[News] Haiti Updates

Thu May 5 11:28:37 EDT 2005

AHP News May 3, 2005

English translation (Unofficial)

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Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune continues his hunger strike in a prison 
in Pacot and affirms that he wants to be released without conditions
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Port-au-Prince, May 3, 2005 (AHP)- Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, 
whose health is very critical, continues to refuse exile offered to him by 
the government.

Mr. Neptune continues to demand his release without conditions, considering 
that nothing can justify his incarceration for over 10 months. In a 
declaration dated of May 2, 2005, Yvon Neptune accused the interim 
government of wanting to destroy him one way or the other and of trying to 
muzzle all former Fanmi Lavalas officials.

Mr. Neptune declared he was determined to fight for the triumph of truth by 
continuing his hunger strike non-stop. He also informed that he had 
accepted to drink a bit of water after several doctors he considers as 
friends of his family asked him to do so.

During all last weekend, rumours of all kinds went around on his case, some 
going as far as announcing his death. Others had written on their Internet 
website information putting forward that the former Lavalas official had 
left the country Saturday.

There was also an information war between the primature and the presidency. 
In a communiqué, the interim Prime Minister's bureau wrote that the 
authorities had turned down a request by former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune 
to drop the charges against him before he accepted to leave the country.

However, the presidency, through its Head of Cabinet Michel Brunache, 
rather claimed that Yvon Neptune refused to leave for humanitarian reasons. 
"He only wants to be released and leave with his head up high", Michel 
Brunache declared.

Meanwhile, information talk about a strategy by the interim government to 
put Yvon Neptune in an airplane against his will as soon as he will go into 
a coma.

AHP May 3, 2005 11:30 AM

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The GDP accuses the government of forcing Yvon Neptune to exile
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Port-au-Prince, May 3, 2005 (AHP)- Leader of the Group of Defense of the 
Rights of Political Prisoners (GDP), Ronald St-Jean, denounced Monday press 
communiqués written by the government concerning the case of former Prime 
Minister Yvon Neptune in order to prepare the public opinion on anything 
that could happen to Mr. Neptune, according to him.

According to Ronald St-Jean, the government, by proposing to Mr. Neptune to 
leave the country, wanted to force him to exile because he became an 
embarrassing prisoner, he said. The GDP leader once again rejected the 
theory of massacre created, he said, completely by the NCHR to keep all 
Lavalas executives at a distance.

He called the Haitian population to mobilize to avoid that Mr. Neptune dies 
in prison.

The GDP leader called a peaceful march for Thursday May 5th in order to 
release all political prisoners, including Yvon Neptune.

Another human rights activist, Patrick Elie, denounced the interim regime’s 
manoeuvres aiming to humiliate former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune by 
keeping him in prison with no reason. According to Patrick Elie, if 
citizens don’t speak up, Yvon Neptune will die in prison. He reminded 
interim authorities that Yvon Neptune could have left the country last 
March if he had wanted to. But he chose to stay in his country because he 
knew he had done nothing wrong.

For their part, Lavalas activists announced a peaceful demonstration this 
Wednesday to continue to demand the release of all political prisoners and 
the end of political persecutions. Spokesperson of the activists of Bel-air 
Samba Makandal who announced the demonstration, declared that the 
population will remain mobilized until the interim regime accepts to 
respect the rights of all citizens.

  AHP May 3, 2005 3:35 PM

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