17177: (Craig) Article: Haitian Police Demoralized, U.N. Rights Expert Says (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <dgcraig@att.net>

Haitian Police Demoralized, U.N. Rights Expert Says
Thursday, November 6, 2003

U.N. human rights envoy Louis Joinet said yesterday at the close of a
12-day visit to Haiti that the national police force is demoralized over
its inability to fight corruption and political dissidents are persecuted.

Haitian police are discouraged and facing a "serious identity crisis,"
Joinet told reporters in Port-au-Prince, as they watch helplessly while
"people are given unbelievable promotions outside of all legal
criteria."  As a result, high-ranking police officers have left their
jobs in disappointment.

Joinet also called attention to the plight of political activists in
Haiti, who he said are treated like "terrorists," while human rights
defenders are treated like "liars" (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News,
Nov. 5).

http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031106/449_10164.asp