21076: (Chamberlain) Haiti press freedom (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By STEVENSON JACOBS

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 3 (AP) -- Targeted for years by supporters of
ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, private radio stations in Haiti
are slowly returning to the air.
   But fear of attacks against journalists who used to work for
pro-government stations linger in the traumatized nation where the media
and government have long been at odds.
   "These journalists are hiding from ... anyone with a gun or a
grievance," said Joanne Mariner, Americas director for New York-based Human
Rights Watch.
   During the monthlong revolt that killed more than 300 people and led to
Aristide's ouster on Feb. 29, more than a dozen journalists were either
threatened or attacked, including a Spanish television correspondent who
was killed when shots broke out during a demonstration held to celebrate
Aristide's departure. The shooting was blamed on Aristide militants, but
U.S. Marines say they also returned fire.
   Under Aristide's administration, at least two journalists were killed --
including well-known radio host Jean Dominique -- and several others
considered to hold an anti-Aristide bias were attacked. Dozens went into
hiding.
   Some reported getting anonymous calls with the sounds of guns clicking
on the other end. Others were in radio stations while attackers sprayed the
buildings with gunfire.
   "I'm still afraid of Aristide's supporters," said Romney Cajuste, a
reporter for the private station Radio Metropole who was kidnapped by armed
thugs claiming to be Aristide loyalists. "They've told us we'll collect our
punishment at the cemetery."
   Since Aristide's departure, many say they feel safer to do their jobs;
but some journalists who worked for pro-government stations still fear
reprisals.
   In northern Cap-Haitien, where rebels maintain a strong presence, two
radio stations linked to Aristide's Lavalas Family party were torched by
residents and shot up by rebels.
   One reporter for the pro-Aristide Radio Solidarite in the capital of
Port-au-Prince said he went underground after armed men broke into his home
looking for him while he was out, according to Human Rights Watch.
   Another journalist, who worked for Aristide's Radio Ti Moun, said
pro-Aristide journalists in the northern rebel-held areas are still
receiving threats.
   "There's no real press freedom in Haiti no matter who you work for,"
said the journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Saturday.
   Throughout decades of turmoil, radio has been one of few reliable
mediums in this impoverished nation of 8 million. More than 150 stations
operate in Haiti, made all the more vital since a little more than half of
Haitians can read, and few can afford televisions.
   "Everything happens on the radio. People call and complain to radio
stations instead of going to the police," said Dadou Jean-Bart, owner of
the private Radio Galaxy.
   The station was one of several affected by an attack on Jan. 13, when
armed vandals smashed a radio transmission site owned by several of the
private stations critical of Aristide.
   Richard Widmaier, general director of Radio Metropole and the current
head of the Association of Haitian Media, said if Haiti is to have a viable
democracy, independent media must play a vital role.
   "You never know what face the enemy will take," he said. "I think the
press in Haiti has to be very vigilant to identify that enemy."