9016: Evens Paul believes that a plot was being staged to murder him in front of the law court. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>


Haiti: KID leader blames failure to appear in court on Lavalas "plot"
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 4, 2001
Text of report from the Morning Newscast; passages within double oblique
strokes in Creole, broadcast by Haitian Metropole radio on 4 September
[Announcer] Examining Judge Claudy Gassant, who is in charge of the KID
[Convention for Democratic Unity ] militants' case, waited in vain yesterday
for the Haitian National Police [PNH] spokesman and the Port-au-Prince
police superintendent. KID leader Evans Paul did not show up either. Naomie
Calixte reports the following:
[Calixte - recording] Paul justified his absence on Monday [3 September] in
a letter sent to Judge Gassant. Paul believes that a plot was being staged
against him to murder him in front of the law court.
[Paul] //They had a plan to assassinate me in front of the law court for at
least two reasons. The first reason is that they want to get rid of me
because Lavalas considers me a disrupting personality. Second, they want to
spread confusion about the Jean Dominique [murder] case, for they were
planning to hold Judge Gassant responsible for my assassination.//
[Calixte] Without wanting to reveal the source of the information, Paul
recalls political facts that cause him to be cautious with Lavalas people.
[Paul] //They said they were going to burn down the KID premises and they
did so. During the demonstration that was held by the Haitian Democratic
Party [Pademh] in Petion-Ville the other day, the police actually arrested
the victims of the Lavalas group. They are getting me to go back and forth
to the law courts. This does not seem to be a simple affair.//
[Calixte] The Democratic Convergence leader took the opportunity to ask
Judge Gassant to order the release of the KID militants who were arrested
during the police raid at the KID premises on 22 August. Paul said he is
ready to cooperate with justice.
[Paul] //We are always available to the judiciary. We want to take the
opportunity to ask for the release of the four KID militants who are in
detention, and we want the judge to respond to the complaints brought before
on 24 May concerning the arson attack at the KID premises on Camille Leon.//
[Calixte] Paul was not the only person who did not respond to Judge
Gassant's summons. Port-au-Prince Police Superintendent (Renaud Dominique)
and PNH spokesman Jean Dady Simeon did not answer the examining judge's
invitation either. They were supposed to appear as witnesses to the police
raid on the KID premises. Another invitation is being sent for this Tuesday.
[End of recording]
Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 4 Sep 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.