15643: (Hermantin)Miami Herald- Haitian escapes charges (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, May. 16, 2003

Haitian escapes charges
Fugitive is viewed as Aristide enforcer
BY MARIKA LYNCH
mlynch@herald.com

A Haitian judge has dropped charges against the country's most infamous
fugitive, Amiot Metayer -- a self-proclaimed pro-government gang leader
whose ''Cannibal Army'' is accused of preying on opposition members.

Metayer was charged with arson for setting houses afire in a gang war in the
coastal town of Gonaves. Jailed a year ago, Metayer was freed in a
spectacular prison break three months later after his supporters ran a
bulldozer through a cell wall.

For months the government refused to rearrest him, saying that plucking
Metayer from his neighborhood and supporters would only provoke a bloodbath.
But two other judges on the case questioned the government's will. Both then
fled the country -- including one to South Florida -- saying the government
pressured them to drop the charges.

BOLD MOVE

Meanwhile, Metayer enjoyed his freedom, even calling a news conference in
front of the Gonaves police station.

On Thursday, government prosecutor Louizelme Joseph told Radio Metropole
that a judge withdrew Metayer's arrest warrant because there were no grounds
for the charges.

Joseph said he didn't know if Metayer would be sought for other crimes of
which he is accused, although government spokesman Mario Dupuy said he still
could be charged for escaping from jail. About 150 other inmates escaped
during the jail break.

The former longshoreman is perceived as such a public threat that groups
from human rights observers to a delegation of the hemisphere's top
diplomats have clamored for his arrest. They argue that to allow Metayer to
remain free would allow his band to terrorize those who oppose the
government.

ALLIES OF GOVERNMENT

The Cannibal Army is one of several so-called grass-roots organizations in
Haiti describing themselves as pro-government militants who are fighting for
the poor, but whom human rights observers blame for threats, political
violence and organized crime.

After a visit in March by a delegation from the Organization of American
States, the government said it would arrest Metayer. Supporters said he had
fled to the neighboring Dominican Republic, although other witnesses said he
was spotted in Gonaves.

Metayer's freedom continues to be a sticking point with international
observers who say President Jean-Bertrand Aristide hasn't done enough to
make Haiti safe. The inability to arrest Metayer could further endanger the
country's relationship with its neighbors and the United States.

After hearing the news Thursday, Investigating Judge Marcel Jean, who once
had the Metayer case, said he was disappointed. Jean said he was pressured
by a member of Aristide's staff to drop the case. When he refused, he was
put on a list of people not allowed to leave the country. He finally fled
this spring and is with friends in Palm Beach County.

''Someone can't kill people, burn their houses, and burn the courthouse and
not be brought to justice,'' Jean said. ``I think this raises serious
questions about the future of the country. This country has no future if
this is how justice will be treated.''

Herald staff writer D.E. Leger contributed to this report, which was
supplemented with material The Associated Press.

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