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