Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFeature Archives
On April 27, the Haitian police attacked a peaceful demonstration and were caught on camera planting guns in the hands of their victims (
Photos
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
).
Amid mounting evidence that the Haitian police force is spinning out of control, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recently stated, "There is an urgent demand for justice in Haiti. I appeal to the transitional government to set the example by promptly initiating an investigation into those human rights violations allegedly committed by national police officers." The U.S.-installed government is ignoring this appeal, like so many before it, as it whips up a new hysteria to justify the abuses of the police. Amnesty International commented in a press release dated April 28; "The use of lethal and indiscriminate violence by the police to disperse and repress demonstrators only serves to increase tension in an already violence-torn country."
The problems of reigning in the abuses of the Haitian police are apparently a source of frustration for some members of the U.N. Civilian Police or CIVPOL. HIP received the following response to an article published May 8 entitled, "U.N. accommodates human rights abuses by police in Haiti." The author asked to remain anonymous fearing reprisal and dismissal, "I read with interest your most recent article "UN Accomodated HR Abuses" with interest. Just want to reinforce your observations as all being accurate. I am one of the U.N. CIVPOL here on the ground in Haiti. As a group we are frustrated by the UN's and CIVPOL's unwillingness to interpret their mandate aggressively. [We] have been pushing them to conduct investigations into all the shootings and other significant Human Rights violations with no success- Unfortunately, I have countless examples. The corruption in the HNP is massive with little interest in addressing the problem. Just keep up the pressure, I don't know what else to do." According to sources close to the mission, a major obstacle to holding the Haitian police accountable is the U.S.-installed interim government and the high command of the HNP. There is also increasing concern over the vetting process for the enrollment of cadets into the police academy with a large number of former members of Haiti's military being inducted into the force .
The purported lack of command authority of the U.N. over the HNP has brought about charges of complicity in the abuses they have committed. Just as the U.N. military forces have been accused of standing by and allowing the HNP to kill unarmed demonstrators, reports have surfaced of CIVPOL members standing by as the HNP tortured and murdered political opponents. These reports do not only concern supporters of Aristide's Lavalas movement, but also members of the former military who challenged the current U.S.-installed regime. According to an anonymous CIVPOL source, "There was a recent a joint operation between CIVPOL and HNP [targeting members of the former military who refused to lay down their arms]. At the end of the first day's operation Ravix [Remissainthes] was only wounded, begging for his life when HNP shot him with CIVPOL present and not intervening or taking any other action. The next day Anthony Jean, alias Grenn Sonnen, was killed in the operation but his second-in-command was only wounded. He was in a separate room where CIVPOL were not present. HNP went into that room and killed this subject as well. While CIVPOL did not directly witness this they were in the next room. Again, no intervention."
Read More | U.N. covers for Haiti's killer cops, threaten American journalist | An Prensip: the subordination of the judiciary in Haiti | Haiti Action
Amid mounting evidence that the Haitian police force is spinning out of control, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recently stated, "There is an urgent demand for justice in Haiti. I appeal to the transitional government to set the example by promptly initiating an investigation into those human rights violations allegedly committed by national police officers." The U.S.-installed government is ignoring this appeal, like so many before it, as it whips up a new hysteria to justify the abuses of the police. Amnesty International commented in a press release dated April 28; "The use of lethal and indiscriminate violence by the police to disperse and repress demonstrators only serves to increase tension in an already violence-torn country."
The problems of reigning in the abuses of the Haitian police are apparently a source of frustration for some members of the U.N. Civilian Police or CIVPOL. HIP received the following response to an article published May 8 entitled, "U.N. accommodates human rights abuses by police in Haiti." The author asked to remain anonymous fearing reprisal and dismissal, "I read with interest your most recent article "UN Accomodated HR Abuses" with interest. Just want to reinforce your observations as all being accurate. I am one of the U.N. CIVPOL here on the ground in Haiti. As a group we are frustrated by the UN's and CIVPOL's unwillingness to interpret their mandate aggressively. [We] have been pushing them to conduct investigations into all the shootings and other significant Human Rights violations with no success- Unfortunately, I have countless examples. The corruption in the HNP is massive with little interest in addressing the problem. Just keep up the pressure, I don't know what else to do." According to sources close to the mission, a major obstacle to holding the Haitian police accountable is the U.S.-installed interim government and the high command of the HNP. There is also increasing concern over the vetting process for the enrollment of cadets into the police academy with a large number of former members of Haiti's military being inducted into the force .
