9607: BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 15, 2001 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stanley Lucas <slucas@iri.org>

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Metropole news 1145 gmt 13 Nov 01 
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 15, 2001



3. [06] Residents of poor areas of the capital blocked streets yesterday to protest against their terrible living conditions. They are exerting pressure on the government, which had promised an excellent year 2001.

4. [09] Prime Minister Jean-Marie Cherestal will appear before the Senate today. The head of government will be questioned by the finance committee on the readjustment of his programme based on the suspension of international financial aid. The task seems to be a difficult one for the prime minister because Lavalas parliamentarians are not pleased.

8. [21] The National Police Directorate is getting ready to move to another venue, the site of the National Magistrates School. The school's director, Willy Lubin, deplores the way this decision was made, especially because the Justice Ministry was not informed. Lubin said, "//I notice that the police are conducting all kinds of activities here without saying anything to the school's director.//" He added, "//I do not know how they are planning to get us out of here, if it will be by force or by other means.//"

9. [23] Amnesty International, AI, has expressed concern about the human rights situation in Haiti. An AI delegation visiting Port-au-Prince affirms that there is a lot to do, because the challenges are great. Wendell Theodore reports the following: "As far as respect for human rights is concerned, the situation in Haiti is critical, according to Amnesty International. The organization points out that the climate for the respect of human rights that has been in process since 1994 is now facing very serious challenges, more than it did seven years ago.

The representatives of the organization who came to Haiti for a two-week visit urge Haitian officials to prove the contrary, which means that they will have to respect the independence of institutions and lead the country in respect for the law. Amnesty International explained that its representatives visited Haiti at a time when the country's judicial system is going through a hard time. The report mentions the case of three OP [people's organizations] leaders who present themselves as members of the ruling party and who continue to move about freely despite warrants that were issued for their arrest."

10. [27] The new municipal administration [French: cartel] of Port-au-Prince led by Yves Medard, who is known as Rassoul Labuchin, was installed at midday yesterday. Medard promised to solve the refuse problem in Port-au-Prince.

The director of the Interior Ministry, who led the ceremony, stressed the executive's right to replace the old administration led by Marie Yves P. Duperval. Angelot Bell asked the new mayors of the capital to respect the Lavalas ideal in management of the [word indistinct] Port-au-Prince.

Bell said, "The mayors' duties are unchanged whether they are appointed or elected. But we think that the duties of such a commission on the eve of the commemoration of our independence is fundamental in a city such as Port-au-Prince. According to the Lavalas ideal, we say, let order prevail in Port-au-Prince city hall. The people of Port-au-Prince need that, and they must have it."

Renald Louis and Saint-Fort Dadaille [phonetic], technicians in the cooperatives sector, will assist Medard at the head of Port-au-Prince city hall. Medard, who was installed in a dilapidated building, acknowledged that he will have a lot to do in managing the capital. Medard invites all sectors and local committees in particular to begin the refuse-management process on 13 November.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 13 Nov 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Signal FM news 1230 gmt 13 Nov 01 
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 15, 2001



3. [15] More than 30 Black Caucus members have written to President George Bush to ask to discuss with him his administration's policy towards Haiti. They think that if this policy does not change, it will create problems. These congressmen think it is normal to take hard measures against Haiti. They take the opportunity to talk about the many problems Haiti faces while pointing out that US aid to Haiti is essential.

4. [17] Simon Jean-Pois, a member of the Alternative for Change, says the Convergence does not want to contribute to the resolution of the crisis. He accuses the Convergence of wanting to overthrow the Lavalas government and then make worse the situation of the masses. He calls on the authorities to take concrete measures to favour the country's socioeconomic development.

6. [22] The Senate Finance Committee has summoned Prime Minister Jean-Marie Cherestal to explain the financial management of his government. This convening follows several demonstrations against Cherestal throughout the country. Southeast Senator Pierre Sancon Prince, chairman of the committee, says that Lavalas intends to exert its control over the management of the country's public institutions.

"As parliamentarians faithful to our mission, we want to have a working meeting with the prime minister tomorrow at 1000 [local time]. We are going to assess aspects of his policy, especially - as members of the Senate Finance Committee - the financial and economic aspects. We shall take the opportunity to look into the social impact. We shall try to see how the struggle against poverty is going and how the struggle against corruption is going."

