18095: White: AHP News - January 22, 2004 - English translation - CARICOM Talk - Funeral for torture victim (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

AHP News January 22, 2004 - English translation
(Unofficial) - CARICOM Talk - Funeral for torture
victim  - [Real STUDENTS March -raw version, with
all apologies to AHP]


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The funeral for the Lavalas activist beaten to
death during an opposition demonstration will be
held Friday at Saint Anne's Church in
Port-au-Prince
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Port-au-Prince, January 22, 2004 -(AHP)-The
funeral of  Louvoi Petit, the Lavalas activist
who died as a result of torture at the hands of
demonstrators from the political coalition of the
184 will be held Friday at the Eglise Sainte-Anne
in Port-au-Prince.

Mr. Petit was pelted with rocks and beaten with
sticks and iron bars before being dumped into a
ditch during a demonstration by the Group of 184
on January 7, 2004.

The opposition activists armed with shovels then
went looking for him to finish him off.

This macabre scene, which was shown on
television, provoked strong feelings in Haiti as
well as abroad.

The leaders of the opposition, who initially
justified the killing by saying he was a
delinquent and an armed Lavalas  chimè  who tried
to infiltrate their demonstration, later tried to
claim him as one of their own, after having
realized the seriousness of the case.

To that effect, opposition leaders have said that
he was actually a student, then they said he was
a member of the group of 184 who was attacked,
they said, right at the heart of their
demonstration, by members of Lavalas Populist
Organizations.

AHP January 22, 2004  4:40 PM


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More than 10,000 people including many students
take part in a peaceful march in support of
education and knowledge at the initiative of two
student organizations
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Port-au-Prince, January 22, 2004 -(AHP)- Several
thousand people, including university students,
public high school students and leaders of
political parties demonstrated this Thursday in
the streets of Port-au-Prince to call for the
re-opening of schools and university departments
across the country.

The demonstration was organized at the initiative
of two student organizations, FELUH (The
Federation of Students for the Liberation of the
State University of Haiti, and ACEH (Citizen
Action of Haitian Students).

The demonstrators, who were greeted by many large
business merchants in the central business
district, intended to protest against the
campaign to close the schools launched by leaders
of the Political Platform of the 184 as part of
their movement to obtain the ouster of the
elected authorities.

setting forth from the Faculty of Ethnology in
the center of the capital, they marched down many
streets of the city, chanting slogans calling for
schools to be open.

" Apaid, you cause schools to be set on fire but
you call me a chimè", chanted the demonstrators.
They asked the students and political leaders
active in the battle against the schools to
depoliticize learning and give a chance to the
students who wish to take classes.

They denounced the fact that the facilities of
several departments of state-run universities are
serving today as bases from which political
leaders carry out their anti-government campaign.

Demonstrators indicated that if the opposition
persists in using violent means to force the
schools to remain closed, it might as well start
building prisons, because without schools, the
country can produce only delinquents.

Students from several public elementary and high
schools have asked officials of the Ministry for
National Education to go ahead with the sanctions
they announced at the beginning of the week
against teachers and school principals who are
playing cat and mouse in an effort to prevent the
re-opening of the schools.

They also asked officials of the office of the
rector at the State University to pull themselves
together and talk sense into the students who do
not hesitate to assault school children and throw
stones at schools.

For parents, the big question is to learn whether
the directors of private schools and colleges
accused of complicity with the Group of 184 are
going to reimburse the money they have already
paid for the school year.

Several parents proceeded to denounce a campaign
of insults and obscenities broadcast over the
airwaves. "Our children need to hear a different
sort of speech", they said.

Students from INAGHEI who need to pass courses in
order to get their diplomas also demonstrated
their displeasure Wednesday at the paralysis of
activities at the university.

They appealed to their classmates to be
reasonable in order to allow them to achieve
their dreams.

Many members of Populist Organizations joined in
the demonstration to show support for students
who are concerned about the future of the
country;s children.