The purported lack of command authority of the U.N. over the HNP has brought about charges of complicity in the abuses they have committed. Just as the U.N. military forces have been accused of standing by and allowing the HNP to kill unarmed demonstrators, reports have surfaced of CIVPOL members standing by as the HNP tortured and murdered political opponents. These reports do not only concern supporters of Aristide's Lavalas movement, but also members of the former military who challenged the current U.S.-installed regime. According to an anonymous CIVPOL source, "There was a recent a joint operation between CIVPOL and HNP [targeting members of the former military who refused to lay down their arms]. At the end of the first day's operation Ravix [Remissainthes] was only wounded, begging for his life when HNP shot him with CIVPOL present and not intervening or taking any other action. The next day Anthony Jean, alias Grenn Sonnen, was killed in the operation but his second-in-command was only wounded. He was in a separate room where CIVPOL were not present. HNP went into that room and killed this subject as well. While CIVPOL did not directly witness this they were in the next room. Again, no intervention."
Read More | U.N. covers for Haiti's killer cops, threaten American journalist | An Prensip: the subordination of the judiciary in Haiti | Haiti Action
Wed May 11 2005
Grandmother in prison one year for loyalty to Aristide
While the world¹s eyes fix on former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune --
imprisoned and on a hunger strike to protest 10 months incarceration with no
charges against him -- hundreds of other political prisoners crowd more
anonymously into Haiti¹s squalid prisons.
Annette Auguste, popularly known as Sò Anne, is among them. Auguste, 63, a folk singer, fierce fighter for democracy and supporter of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was arrested May 10, 2004 by U.S. Marines.
One year ago, U.S. Marines, sent to Haiti after a U.S.-backed coup exiled Aristide, used plastic explosives to enter Sò Anne's house in Port-au-Prince. They arrested Sò Anne without a warrant in the middle of the night, two direct violations of the Haitian Constitution. During the arrest they killed her two dogs and cuffed and hooded all members of her family, including four children under the age of 15.
The Marines initially claimed she was stockpiling weapons in her home -- they found none -- and said she was collaborating with local Muslims in a plan to attack U.S. interests in Haiti. Then the authorities claimed she had participated in witchcraft.
One year later, Sò Anne sits in jail awaiting formal charges. Forty-six organizations across the U.S. and Canada are calling for her release. The Haiti Action Committee has put out a call to mothers and grandmothers worldwide to help free Sò Anne.
Since Aristide was exiled, prisons have been filled to overflowing his supporters. Human rights groups estimate that in the National Penitentiary alone there are 1054 prisoners; most of them are loyal to Aristide, or believed loyal to him. Only nine of them have been tried and convicted of crimes.
Read More
Annette Auguste, popularly known as Sò Anne, is among them. Auguste, 63, a folk singer, fierce fighter for democracy and supporter of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was arrested May 10, 2004 by U.S. Marines.
One year ago, U.S. Marines, sent to Haiti after a U.S.-backed coup exiled Aristide, used plastic explosives to enter Sò Anne's house in Port-au-Prince. They arrested Sò Anne without a warrant in the middle of the night, two direct violations of the Haitian Constitution. During the arrest they killed her two dogs and cuffed and hooded all members of her family, including four children under the age of 15.
The Marines initially claimed she was stockpiling weapons in her home -- they found none -- and said she was collaborating with local Muslims in a plan to attack U.S. interests in Haiti. Then the authorities claimed she had participated in witchcraft.
One year later, Sò Anne sits in jail awaiting formal charges. Forty-six organizations across the U.S. and Canada are calling for her release. The Haiti Action Committee has put out a call to mothers and grandmothers worldwide to help free Sò Anne.
Since Aristide was exiled, prisons have been filled to overflowing his supporters. Human rights groups estimate that in the National Penitentiary alone there are 1054 prisoners; most of them are loyal to Aristide, or believed loyal to him. Only nine of them have been tried and convicted of crimes.
