Letter to Miami Herald on Haiti Coverage

From: Ira Kurzban
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 11:26 AM
To: 'jtamayo [at] herald.com'
Cc: 'jmozingo [at] herald.com'
Subject: Balanced Coverage On Haiti



Dear Juan:

I read Joe's piece in the Herald this morning. I can understand that reporters like Joe are probably (with good reason) fearful of going into Cite Soleil and Bel-Air given the current level of violence in those neighborhoods. However, the real story in Haiti is not the violence "committed" against the Haitian elite or their psychological trauma. One could hardly feel sorry for them for a number of reasons that Joe suggests in the article. In any event, the real story is the violence being committed against the Haitian poor and particularly the supporters of the Fanmi Lavalas Party in an effort to destroy the base of the party prior to the sham elections to be held in Oct-Dec. In the last month here are some verifiable stories that Joe could certainly investigate:

1. On July 5 a Bel Air resident named William St Mercy who was confined to a wheelchair in the courtyard in front of his residence had his head blown off when UN troops burst through the courtyard and executed him

2. On July 11 the police executed 15 people on Rue Tiremase in Downtown near Bel-Air

3. On July 12, between 4 and 5 pm in a neighborhood called Portairs-Leogane in Port-au-Prince which is a loading station for Tap-Taps sixteen (16) children ages 12 to 16 years old were executed by Haitian police in black ski masks and black uniforms on suspicion that they were providing information to street gangs

4. On July 19, five boys ages 12 and 13 years old were found dead on the Corner of Delmas 18; Eyewitnesses in the area said they were executed by black-mask police who accused the children of being Aristide supporters and chimers.

5. On August 10, 2005 five people were executed by the police in Bel-Air. The AP story reported that the police fired indiscriminately during "the operation" in Bel-Air. The AP story named Genel Gilo as an eyewitness to the execution of a teenage boy. Another witness Peterson Larose said his 17 year old pregnant girlfriend was stabbed to death by "civilians accompanying the officers," (sounding very similar to death squad tactics employed by the Haitian military during the first coup against Aristide).

6. On August 11th 10 people in Bel-Air were executed by being lynched or burned alive including a man named Shaba who apparently was burned alive; Machetes were distributed by the police and the elite to carry out these acts by people who are believed to be part of interim government- supported death squads and not residents of Bel-Air. In light of the UM human rights report on Andy Apaid's involvement in buying gangs in Cite Soleil such claims are not unreasonable

7. There are 40 people who were shot who were registered at the morgue of the hospital of the University of Haiti and certainly a reporter

could go to the morgue every week and attempt to verify such stories.





There are scores of other stories that I just do not have the time to put together right now but would be happy to provide as leads to Joe or anyone else who you are sending to Haiti.

The Herald has also ignored the story regarding political prisoners in Haiti including Father Jean Juste. The only story in the Herald about Father Jean Juste gave credibility to the ridiculous claim that he was arrested for the murder of a journalist when he was not even in Haiti at the time of the murder. Amnesty International has designated him a prisoner of conscience. Twenty-eight member of Congress have signed a letter calling for his immediate release. Thousands of signatories to a petition were delivered this week to the US Embassy and the UN Mission. Yet the Herald has remained silent on these matters. I just learned several minutes ago that Fr. Jean Juste collapsed in prison yesterday.

Instead of writing about the angst of the elite in Haiti, the paper's resources could be focused on what is of interest to the people in South Florida (i.e. Fr. Jean Juste) and what is really happening in Haiti (the massacre of the poor). I hope the Herald will consider doing an editorial on Fr. Jean Juste and some news stories regarding the treatment of Lavalas.



Ira Kurzban