The leader of the organization Jeunesse Pouvoir
Populaire (Populist Youth Power) René Civil,
reminded members of the opposition coalition that
school activities should go on outside the world
of politics.

Public high school students in Port-au-Prince
announced plans to demonstrate on Friday January
23rd to call for the resumption of classes at the
public high schools so that they can be ready for
the official examinations.

They asked all parents and students who are not
involved in the campaign against classes to
support that march.

Hundreds of thousands of Fanmi Lavalas supporters
demonstrated Wednesday in Port-au-Prince to call
for respect for the five year term in office of
President Aristide.

The demonstration in favor of peace and
reconciliation also aimed at asking the leaders
of the opposition political platform to put an
end to their campaign to shut down the schools
that has been going on for more than two weeks.

AHP January 22, 2004  2:30 PM

------------------------------------------------------------------------
An opposition demonstration is blocked by the
police who cite legal justifications for their
action
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Port-au-Prince, January 22, 2004 -(AHP)- An
anti-government demonstration planned for
Wednesday by doctors and students at the School
of Medicine was blocked by the police, who said
they legitimate reasons for doing so.

The spokesperson for the doctors, Ernest
Harrisson, said that the authorities blocked the
demonstration because they said they were unable
to contact the organizers prior to the march in
order  to negotiate with them the route to be
followed in the demonstration.

M. Harrison said he is determined to demonstrate
to call for the departure of the elected
authorities.

he asked all students who belong to the
anti-government movement to take part in the
demonstration planned for Friday by the
opposition platform to call for the departure of
the current government and the closing of schools
until the opposition takes power.

The police also used tear gas to disperse groups
of members of Populist Organizations who were
massed not far from the School of Medicine.

Their gathering had not been communicated to the police.

AHP January 22, 2004  3:20 PM

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haïti/politics: A ray of hope following the
meeting in the Bahamas, according to the Canadian
Minister of Foreign affairs
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Port-au-Prince, January 22, 2004 -(AHP)- The
leaders of the opposition who participated in a
two day meeting in the Bahamas with CARICOM
leaders about the situation in Haiti returned
home Wednesday.

An opposition spokesperson, Victor Benoît, said
that the opposition presented an overview of the
situation in Haiti, characterizd by human rights
violations, he said.

"The opposition does not intend to negotiate with
Fanmi Lavalas", said Victor Benoit, describing
the effort by CARICOM as old hat.

American and Canadian officials attended the meeting as observers.

Canadian Foreign affairs Minister Bill Graham,
who followed the discussions declared that there
was a ray of hope.

According to Bill Graham, progress was achieved
toward reaching a negotiated solution to the
crisis that has resulted in several weeks of
violent demonstrations in Haiti.

Mr. Graham reiterated his country's support for a
special mission of the Organization of American
States (OAS) to strengthen democracy in Haiti, he
said.

Canada also suggested that the OAS established a
permanent monitoring mission to improve security
in the country.

For his part, a member of the private sector
belonging to the opposition, Lyonel Délatour told
the Miami Herald that this is an important
opportunity to exchange points of view on the
situation in Haiti.

The two days of talks were led by the Prime
Ministers of the Bahamas, Perry Christie,  of
Jamaica, Mr. P.J. Patterson , and from Trinidad
&Tobago,  Mr. Patrick Manning in the presence of
American and Canadian observers as well as the
OAS Assistant Secretary General, Luigi Einaudi
and Amb. Colin Granderson.

AHP January 22, 2004  11:00 AM


*** Activities resumed at the Port-au-Prince
International Airport following a work stoppage
observed by air controllers who were protesting
the suspension due to budgetary constraints of
certain expenses that had been allowed them.

***Radio Kiskeya, one of the eight radio stations
sabotaged last week by unidentified individuals,
resumed  broadcasting this Thursday.

Several other stations severely affected,
including Telé Timoun and Radio Plus have yet to
resume broadcasting.
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