Read More
Thu May 5 2005
Ex-Haitian PM Yvon Neptune Near Death
5/5: Update from Brian Concannon
Political prisoner Yvon Neptune, Haiti's last constitutional Prime Minister, lies on the verge of death from a hunger strike, initiated because the de facto Haitian coup government has jailed him for 10 months without formal charges, in violation of Haiti's constitution. The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), a widely discredited, USAID funded anti-Aristide group, has accused Neptune of participation in a massacre in the city of St. Marc in February 2004, but the illegal coup government has never offered any proof the massacre actually took place, and U.N. independent expert on human rights Louis Joinet recently dismissed accounts of the massacre.
Neptune has vowed to continue his hunger strike until he is either charged or released. The illegal "interim" regime of Gerard Latortue could easily meet this demand, but refuses. They should therefore concede they have no real case against Neptune and release him from prison. If Neptune is flown into exile, he wants the world to know, it was a kidnapping.
The Insitute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti is asking that people pressure the Interim Government of Haiti to drop the charges against Neptune.
Read More | Democracy Now Report | Green Left Weekly | Haiti Progres | Letter From Neptune On Hunger Strike | Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
Political prisoner Yvon Neptune, Haiti's last constitutional Prime Minister, lies on the verge of death from a hunger strike, initiated because the de facto Haitian coup government has jailed him for 10 months without formal charges, in violation of Haiti's constitution. The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), a widely discredited, USAID funded anti-Aristide group, has accused Neptune of participation in a massacre in the city of St. Marc in February 2004, but the illegal coup government has never offered any proof the massacre actually took place, and U.N. independent expert on human rights Louis Joinet recently dismissed accounts of the massacre.
Neptune has vowed to continue his hunger strike until he is either charged or released. The illegal "interim" regime of Gerard Latortue could easily meet this demand, but refuses. They should therefore concede they have no real case against Neptune and release him from prison. If Neptune is flown into exile, he wants the world to know, it was a kidnapping.
The Insitute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti is asking that people pressure the Interim Government of Haiti to drop the charges against Neptune.
Read More | Democracy Now Report | Green Left Weekly | Haiti Progres | Letter From Neptune On Hunger Strike | Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
Fri Apr 8 2005
UN Betrayal in Port au Prince
This week the Oregon-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
called attention to The United Nations Security Council
mission to Haiti slated for April 13-16, 2005.
The IJDH noted, "the Council's agenda is already full with meetings with: 1) officials of the unconstitutional Interim Government; 2) groups that called for the overthrow of the elected government a year ago; and 3) officials of foreign governments that supported the overthrow, or officials of programs financed by these governments."
"All of these groups have a vested interest in the current illegal regime, and cannot effectively represent the vast majority of Haitians who opposed the February 2004 coup d'etat, and are suffering its consequences ."
The IJDH called on activists to exert pressure "to make sure that the Security Council meets directly with poor women, grassroots groups and victims of human rights violations."
Meanwhile, soldiers with the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) continue to work closely with Haitian police conducting brutal raids on the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
A recent report from Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights which does not question the legitimacy of the UN presence in Haiti nevertheless concludes, "MINUSTAH has provided cover for abuses committed by the HNP during operations in poor, historically tense Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Rather than advising and instructing the police in best practices, and monitoring their missteps, MINUSTAH has been the midwife of their abuses. In essence, MINUSTAH has provided to the HNP the very implements of repression. The report also attacked the unwillingness to protect civilians from political violence, saying, "the failure to do so when civilians beg for UN assistance is simply incomprehensible."
IJDH | UN Security Council to meet in Haiti | Shredding Haiti's Constitution: UN Betrayal in Port au Prince | Aristide: "You Call for my Return, I Hear Your Voices"
The IJDH noted, "the Council's agenda is already full with meetings with: 1) officials of the unconstitutional Interim Government; 2) groups that called for the overthrow of the elected government a year ago; and 3) officials of foreign governments that supported the overthrow, or officials of programs financed by these governments."
"All of these groups have a vested interest in the current illegal regime, and cannot effectively represent the vast majority of Haitians who opposed the February 2004 coup d'etat, and are suffering its consequences ."
The IJDH called on activists to exert pressure "to make sure that the Security Council meets directly with poor women, grassroots groups and victims of human rights violations."
