defend three issues: the release
of the political prisoners, the creation of a government of national union,
and the return of constitutional order in the country.
For their part, the grassroots activists of Fanmi Lavalas have disapproved
of the presence of Senator Yvon Feuillé on this commission, which they call
"the Commission of Anti-National Dialogue".
The spokesperson for the Lavalas activists of Cité Soleil, René Monplaisir,
said that no one has been appointed by the party to represent it in
confused structures.
"How can one speak of dialogue when they continue to kill us in the
populist districts, when our rights are being trampled and when the
detention centres are jammed to overflowing with political prisoners",
asked René Monplaisir.
AHP June 3, 2005 11:25 AM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lavalas activists denounce the arson attack at the Tête Boeuf market and
calls for the formation of an independent commission of investigation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, June 3, 2005 (AHP)- Lavalas activists spoke out Friday in
condemnation of the criminal arson attack that ravaged the Tête Boeuf
market on Tuesday and caused 10 deaths.
A spokesperson for the activists of Cité Soleil, René Monplaisir, called
for the creation of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate and
shed light on this barbarous act.
According to René Monplaisir, the fire at the Tête Boeuf market was the
work of certain sectors seeking to justify the continuation of persecution
and repression in the populist districts.
He denounced the fact that it is always the disadvantaged classes who are
the target of these sectors.
AHP June 3, 2005 11:55 AM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Galaxie declares that it has received threats - the following is a
press release issued by the newsroom
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Management of Radio Galaxie, targeted with persistent threats
A plot aimed at kidnapping or attempting to kill one or several members of
the management team of Radio Galaxie has been organized and is set to be
put into action shortly by unidentified armed groups, according to various
messages received by the station, some threatening, others conciliatory and
urging prudence.
What is disturbing is that the authorities in the country, the PNH and
MINUSTAH first and foremost, were contacted by letter three days ago. These
authorities, who often hide behind the excuse that they were not informed
in a timely manner, have as of Friday June 3rd, not even deigned to call
the Station; it is just like refusing to assist a person in danger, a
display of contempt which places the staff of the Radio in terrible distress.
In at least two circumstances, one of the senior directors of the Radio has
barely escaped being kidnapped; the first time he was able, by reflex, to
thwart the maneuvers of armed men trying to force their way into his
vehicle as he was on his way home. On a second occasion, he was saved
thanks to the miraculous assistance of a vigilant friend at the Radio
Station who, risking his own life, courageously opposed the actions of four
assailants who lay in ambush outside his vehicle to attack him as he left a
friend's house after a visit.
Without wishing to give in too quickly to a kind of alarmist feeling, the
rampant insecurity together with the staggering increase in criminal acts
reported in diverse corners of the country, and with a particular intensity
in the metropolitan area - a situation before which the citizens are
completely disarmed and all the more abandoned to their own fate - we are
nevertheless issuing this invitation to pay scrupulous attention to these
items of information.
The motive of those passing the instructions in this plot and of the
possible authors of these planned crimes aimed at chopping off the head of
Radio Galaxie is thus far unknown. For the moment, one is reduced to
suppositions.
Perhaps the Management of Radio Galaxie is being targeted by the new
"growth industry" of our time, which is in search of ransom payments and
easy money, that is, the industry consisting of the kidnapping of ordinary
citizens, an industry always in search of fresh prey. To think this way
would however, strangely enough, be mistaken.
Radio Galaxie, because of its philosophy guided by a passion to
communicate, by an obsession to serve the public well, by its concern for
excellence at all times, has never been and can not be a lucrative
enterprise; its members and its directors are artists placing the quality
of the Radio's production above all else; thus it is not necessary to point
out that the station has only been able to get by from the beginning
because of its passion for sports and music which motivates the entire staff,
Perhaps one is trying to attack the rigorously professional profile of
Radio Galaxie? There can be no doubt that this profile, made of
objectivity, jealously cultivating its independence, deliberately refusing
to yield to the sirens' calls and to play the game of petty, partisan and
self-interested calculations, placing itself resolutely above the fray,
buttressing itself by the truth as if it were a compass, disturbs and
angers more than one person.