7. [24] Report by Kenson Jean-Louis: Rene Civil, head of the Youth for People's Power, JPP, has announced a mobilization campaign against the Cherestal government. Civil asks the head of state to dismiss the prime minister and the small group of raptors who do not want the people's demands to be satisfied. Civil claims responsibility for the protest movements observed in several points of the capital over the past few days. He asks President Aristide to appoint a new head of government as soon as possible.

He spoke as follows: "Today's demonstrations staged jointly in Carrefour-Pean, Solino, Martissant, Cite Soleil and Carrefour-Feuilles have shown the people's repugnance towards the Cherestal government."

After asking Aristide to appoint a new prime minister, Civil said: "We summon the Convergence to stop its alleged call for mobilization in the country or they will be in trouble."

8. [27] The Progressive Confederation for Social Change, CPSH, a group of people's organizations close to the Convergence, says that people in slum areas like Cite Soleil do not receive anything from the Lavalas government, which has preferred to invest millions in US lawyers for lobbying. CPSH denounces government corruption and asks the Convergence to stop the negotiation process, putting forward that negotiations are not possible at this time.

9. [29] Anti-Lavalas leaflets were observed yesterday in various cities including Cap-Haitien, Leogane and Saint-Louis du Sud. These leaflets show Aristide's picture and describe him as a rich thief. The leaflets announce an anti-Lavalas mobilization for 17 November.

10. 30] The Group for the Defence of Haitian Youth has denounced the divisions prevailing in the country. The group explains that the mobilization allegedly due to take place everywhere in the country will not take place in Bel-Air in spite of the efforts of former Port-au-Prince Deputy Mayor Harold Severe, who is now distributing weapons. Lavalas's objectives are justice, transparency and participation, a spokesman for the group explains.

11. [33] Calm seems to have returned to places like Carrefour-Pean and Martissant where demonstrators set up barricades and burnt tyres.

14. [45] President Aristide has appointed Rassoul Labuchin to head the communal administration of Port-au-Prince, replacing Mayor Marie Yves Pouponneau Duperval. The new mayor has promised to change the face of the capital by cleaning it up.

15. [47] The city delegates of the commune of Port-au-Prince are not happy with the appointment of a new communal council in Port-au-Prince City Hall because they were not previously consulted. They denounce a small group of people who hold all the power within the Lavalas Family, FL. They ask Aristide to try those who have been found guilty of misuse of funds at the Port-au-Prince Communal Council, according to the audit report of the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation, CSCCA.

17. [57] Haiti is not threatened by anthrax, according to the health minister. The government, nevertheless, has decided to set up a committee for any purpose it finds relevant, Health Minister Henry Claude Voltaire said yesterday during a meeting with the Senate Health Committee. He announced that training for health agents to take care of the people's food security will be organized soon.

18. [59] The Haitian National Police, PNH, inform the people in general that in order to maintain a climate of quiet and security during the holiday season the explosion of all kinds of projectiles is forbidden. The PNH asks those who want fireworks to request PNH authorization at least a week in advance.

Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 13 Nov 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Metropole news 1145 gmt 14 Nov 01 
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 15, 2001



3. 04] Prime Minister Jean-Marie Cherestal did not answer the invitation of the Senate Finance Committee to discuss the readjustment of his programme because of the suspension of international aid. The absence of the head of government was apparently an administrative problem. Committee Chairman Pierre Sancon Prince will send the prime minister another invitation to explain the deteriorating socioeconomic situation.

4. [07] Prime Minister Cherestal will complete his ninth month in office on 1 December. More than eight months later the assessment of the Cherestal government leaves much to be desired. The welfare promised by the Lavalas leaders is nothing more than a sanctimonious promise. Jean Numa Goudou gives a summary of the promises made and resolutions adopted by the cousin of President Aristide right from the start.

5. [10] The Democratic Convergence said that the Lavalas Family, FL, is to blame for the delay in the resumption of the negotiations. According to Convergence leaders, the FL is responsible for the blocking of the situation. They reiterate their support for the OAS proposal, which asks the FL to make the necessary concessions in order to conclude an agreement to get the country out of the turbulence zone.