Meanwhile, soldiers with the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) continue to work closely with Haitian police conducting brutal raids on the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
A recent report from Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights which does not question the legitimacy of the UN presence in Haiti nevertheless concludes, "MINUSTAH has provided cover for abuses committed by the HNP during operations in poor, historically tense Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Rather than advising and instructing the police in best practices, and monitoring their missteps, MINUSTAH has been the midwife of their abuses. In essence, MINUSTAH has provided to the HNP the very implements of repression. The report also attacked the unwillingness to protect civilians from political violence, saying, "the failure to do so when civilians beg for UN assistance is simply incomprehensible."
IJDH | UN Security Council to meet in Haiti | Shredding Haiti's Constitution: UN Betrayal in Port au Prince | Aristide: "You Call for my Return, I Hear Your Voices"
Father Gérard Jean-Juste and his church, Sainte Claire's Catholic Church, which is located in a poor neighborhood of Delmas, Haiti, have been under increasing attack this week. Fr. Jean-Juste is a prominent activist for peace and justice in Haiti, and spent seven weeks as a political prisoner in October and November 2004. Despite his high profile and the history of politically-motivated attacks against him, the United Nations Stabilization Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH) declined to respond to his call for help after Friday's attack.
Late at night on Thursday, March 24, Fr. Jean-Juste reportedly surprised an intruder by the back door of the Ste. Claire rectory. The man fled, but later that night neighbors caught a man whom they believe was the intruder, and handed him over to the police. On Friday evening, March 25, men dressed in black in one or more pickup trucks arrived outside Ste. Claire's and started shooting wildly, reportedly with automatic weapons. (Photos and Report) The gunshots and Jean-Juste's response were recorded by independent journalist Kevin Pina and played on Pacifica's Flashpoints radio program that day. He denounced the fact that he was attacked on the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador.
People contacted MINUSTAH on Fr. Jean-Juste's behalf, and were told by top officials that MINUSTAH would send people right away. As of late morning on Saturday, MINUSTAH police had not arrived, although Fr. Jean-Juste reported that a MINUSTAH helicopter did fly over his church in the morning. Meanwhile, Haiti Progres reports that two MINUSTAH troops were killed last week- the first two since the ouster of democratically-elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Supporters of Fr. Jean-Juste are asking for people to contact MINUSTAH to ask them to investigate the attacks on him and the church. Read more
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti | Flashpoints, which airs at 5pm PST on KPFA | Haiti Progres | MINUSTAH
Late at night on Thursday, March 24, Fr. Jean-Juste reportedly surprised an intruder by the back door of the Ste. Claire rectory. The man fled, but later that night neighbors caught a man whom they believe was the intruder, and handed him over to the police. On Friday evening, March 25, men dressed in black in one or more pickup trucks arrived outside Ste. Claire's and started shooting wildly, reportedly with automatic weapons. (Photos and Report) The gunshots and Jean-Juste's response were recorded by independent journalist Kevin Pina and played on Pacifica's Flashpoints radio program that day. He denounced the fact that he was attacked on the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador.
People contacted MINUSTAH on Fr. Jean-Juste's behalf, and were told by top officials that MINUSTAH would send people right away. As of late morning on Saturday, MINUSTAH police had not arrived, although Fr. Jean-Juste reported that a MINUSTAH helicopter did fly over his church in the morning. Meanwhile, Haiti Progres reports that two MINUSTAH troops were killed last week- the first two since the ouster of democratically-elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Supporters of Fr. Jean-Juste are asking for people to contact MINUSTAH to ask them to investigate the attacks on him and the church. Read more
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti | Flashpoints, which airs at 5pm PST on KPFA | Haiti Progres | MINUSTAH
Sun Mar 27 2005
International Protests to Call Attention to Thousands of Haitian Political Prisoners
It has been a crime for Haitians to express their solidarity with President
Aristide since the February 29, 2004 coup, thousands have been summarily executed in punishment. Those who aren't killed are often put in jail just for expressing their support for Lavalas [Aristide¹s party], even
for wearing Aristide t-shirts in peaceful demonstrations. Their continued
imprisonment underscores what many see as the US government's disregard for Haiti's people
and its constitution, and is evidence of the complete dissolution of freedoms of speech, association and press in Haiti. This situation has kept Prime
Minister Yvon Neptune, Minister of Interior Jocelerme Privert, and Lavalas
activist Annette Auguste, jailed in miserable conditions along with hundreds
of grassroots activists, labor organizers, and residents of poor neighborhoods. The plight of the prisoners, which has been dramatized by Prime Minister Neptune and
Minister Privert's recent hunger strike, is urgent. Both Neptune and
Privert are now in a UN hospital due to complications from their fasting.
