12634: Government of Haiti Condemns Recent Acts of Violence...(PRNewswire) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

Government of Haiti Condemns Recent Acts of Violence, Continues to Strengthen Security Measures to Protect all Haitians

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (August 6, 2002) -- In a recent statement released by the Bureau of Communication and Press from Haiti's National Palace, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide condemned without reservation the events that occurred Friday, Aug. 2 in the northern city of Gonaives.

The statement was issued the same day that supporters of Amiot Metayer, using a tractor, broke him out of the Gonaives prison with more than 150 other prisoners using the opportunity to flee as well.

Insisting in the statement that "all appropriate steps be taken to bring about the arrest of all perpetrators of these acts of violence as well as their accomplices," it also called for the "pursuit and apprehension of all the fugitives, the presentation of the accused before the relevant judges, and the enforcement of the law in every respect against those who were involved in these events."

The group of escaped prisoners included a number of members of the former Haitian military and of FRAPH, a paramilitary organization, who had been convicted in the 1994 Raboteau massacre.  International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, praised the Government of Haiti for arresting Amiot Metayer in early July, as well as for other recent arrests, because they demonstrated the Government's efforts to ensure that all Haitians would be subject to the rule of law - Government supporters and detractors alike.

The police re-established calm in Gonaives by Saturday morning and are using various strategies to resolve the conflict without putting the population in harms way.  Metayer and his supporters, who are heavily armed, have taken cover in a densely populated residential neighborhood, and the police are taking all precautions not to jeopardize or put at risk the lives of innocent neighbors.

Haiti's civilian police force has been working tirelessly to pursue those who escaped from the prison Aug. 2 and others who have committed violent acts, including destruction of public property and shooting at the police, in the days leading up to and following the prison break.

Police actions included setting up roadblocks and closing Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic.  According to the National Penitentiary director, the police, with help from the general population, have thus far arrested 10 people who escaped Friday from the Gonaives prison.

According to the statement released by the Bureau of Communication and Press, "The President of the Republic is determined to assure all citizens that the Government will spare no effort to guarantee the re-establishment of public order and the return of institutional normality in the city as soon as possible."

In a press conference held Aug. 3 to address the events, Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, along with the Police Chief, the Minister of Justice, the Secretary of State for Public Security and the Minister of the Interior, reconfirmed the Government of Haiti's pledge to bring to justice all people who commit acts of violence in Haiti.

Prime Minister Neptune reiterated the Government's plans to continue its disarmament campaign, which, now in its second phase, has been an example of the Government's commitment to judicial and human rights reforms, in the same spirit as the Organization of American States (OAS) Resolution 806. In addition, last month, the Government of Haiti pledged to carry out further confidence-building measures to bring an end to the political and economic crisis in Haiti.

The prison break and subsequent violence comes at a critical time for the Government of Haiti, as members of the OAS Permanent Council are gathering to reach a consensus on a proposal introduced by the Government to bring an end to the political crisis in Haiti.

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