16194: Blanchet: Fw: Haiti and the ICC - has exemption for the US been promised? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>


> Has Haiti agreed to impunity for US soldiers at the International Criminal
> Court? - Haiti Support Group - 25 July 2003
>
> The Haiti Support Group - a solidarity organisation based in London, UK -
is
> calling on the government of Haiti to clarify its position in respect of
> United States government attempts to pressure countries to exempt US
soldiers from
> prosecution at the International Criminal Court.
>
> At the beginning of July, the administration of President George W. Bush
cut
> off military aid to 35 friendly countries in retaliation for their support
of
> the International Criminal Court (ICC) and refusal to exempt US soldiers
from
> the ICC's jurisdiction. Six of the countries listed under the US
suspension
> order are Caricom members: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize,
Dominica, St.
> Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
>
> The Haiti Support Group raises the issue following the publication of a
press
> report stating that four other Caricom members - including Haiti - have
> succumbed to US pressure and promised to sign an exemption agreement.
>
> In letters to Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Prime Minister
> Yvon Neptune sent on 24 July, the Haiti Support Group's director, Charles
Arthur,
> referred to an article from the Caribbean Update web site, entitled
> "Caribbean yields to US over International Court", dated 18 July 2003,
which contained
> the following section:
>
> "Guyana has agreed to exempt American soldiers from prosecution in the
> International Criminal Court (ICC), in the face of a possible cut in
military aid
> from the US....Guyana, along with Jamaica, Grenada and Haiti, which have
signed
> the treaty, but have yet to ratify it, apparently bowed under pressure and
> promised that the exemption agreement would be signed later this year."
>
> The Haiti Support Group is calling on the government of Haiti to clarify
> whether or not the report is correct in stating that Haiti has "promised"
to sign
> an exemption agreement later this year.
>
> In the letter to President Aristide and Prime Minister Neptune, the Haiti
> Support Group asks, "If such a commitment has been given, we are anxious
to know
> by what process this decision was arrived at. We have seen no report of
any
> Parliamentary or public discussion of the issue."
>
> The letter continued, "We know that the United States is able to exert a
> variety of pressures in order to secure immunity from potential war crime
> indictments against members of the US military, but we believe that the
government of
> Haiti's first responsibility is to the Haitian people whom it represents,
and
> that therefore a full and transparent public debate of the issue should be
> held in Haiti."
>
>
> Background
>
> On 26 February 1999, Haiti signed the Rome Statute of the ICC, but has yet
to
> ratify it. At that time, a Haitian government representative indicated
that
> Haiti fully supported the establishment of the ICC, and would welcome
technical
> assistance from those countries that had completed ratification.
>
> The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a network of well
over
> 1,000 non-governmental organisations advocating for a fair, effective and
> independent International Criminal Court. See the web site -
http://www.iccnow.org/
>
> ______________________________________________
>
>
> This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.
>
> See the Haiti Support Group web site:
> www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org
>
> Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
> democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
> ____________________________________________
>