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</font><h5><font face="Trebuchet MS" size=2><b>AHP News - March 7,
2005 - English translation (Unofficial) <br>
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AHP Editorial:<br><br>
Haiti, or when any and all means are good when it comes to drowning
opposing views <br>
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</b></font></h5><font face="Trebuchet MS" size=2>Former Prime Minister
Yvon Neptune and former Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert have
been on hunger strike for 16 days to protest "their illegal, unjust,
and unjustified incarceration at the National Penitentiary in
Port-au-Prince".<br><br>
The living conditions for these two men who are no longer consuming
anything except water have seriously deteriorated over the past few
days. <br><br>
This is why alerts are being launched left and right to call for an end
to what many believe is a complete frame-up of these two men meant to
strike a blow at the government to which they belonged, the Lavalas
government, whose supporters have been sorely tested in the populist
neighborhoods. <br><br>
Yvon Neptune and Jocelerme Privert are accused of involvement in a
presumed massacre allegedly perpetrated by police officers and supporters
of the Lavalas government in the hamlet of La Scierie, in greater
Saint-Marc.<br><br>
With respect to Mr. Neptune specifically, the accusations against him are
reportedly based solely on the fact that he visited Saint-Marc two days
before the alleged events. <br><br>
What was the nature of his talks with the police? What message did he
give to them? His accusers do not know. But he is nevertheless guilty of
a massacre whose very existence remains very difficult to establish
thirteen months later. <br><br>
According to the primary accuser, NCHR, the alleged massacre took place
on February 11, 2004 and resulted in five deaths, a toll that was
reported at the time by a daily newspaper in Port-au-Prince and by some
radio stations. <br><br>
But, once Mr. Aristide left Haiti on February 29, the number of alleged
corpses put forward by the primary accuser did not seem to be enough to
arouse the desired level of emotion. The idea then was to find grounds
for making sensational finds and thus succeed in routing potential
adversaries who are viewed as too tough. <br><br>
It was in this perspective that the toll needed to be adjusted upwards
until it grew to be more than 50 killed in the alleged massacre. The
director of NCHR tried to explain that the massacre continued for several
days, most likely after the sudden departure of Aristide.<br><br>
But such things are not all that easy for NCHR, because although the five
corpses mentioned above, the unfortunate victims of a probable clash
between rival gangs for control of the port of Saint-Marc, were
able to be discovered, this ws not the case for the other 45
bodies. <br><br>
In response to the question as to what happened to the other 45 bodies,
the primary accuser said not to worry, that the others were all devoured
by starving dogs, that is precisely the 45 bodies but presumably not the
five that were found. <br><br>
A peasant from La Scierie named Ti Jean commented wryly this past
February 11, the anniversary of the alleged massacre: <br><br>
"We don't have dogs hungry enough to devour 50 corpses at La
Scierie; maybe there are dogs like that in
Port-au-Prince".<br><br>
Despite all the inconsistencies relating to the case, Yvon Neptune and
Jocelerme Privert continue to be kept in prison. Worse yet, they have
never been brought before a judge as required by the law and have been
thus imprisoned for nearly a year. <br><br>
Worse still, in practically all circles, including the diplomatic
community, many people do not hesitate to to say that the accusations
against them do not hold water. <br><br>
Do they feel they have gone so far that they can not reverse course.
<br><br>
Many ask how, if a serious investigation is to be undertaken, those
inquiries could be entrusted to people from RAMICOS, the violent
organization of the former anti-Aristide opposition in Saint-Marc,
without losing all credibility. <br><br>
It is also imperative to focus on the cases of many former prisoners who
have been walking the streets since the insurrection of February 2004, as
well as on the question of the rebels who were responsible for deaths
across the country, who looted and destroyed many State facilities.
<br><br>
All two-tracked systems of justice that look more like a settling of
political scores must be rejected. <br><br>
Along the same lines, many are asking why some human rights organizations
have not condemned the violence of February 28, and why some sectors are
upset at MINUSTAH for having prevented the police from approaching
Friday's demonstration. <br><br>
It is as if one were to say to the foreign soldiers: it is not up to you
to prevent us from deciding whether our compatriots live or die as we
intend. Otherwise, how can one explain the attacks that rained down on
the UN mission, which was denounced five days earlier for having failed
to prevent peaceful demonstrators from being shot. <br><br>
Many people are losing their heads over the elections. As if anything
goes given the high stakes. <br><br>
But the international community and the UN have a heavy responsibility
because they promised to change the direction of things in Haiti, to
correct the very serious errors of the past by working with the
government named after the departure of Aristide. <br><br>
Unfortunately, today's climate of intolerance outdoes even the period of
the coup d'état of 1991. <br><br>
Yesterday at least the press, the human rights organizations and other
pressure groups relayed information about the abuses of all types...
Today there is silence in every latitude. <br><br>
Indeed, how many of these groups raised their voices against the killers
of Jimmy Charles, Abdias Jean and all the others? How many raised their
voices against the bloodshed left by the violent dispersion of the
February 28th demonstration? <br><br>
On the contrary, they strive to find accusations that could justify the
abuses. <br><br>
When a very few institutions and individuals spoke out to break the
silence, they were insulted, threatened and accused. <br><br>
And it is in this manner that one believes one can reassure the
population that is being asked to participate in elections.
<br><br>
The actors and their supporters who espouse the gospel of silence and
complicity try to explain their choice by the fact that people refused to
support their cause in the recent past. But they forget that the mission
they had given themselves was to promote justice, put an end to abuses
and facilitate national reconciliation. <br><br>
Unfortunately, no sound system of justice can put up with extra-judicial
executions, repression of peaceful demonstrators and complicity with
silence. <br><br>
We must rid ourselves of the burnt out residue and find good paths
forward, paths that will actually lead to national reconciliation.
<br><br>
Otherwise, if we act as we are doing today, we will not go
anywhere. <br><br>
<br>
</font><h5><b>------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Congresswoman Maxine Waters affirms her determination to do what she can
to help obtain the release of Yvon Neptune, whose hunger strike is in its
16th day <br>
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</b></h5><font face="Trebuchet MS" size=2><b>Port-au-Prince, March
7, 2005 (AHP)- </b>On a mission to Haiti lasting several hours, U.S.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters again called for the release of former Prime
Minister Yvon Neptune as well as all other political prisoners.
<br><br>
Maxine Waters expressed serious concern for the life of Yvon Neptune who
is in his 16th day of a hunger strike at the National penitentiary and
whose health has considerably deteriorated. <br><br>
"We are going to do all we can to persuade Mr. Neptune to end his
hunger strike and also to obtain his release", said the
congresswoman. <br><br>
Ms. Waters indicated that the former Prime Minister categorically refused
to end his hunger strike, insisting that he is a political
prisoner. <br><br>
"It would be immoral for the interim government to let Yvon Neptune
die in prison while no charges have been filed against him", said
Ms. Waters. The interim government, which presents itself as a defender
of democracy should release Yvon Neptune immediately, she said.
<br><br>
She declared that she does not see why the interim government persists in
wanting to project a more catastrophic image of Haiti to the outside
world. <br><br>
One of the attorneys who accompanied the delegation, Mr. Ira Kurzban, was
forbidden to enter the capital by the interim authorities.
<br><br>
As a result, Mr. Kurzban had to return immediately to the United
States. <br><br>
<br>
</font><h5><b>AHP March 7, 2005 3:20
PM</b></h5><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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