20647: McCalla: Haiti: What of the Rule of Law? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jocelyn McCalla <jmccalla@jmcstrategies.com>

For Immediate Release:

Haiti: What of the Rule of Law?



Statement of Jocelyn McCalla

Executive Director, a.i.

National Coalition for Haitian Rights



New York, March 21, 2004 -- If Haiti is to rid itself of its destructive
cycle of lawlessness and political upheavals, its leaders must resolutely
break with the past to rapidly establish and promote respect for human
rights and the rule of law. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the
transitional government’s priority.



Interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue visited Gonaïves on March 20 to hail
as freedom fighters the “cannibals,” a group of thugs who took up arms
against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in order to settle scores with him.
They blamed Mr. Aristide – whom they once supported -- for the murder of
their leader, Amiot Métayer. They have been in control of the city of
Gonaïves since last December when they drove away the police and other
governmental authorities.



Mr. Latortue was accompanied on this visit by Justice Minister Bernard
Gousse and OAS Representative David Lee. But for all the hoopla that greeted
this occasion, Mr. Latortue came away only with a hastily crafted wooden key
to the city of Gonaives. At the very least he succeeded in fanning the
flames of lawlessness. The thugs refused to give up control of the
municipality and to disarm. And they threatened to overthrow the interim
government should they decide that things were not to their liking. Standing
shoulder to shoulder with the Prime Minister was Jean Tatoune, a notorious
lawbreaker with a nearly twenty-year long history of human rights crimes
under his belt. Tatoune should have been in jail instead.



Prime Minister Latortue may have aimed for precious time, but he has sent
the wrong signals to Haitians seeking durable peace and justice, closing
perhaps quickly the window of support that Haiti enjoys among people of good
will in domestic and international spheres.



We strongly condemn the unholy alliance which the interim government has
struck with the Gonaïves rebels. We note that such unholy alliances, in
place since 1994 when President Aristide returned from exile, have weakened
rather than strengthened law enforcement and governmental authority. We note
with alarm the apparent acquiescence of international community
representatives to a wrong-headed strategy that among other things increases
the risks to international peacekeepers.



We call on the transitional Haitian government to reverse course and state
forthrightly that criminality and warlordism have no place in Haitian
society, and to take the steps necessary to re-establish state authority.
This includes an aggressive disarmament campaign with the active support of
international peacekeepers and police forces. We call on Haiti’s
international allies to also disassociate themselves with thugs and to
redouble efforts at peacebuilding by committing more troops and accelerating
their deployment to the country.



Most importantly, a judicial system that treats every Haitian equally
regardless of social, economic or political status is long overdue. Let its
advent not be postponed any further.



### END ###





For Further Information, Contact:



Mr. Jocelyn McCalla

Executive Director

National Coalition for Haitian Rights

275 Seventh Avenue

New York, NY 10001

W: (212) 337-0005; F: (212) 741-8749; C: (862) 452-7196

Email: jmccalla@nchr.org; www.nchr.org