But this line we have drawn, we adhere to it and we will adhere to it until
the end toward and against everything. Perhaps one is also aiming through
these cowardly acts that are planned, to strike a blow that could grab hold
of people's imaginations and further traumatize public opinion at a time
when there may be a need for those who sow the seeds of grief, operating
with complete impunity, to instill new momentum into their strategy of
orchestrated terror with a consummate art? Perhaps also is this a question
of minor chieftains (caciques) lurking in the shadows to take advantage of
the outrageously deleterious atmosphere which rages with an alluring
constancy for some time in the country and which spares almost no one as it
attacks citizens who have committed the sole mistake of failing to worship
them and of having always refused to align themselves and bow down before
them?
It is always the case that these macabre plans are part of a long criminal
drama that has, alas, gone on too long already! It would also be
irresponsible for us to take them lightly! Thus, we denounce them. Here we
are, even more aware of the fact that, in these troubled moments through
which the country is passing, Radio Galaxie has, over the course of its
history paid a heavy tribute to the defense of freedom of _expression and
to the dream, shared by millions of compatriots, of making Haiti a normal
country, and putting heading irrevocably toward modernity.
For about 14 years, our station has been shedding warm tears, and continues
to do so, at the abduction and then the brutal disappearance which to this
day remains unexplained, of one of its co-directors and co-founders, Félix
Lamy. To this very day, his murderers walk the streets. And his family
(having taken refuge through a long exile since December 10, 1991, in the
U.S.) and his friends are still waiting for justice to be rendered to him.
Well beyond this, throughout its short period of existence, the radio
station has been sacked, its equipment destroyed on at least two occasions;
worse yet, the compensation promised by agreements, notably the Governor's
Island agreement, in the form of restitution of materials and equipment,
have never been honored. c
At this crossroads in the life of the country, we appeal to the public
authorities and above all to the solidarity of the people, for an end to
this descent toward the inferno toward which Haitian society seems to be
plunging irresistibly, in order that the country, at last rid of its
demons,may recover hope once more and live;
One does not kill an idea!
By the Newsroom of Radio Galaxie.
CHARLES constel"
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
*******
Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers' Leadership Network
******
"Men anpil chay pa lou" is Kreyol for - "Many hands make light a heavy load."
Join our International Solidarity - THE FREE HAITI MOVEMENT. For info, see:
<http://www.margueritelaurent.com/photogallery/haitisolidarityday.html>http://www.margueritelaurent.com/photogallery/haitisolidarityday.html
and,
<http://www.margueritelaurent.com/solidarityday/infoforsponsors.html>http://www.margueritelaurent.com/solidarityday/infoforsponsors.html
Help stop the slaughter in Cite Soleil, Bel Air and throughout Haiti, now.
Learn more:
"Bandit King in Cite Soleil"
<http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/presswork/interviewdread.html>http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/presswork/interviewdread.html
There's no time to waste. All the nationalities are down there in
Haiti, in the form of UN troops, quietly liquidating young Black
brothers who will not accept the recolonization of Haiti and return of
the bloody Haitian bourgeiosie and army back to power.
Even after death, our indignities and sufferings don't stop, because
their families can't afford to bury them and their bodies are just
dumped in mass graves, left to rot in the streets or morgue:
<http://www.margueritelaurent.com/solidarityday/pictures/orel_01.html>http://www.margueritelaurent.com/solidarityday/pictures/orel_01.html
Keep up to date with Ezili Danto Witness Project that publishes the voices
and pictures from the streets of Haiti of this hidden genocide:
<http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/testimonies/personaltestimonies.html>http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/testimonies/personaltestimonies.html
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/solidarityday/pictures/hsd_pictures.html
*******************
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