6. [12] In a statement made on Monday 12 November, the FL claimed to be ready to resume the discussions. The communication minister and the FL spokesmen had said that the Lavalas government was waiting for the OAS signal to resume the dialogue with the Convergence. More than a month after the failure of the 15th OAS mission no date has been set for the resumption of the negotiations.

7. [13] About 200 young people in the North Department have signed a petition calling for the departure of the Lavalas regime. The youths denounce the general degradation of the situation and the corruption of the Lavalas government. They also explain that the Democratic Convergence does not represent an alternative to the current regime. They call for a renewal of the current political class and the emergence of new personalities on the political scene. Frantz Denis Julien spoke at the microphone of our Cap-Haitien correspondent (Gerard Maxime): "The purpose of publicizing this petition is to raise the awareness of the Haitian people, of all citizens so that we may assume our responsibility towards this country. Now, accomplishing this objective requires the departure of the current regime. Not only is the regime corrupt but it has proved itself incapable of managing the country."

9. [22] A national day of prayer will be held on 1 December at the initiative of the Protestant community. This religious sector agrees that prayer is essential for delivering the country and resolving the crisis. The Protestants invite all the sectors to join this movement, which will start on 23 November.

10. [24] The Lavalas government is in the line of sight of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights [CIDH] regarding violations of human rights. In a letter addressed to the foreign minister, the CIDH invites the current government to adopt measures to protect the life and physical integrity of human rights leaders. The threats that human rights leaders have received are quite serious, the CIDH stressed, recalling that the secretary-general of the Haitian Platform of Human Rights Organizations, POHDH, was already the target of a murder attempt in 1999.

The CIDH thinks that the targeted militants are in a risky and serious situation and that protective measures must be taken to prevent irreparable damage. Protective measures should be put into effect for six months, after which the CIDH will decide if it is necessary to extend or end them.

11. [28] Several bills were submitted to the Chamber of Deputies yesterday concerning the establishment of new courts and territorial collectivities. The interior and justice ministers explained the reason for their bill to the assembly of deputies. The justice minister justified the establishment of new courts due to the necessity to make justice accessible to Haitians who need it.

12. [31] The government is planning to make the Cite Soleil and Tabarre neighbourhoods two districts. The interior minister defended this decision of the head of state before the Lavalas deputies. According to Henry Claude Menard, this bill is fair and deserves to be approved by the contested parliamentarians.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 14 Nov 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Signal FM news 1230 gmt 14 Nov 01 
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Nov 15, 2001



2. [08] Two members of the municipal council of Miragoane have resigned, explaining that the principal mayor is misusing public funds. They ask for the intervention of the head of state to end the waste that prevails at the Miragoane Town Hall.

3. [07] Prime Minister Jean-Marie Cherestal, who was expected at the Senate yesterday to explain changes in his government action plan and some scandals noted in public administration offices, did not turn up because of a coordination problem between the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Executive Committee.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Pierre Sancon Prince said that his committee will ask the head of the Senate Executive Office why Cherestal was not at parliament yesterday. It seems that there was also a disagreement among the members of the committee because Senator Yvon Feuille, a member of the finance committee, was not aware that the prime minister had been summoned.

4. [11] Two mobilization movements against the government are developing in various provincial cities throughout the country. Burning tyres have been observed in Petit-Goave since early this morning. The first movement is that of Lavalas people's organizations that are asking for reforms within public administration because, according to them, there is too much administrative mess in the way Lavalas is leading the country. So they are asking Lavalas officials to make proper reforms in the state machinery in the region. But there is another movement by opposition members demanding the departure of the current government.

5. [14] Report by Gonaives correspondent Wilfrid Fabre: A small group of Convergence members in Gonaives tried to block National Road No 1 on the morning of Tuesday 13 November to demand the departure of the Lavalas regime. Ulysse Beauvoir, controversial deputy mayor of Gonaives, said that Convergence supporters are writing on all the walls of the city: "Down with Aristide! Up with Jean-Claude Duvalier!"

