13937: Arthur on Nadal's massacre Re: 13730 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

In a message dated 12/3/2002 5:35:26 AM W. Europe Standard Time, Olivier
Nadal <o_nadal@bellsouth.net> writes:

<<  I was threatened to death, accused of  being one of the organizer of a
massacre that never existed and almost arrested. In March 2000, I was forced,
like my uncle,to leave Haiti in exile >>


For the benefit of those on the list who don't know about the "massacre that
never existed", here is an extract from the 'Report of the independent expert
of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Haiti',
written by Adama Dieng, and presented to the UNITED NATIONS General Assembly
on 28 August 2000:

"There have been other massacres too (re: Raboteau), including the Jean-Rabel
massacre of 23 July 1987, which cost the lives of more than 200 peasants; the
Piatre massacre of 12 March 1990, in which 11 persons died and 300 houses and
cabins were burned down; and the Gervais massacre, in which 1,000 homes were
destroyed.

38. Currently, the Haitian Government is endeavouring to shed light on these
events, as demonstrated by the establishment on 23 July 1999 by the Minister
of Justice of a judicial commission charged with supervising the
investigations into these massacres. In the case of the Piatre massacre, 400
persons have already given evidence, which is remarkable, given that the
large landowners in the Artibonite department have an iron grip on the
government commissioners and other investigating magistrates. There is a need
to ensure that the commission’s work is brought to completion. There is a
police laboratory capable of performing ballistic analysis, which is
enhancing the quality of the investigations.

39. The Piatre case is of capital importance in that it is the tragic outcome
of a dispute concerning 100 carreaux of land occupied by Olivier Nadal
(President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Haiti), who already
"owned" a 900-carreaux estate in the same area. The peasants of the village
of Piatre sued Mr. Nadal unsuccessfully in the court in St-Marc. Thus it was
that when the fall of the de facto president Prosper Avril was announced, on
11 March 1990, they returned to this land. The section chief and his deputy
organized a crackdown against them, resulting in the death of a peasant by
the name of Samuel Saintfacile. In retaliation at the failure of the judicial
authorities and the police to act, the people lynched the section chief and
his deputy. The following day, on 12 March 1990, a detachment of 30 soldiers
backed by armed civilians from St-Marc perpetrated the Piatre massacre."

For the record the relevant URL is:
http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/genassembly/a-55-335.htm

and, then there is the following translation of an AHP report dated 12 March
2000:

"Eleven peasants were killed on 12 March 1990 in a dispute over
land-ownership.

On the tenth anniversary of the massacre, hundreds of peasants demonstrated
to demand the arrest of the authors and instigators. A number of large
landowners in the area, including Olivier Nadal and Gardy Démezarre, were
accused. Speaking on the 10th anniversary, M. Sylvain Jean, a leader of the
peasant organisation, Tèt Kole Ti Peyizan, said that a law suit has already
been filed against those allegedly responsible at the court in St. Marc. It
was at this time that Olivier Nadal left Haiti for the United States, where
he has remained ever since."


And finally, there is an email that I received yesterday from the National
Coalition for Haitian Rights, which cites examples of cases where "sufficient
judicial procedures have yet to be completed as a result of the extreme
slowness which characterizes investigating judges and their work":

•   Jean Rabel Massacre (July 1987)                     15 years
•   St. Jean Bosco Massacre (September 1988)                    14 years
•   Piatre Massacre (March 1990)                            12 years
•   Assassination of Antoine Izméry (September 1993)                  9 years
•   Assassination of Father Jean Marie Vincent (August 1994)              8
years
•   Assassination of Father Ti Jean Pierre Louis (August 1998)            4
years
•   Assassination of Jean Léopold Dominique (April 2000)              2 years
_______________________________________________

This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.

See the Haiti Support Group web site:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

The Haiti Support Group - solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for
justice, participatory democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
____________________________________________