On Monday, March 28th at 4:30PM in San Francisco's UN Plaza, the Haiti Action Committee held a rally at the start of an all-night vigil to call for the restoration of the legitimate government of Haiti, and to protest the continued incarceration of at least a thousand Haitian political prisoners. (Photos | Video) There will be a closing rally on Tuesday, March 29th at 4pm at UN Plaza.
In Haiti, on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Father Gerard Jean-Juste will lead a peaceful march in commemoration of the 18th anniversary of Haiti¹s constitution. Fr. Jean-Juste, who was arrested without charge and released due to international pressure, has been unrelenting in his solidarity for the political prisoners still in Haitian jails. "With this anniversary of the constitution," Fr. Jean-Juste said, "we call on every Haitian and every person in every nation to help us support our constitution..." Read more
On Monday, March 28th at 4:30PM in San Francisco's UN Plaza, the Haiti Action Committee held a rally at the start of an all-night vigil to call for the restoration of the legitimate government of Haiti, and to protest the continued incarceration of at least a thousand Haitian political prisoners. (Photos | Video) There will be a closing rally on Tuesday, March 29th at 4pm at UN Plaza.
In Haiti, on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Father Gerard Jean-Juste will lead a peaceful march in commemoration of the 18th anniversary of Haiti¹s constitution. Fr. Jean-Juste, who was arrested without charge and released due to international pressure, has been unrelenting in his solidarity for the political prisoners still in Haitian jails. "With this anniversary of the constitution," Fr. Jean-Juste said, "we call on every Haitian and every person in every nation to help us support our constitution..." Read more
Thu Mar 10 2005
Over 10,000 March In Port-au-Prince on International Women's Day
March 9th, 2005: Over 10,000 Lavalas activists demonstrated on Tuesday, March 8 in the
populist district of Bel-Air in Haiti¹s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Those
assembled marched in solidarity with women whose children or spouses have
been killed in recent repression perpetrated in populist sections of the
capital. This demonstration was held to mark International Women's Day and, largely
due to international outrage over past collusion between UN forces
and the Haitian police, received a high level of protection from soldiers of
the United Nation Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Dissidents also
protested political persecution, and called for the return of constitutional
government and the release of all political prisoners.
At a sit-in elsewhere in the city, the coordinator of the Association of Women Victims of the Cooperatives, Margareth Fortuné, denounced the behavior of the "interim" authorities, whom she said limit themselves to making beautiful promises which they never keep. Mme. Fortuné also criticized women who are part of the current government, who she argued are today distancing themselves from the demands of women who are part of the poor majority of Haitians.
Meanwhile, Ronald St-Jean, coordinator of the GDP (Group for the Defense of the Rights of the Political Prisoners) spoke Tuesday of his concern for the physical well-being of Yvon Neptune and Jocelerme Privert, restating his view that the two Lavalas dignitaries and numerous other members of the party are in prison solely for their political opinions. He appealed to the interim government to immediately free the political prisoners as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for on November 22, 2004. Neptune is now in his 17th day of a hunger strike to protest the illegal and unjustified nature of his incarceration, which began nearly one year ago.
Read more
At a sit-in elsewhere in the city, the coordinator of the Association of Women Victims of the Cooperatives, Margareth Fortuné, denounced the behavior of the "interim" authorities, whom she said limit themselves to making beautiful promises which they never keep. Mme. Fortuné also criticized women who are part of the current government, who she argued are today distancing themselves from the demands of women who are part of the poor majority of Haitians.
Meanwhile, Ronald St-Jean, coordinator of the GDP (Group for the Defense of the Rights of the Political Prisoners) spoke Tuesday of his concern for the physical well-being of Yvon Neptune and Jocelerme Privert, restating his view that the two Lavalas dignitaries and numerous other members of the party are in prison solely for their political opinions. He appealed to the interim government to immediately free the political prisoners as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for on November 22, 2004. Neptune is now in his 17th day of a hunger strike to protest the illegal and unjustified nature of his incarceration, which began nearly one year ago.
Read more
Haiti:
4
4