Beauvoir accused policemen of taking part in these movements and deplored the fact that, in spite of his complaints to the police, nothing has been done. It should be recalled that gunshots were heard in Gonaives the night of 12 November but no arrests have been made.

6. [16] Mirebalais correspondent Patrick Pierre-Louis: Tuesday 13 November, many leaflets hostile to the Lavalas regime, Aristide and Cherestal and favourable to the opposition were observed in the city.

7. [17] Report by Jacmel correspondent Rene Voltaire: Since the weekend, there has been a controversy in Jacmel. Many leaflets hostile to the Lavalas regime have been observed in the city during the last two weeks.

Professor Milo Gousse, spokesman for the Convergence in the Southeast, told Signal FM in an exclusive interview that what is going on now, meaning the fact that poor neighbourhoods have taken a stand against the Lavalas regime, is the beginning of a general movement that should result in the overthrow of the Lavalas regime.

Gousse's statements follow: "A generalized movement that will result in Aristide's overthrow has begun throughout the country. What is going on here is just the beginning."

8. [19] Culture Minister Guy Paul said yesterday that the government recognizes that the poor have the right to demonstrate in order to demand better living conditions. The situation being very difficult, it is normal that those who are dissatisfied should express their discontent and demand the intervention of the authorities to improve their situation, the minister said. He added that street demonstrations are part of democracy and that he does not see why the government should worry.

By the way, Jacques Maurice, a member of the National Palace press service, recalls that the president is the one who invited all Haitians not to use violence when they have problems and to talk to the authorities instead.

10. [24] The Haitian Protestant sector will organize a national day of prayer for the country on Saturday 1 December. After several initiatives by various groups in Haitian society, the Protestant sector today has proposed prayer as a path to peace in the country. Reverend Chavannes Jeune, a member of the committee organizing this day of prayer, said: "We believe that action and prayer can get our country out of the current crisis." Jeune invites all Christians in the country to participate in this national day of prayer.

11. [28] Taiwan has renewed the call for dialogue it has sent to the protagonists of the Haitian crisis in the past. The Taiwanese ambassador invites the Haitian protagonists to put aside their differences and personal interests and to make the necessary compromises in order to get the country out of the crisis.

12. [30] Report by Cap-Haitien correspondent: The Cap-Haitien Civic Initiative is a new organization that has begun fighting against the Lavalas regime. Jean Denis Julien, spokesman for this organization, explained that his organization has not been created with the sole purpose of fighting Lavalas. He added that in less than one month the organization will have a national network that will work on forming a solid civic network.

13. [33] Culture Minister Paul said that discussions continue with the OAS representative in Haiti for the resumption of the negotiations, which depends on the OAS, according to Paul. The minister stated that the government is willing to find a solution to the crisis and wishes the Convergence to do the same.

17. [42] Today is the second day of national mourning observed in the Dominican Republic following the crash of an American Airlines plane on 12 November. A Haitian pastor who was travelling to the Dominican Republic died in the crash.

19. [44] Reporters Without Borders deplores the fact that the Haitian Senate has not yet formally responded to Judge Gassant's request five weeks ago to lift Senator Dany Toussaint's immunity. Toussaint last week criticized the slowness of the Haitian justice department.

20. [45] The head of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, CIDH, said he has learnt that death threats have been issued against many human rights activists, including Pierre Esperance, Viles Alezard, Serge Boordenave and Jean-Simon Saint-Hubert following their disapproval of the zero tolerance policy called for by President Aristide and their denouncing the use of the Haitian National Police, PNH. The CIDH asks the Haitian government to take urgent measures in order to protect the physical integrity of human rights activists.

22. [54] A meeting was held yesterday between the minister for Haitians Living Overseas and the Foreign Relations Committee of the lower chamber on the bill on dual nationality. Minister Lesly Voltaire said that the 1987 Constitution is unfair to Haitians living abroad. As a result, measures must be taken so they can invest in the country in a normal fashion. He explained that this law will grant a number of rights and privileges to those who enjoy dual nationality. He pointed out that it is just a law, not a constitutional amendment.

23. [56] Taiwanese Ambassador Michel Lu has expressed his satisfaction about his country's participation as a member of the World Trade Organization. He said this membership will be beneficial to his country.

Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 14 Nov 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.