21610: Esser: Latortue government accused of slowness in arresting former officials (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Agence Haïtienne de Presse

April 26, 2004

Organizations close to former opposition accuse the Latortue
government of being too slow in its actions against members of the
former government


Port-au-Prince, April 26, 2004 -(AHP)- Many officials of
organizations from the platform of the former opposition gave a
severe warning Monday to the interim Prime Minister and his team,
accusing them of being too slow in the process of arresting all those
accused of committing crimes under the Aristide government.

They gave this warning during a sit-in in front of the Ministry of
Justice premises.  

Officials from the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, the PAPDA,
the CONAF, the UNNOH and the crisis committee in the University, said
it was not normal that these accused are still walking the streets
freely. 

Two officials from these organizations, Magalie Marcelin and Josué
Vaval, said this sit-in was a warning to the Latortue government,
which must stop making big promises and start acting. 

The country's problems can only be solved with concrete actions,
these officials said. Their organizations had participated in the
January and February anti-Aristide demonstrations. 

Margalie Marcelin and Josué Vaval said mobilization would continue
until there are real changes in the country. Among other things, they
asked for the arrest of former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune. 

The sit-in participants also asked the soldiers of the multinational
force to leave the premises of the Aristide Foundation for
democracy's Peace University to the students from the State
University. 

However, they did not comment on the issues of confirmed criminals
still walking the streets and the former rebels who committed serious
crimes during the events of recent months.
.