8/17/2004: On Wednesday August 17th, a court in Haiti acquitted Louis Jodel Chamblain of the murder of businessman Antoine Izmery. "Izmery, a prominent supporter of President Aristide, was murdered on September 11, 1993, during Haiti's de facto military dictatorship (1991-1994). Mr. Izmery had organized a mass at Port-au-Prince's Sacre Coeur church, to commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 St. Jean Bosco Massacre. Soldiers and paramilitaries dragged Izmery out of the packed church, in full view of the Haitian and international media, the diplomatic community in Haiti, and UN/OAS Human Rights Observers, and shot him on the sidewalk outside. Both Joanis and Chamblain were convicted, in absentia for murder at the 1995 trial of the Izmery killing." Read More

The US appointed government of Gerard Latortue scheduled the retrial just days before it began. The prosecution had no time to prepare and with obvious dangers to anyone speaking out against the former death squad leader no witnesses to Chamblain's past acts testified before the court. "It was a no-show trial.... There was plenty of evidence, they did not produce it. There were plenty of witnesses. They did not call those witnesses in. Some of the witnesses they did call were dead. Several others were out of the country or didn't really know anything. The investigating judge didn't do what he was supposed to do under the law. The prosecutors did not prosecute. It was clear that the intent from the beginning was that this be-- that there be no risk of conviction. In fact, the justice minister hedged his bets by saying even if there was a conviction he might pardon Chamblain, but he also said that when Chamblain turned himself in back in April, the justice minister said he had nothing to hide, which was a clear sign to the prosecutor which the prosecutor obviously got"

Most governments in the region are skeptical of Latortue and see the US backed coup against Haiti's first elected leader in 200 years as threat to any country in the region that dares stand up to the US. Under Latortue's rule, much of the education system for the country's poor has been dismantled and many elected local leaders from the main opposition Lavalas party have been forced from offices around the country. Despite being forced into hiding, Aristide supporters have not given up. On August 14th, "[t]heir president exiled, homes vandalized, school buses incinerated, local elected officials booted from office, more than 2,500 people took to the narrow streets of " Cap Haïtien "Demonstrators said the march was significant because, given the violence of the events of this year, people in the north have been very afraid to support their deposed leader in public."

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