a1566: BBC: The renewal of the mandate of Examining Judge Claudy Gassant. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Metropole news 1145 gmt 3 Apr 02
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 3, 2002


2. Today marks the second anniversary of the brutal assassination of the
director of Radio Haiti Inter, Jean Leopold Dominique. On this occasion, the
radio station will not broadcast its regular programming to protest the fact
that the murder investigation is at a virtual standstill. Several activities
will be held in Port-au-Prince and in the provinces to mark the day. (1 min)
3. The presidency last night announced the renewal of the mandate of
Examining Judge Claudy Gassant. The decision was taken by the head of state.
(3 min) .
4. The Association of Haitian Journalists, AJH, considers positive the
renewal of the mandate of Judge Gassant who is in charge of the Jean
Dominique murder investigation. The AJH hopes that the judge will regain
possession of the case so that the investigation may come to a successful
conclusion. The AJH also invites the Lavalas government to give the judge
the necessary logistical and security resources to do his work, and wishes
the cooperation of Senator Dany Toussaint.
5. The staff of Radio Haiti Inter yesterday accused the president of the
Republic for the standstill in the Dominique murder investigation. On the
second anniversary of Dominique's death, the radio station's staff denounces
the attitude of various state entities. (3 min)
6. Amnesty International, AI, is very critical of the Lavalas government's
handling of the Dominique murder case. AI asks the government to adopt
measures to bring the criminals to justice. If the authors of the dual
murder that took place on 3 April 2000 are not identified and judged rapidly
in an impartial way and with transparency, the aspirations of the population
to the rule of law will be irremediably harmed. The organization also
denounces the obstacles in the investigation. (1 min)
7. Justice Minister Jean-Baptiste Brown defends the government and urges
international organizations to recognize the difficult situations in which
the Haitian judiciary operates. He affirms that the government will do
everything possible to support the work of judges. (5 min) .
9. Opinion Poll: Will the new government work to unblock the crisis? The
majority of respondents, 48 per cent, said no, 18 per cent said yes. (1 min)
10. Tension is still high in the La Saline area following the arrest of
Ronald Cadavre (Camille). Residents complain that President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide does not care about their situation. (2 min)
11. The Initiative of Cooperatives, Inicoop, proposes a new law on
cooperatives' operations. The document was submitted to the National
Cooperatives Council, CNC, before 31 March, as President Aristide requested.
According to Inicoop Secretary General Zache Michel, cooperatives will
intervene mainly on the composition of the organism that should regulate the
sector. Michel affirms that cooperatives will no longer operate without
controls. Some cooperatives remain open despite the problems they are facing
and still offer services. (2 min)
12. The Education Ministry is in the process of preparing the state exams to
be held in June. Education Minister Myrtho Saurel affirms that steps are
being taken to ensure the success of the exams. (3 min)
16. Special Guest of the Day: Michele Montas, widow of Jean Dominique, on
the difficulties encountered in the investigation into her husband's murder.
Mrs Montas says she is unable to understand why the authorities are
deliberately blocking the investigation. She wants their manoeuvres to be
stopped. She states that the justice minister indicated last year that the
judge's report was submitted in December 2001, but three months later the
mandate of the examining judge was not renewed. She is in favour of the
return of Judge Gassant to the country to pursue the investigation. Security
should be made available, she said, not just for Judge Gassant but also for
all examining judges in charge of critical cases. Concerning Senator Dany
Toussaint who has refused to appear before Judge Gassant, she said that it
is not up to Toussaint to decide who should or should not hear him. She asks
whether Toussaint is above the law. (20 min)
Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 3 Apr 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.