23082: This Week in Haiti 22:24 08/25/2004 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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                           HAITI PROGRES
              "Le journal qui offre une alternative"

                      * THIS WEEK IN HAITI *

                        August 25 - 31, 2004
                          Vol. 22, No. 24

REPORT OF THE HAITI ACCOMPANIMENT PROJECT
by Laura Flynn, Robert Roth and Leslie Fleming

(The first of three installments)

>From June 29 to July 9, the Haiti Accompaniment Project sent a
delegation to Haiti to investigate the current human rights
situation and to assess the needs and practical possibilities for
accompaniment of Haitian grassroots organizations by
international solidarity workers. In addition to interviewing
Lavalas activists and elected officials in hiding and dozens of
victims of the recent coup d'état, the delegation visited in
prison both Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and singer/activist
Annette (So Anne) Auguste. It also met with the United Nation's
Military Command in Cap-Haitian, as well as with the United
Nations Human Rights Officer in Port-au-Prince.

Over the next three weeks, we will present large extracts from
this comprehensive report. The names of many of those interviewed
have been withheld for their safety.

OVERALL SITUATION: THE COUP AND ITS AFTERMATH

>From our discussions with human rights workers there was
widespread agreement that the repercussions from this coup are
even worse than what took place after the brutal 1991-1994 coup.
There are many similarities between the two periods. In both
instances military force, backed by Haitian elites, overthrew a
democratically elected government. In both cases, there were
large-scale, politically-motivated murders and assassinations. In
both cases, paramilitary groups allied with the de facto
authorities controlled areas, exercised police, judicial and
administrative powers, and brutally repressed dissent. In both
periods, people associated with the overthrown government lost
jobs, had their homes burned, and were forced to leave their
communities and families. In both periods, the de facto
government routinely arrested democracy activists and held them
without charge and without respect for their legal rights. Yet
there are some important differences.

In 1991-1994, independent human rights groups continued to
operate within Haiti and had some access to human rights groups
around the world. Independent media, at times, was able to
project the voice of victims of military rule. International
organizations like the UN and OAS invoked their charter
mechanisms in support of democracy, insisted on the legitimacy of
Haiti's elected government, and isolated the de facto
authorities.

In the current period, even though the overwhelming majority of
Haiti's electorate voted for President Aristide and Lavalas
representatives, their voice has been silenced. The Haitian
media, mostly controlled by the Haitian elite, has been a
consistent voice of the opponents of President Aristide. Most of
the radio stations in the country are members of the Association
of National Media of Haiti, which is itself a member of the Group
of 184, which helped orchestrate the coup d'état. This means that
these stations are not merely biased in their news coverage; in
fact, they publicly committed themselves to the overthrow of
Haiti's democratic government.

Outside of Haiti, the US and France have dissuaded the UN and the
OAS from even investigating the coup, despite requests from half
of the OAS membership, and a third of the UN.  The international
media has largely ignored the massive human rights violations
since the coup.

The United States and France have been able to construct a
multilateral occupation of Haiti under the aegis of the United
Nations. Brazilian troops now patrol Port-au-Prince, while
Chilean troops are in command in the North. While this does
nothing to change the illegality of the occupation, it gives it
an aura of legitimacy. From all reports we have received, the UN
Military Command works in close coordination with the Haitian
National Police, which has already integrated many former
military into their ranks. While sending thousands of troops to
Haiti, the United Nations has so far sent only one human rights
officer to Haiti; he must receive permission from the post-coup
Justice Minister, Bernard Gousse, before he is able to visit a
prison.

In the period following both coups, many independent human rights
workers were threatened and forced underground, while some human
rights groups placed their reputations at the service of the
dictatorship. In 1991, Jean-Jacques Honorat of the human rights
group CHANDEL, became the Cedras military regime's de facto Prime
Minister. In 2004, groups like the National Coalition for Haitian
Rights (NCHR) and the Comité des Avocats pour le Respect des
Libertés Individuelles (CARLI) helped develop support for the
coup with exaggerated reports of human rights violations by
supporters of the elected government. At the same time, they
downplayed or denied the much more massive violations of the de
facto regime and its paramilitary allies. Both groups continue to
"denounce" supporters of the elected government that they claim
were involved in human rights violations. Although these
denunciations are not accompanied by proof, they are often
accompanied by illegal arrest, incarceration and sometimes the
disappearance of the accused. Both NCHR and CARLI are supported
by USAID, and CARLI is a member of the Group of 184. They are not
independent human rights groups.

We met with members of Foundation 30 September, a victim's
organization which had been pressing for justice for victims of
the 1991-1994 coup. They were deeply dismayed that the outside
world still looked upon NCHR as a credible independent voice.
They told us that NCHR was now working hand-in-hand with the
post-coup Minister of Justice in carrying out illegal arrests and
detentions. In several cases, including that of Prime Minister
Yvon Neptune, NCHR staff have made accusations without evidence
that have led to arrests of Lavalas officials.

REPRESSION

Through numerous conversations and testimony, we have reached the
following conclusions:

1) In the North and Central Plateau regions, there is evidence
that the former "rebels" and paramilitaries continue to wield de
facto authority. There are numerous reports that the UN military
command in the North coordinates its activities with Guy
Philippe, the rebel leader who is responsible for major human
rights violations   including assassinations   in the period
preceding the coup.

2) There are multiple reports that former soldiers are now being
integrated into the police in Port-au-Prince and throughout the
country, bypassing normal police procedures for recruitment and
training. While we were in Haiti, the de facto Minister of the
Interior, the former general Hérard Abraham, issued a public call
for all former military living overseas to submit their files to
the Ministry of Interior for consideration. Under the Haitian
Constitution, the Ministry of the Interior is not afforded
oversight of the police, which falls under the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of Justice.

3) In the period leading up to the coup and in the period
immediately following, there were large-scale killings and the
systematic burning of the homes of people identified as members
or supporters of Fanmi Lavalas. The cities of Petit Goâve,
Gonaïves, and Cap Haïtien have been particularly hard hit by the
violence. Thousands of supporters of President Aristide and
Lavalas are currently in hiding throughout the country. Many
people have been separated from their families and report having
no fixed locations to sleep at night. Many have lost their means
of economic survival and have no assistance that will allow them
to restart their lives.

4) Approximately 10,000 state employees have been fired from
their jobs. We received first-hand accounts of rank-and-file
employees being told that the reason for their termination was
their association with the Lavalas movement. In addition,
thousands of democratically elected officials have been
effectively removed from office. There are also accounts of
employees in privately-owned businesses losing employment because
of their known or suspected affiliation with Lavalas.

5) Impunity continues in Haiti. Convicted murderer Jean Tatoune
is still free in the Gonaïves area. Guy Philippe works out of a
compound in Cap Haïtien. Despite his highly-publicized arrest in
April, there are direct eyewitness reports that Louis-Jodel
Chamblain, former leader of the terrorist group FRAPH, receives
special privileges in prison while awaiting trial. For example,
we heard from two people who saw him sitting with prison
officials near the front entrance of the prison, looking over
identifications of people visiting political prisoner Annette
Auguste. Gousse has publicly declared that Chamblain has nothing
to fear from the Haitian justice system.

6) Detention without charge or legal proceedings is now
systematic in Haiti. The prisons are overcrowded with Lavalas
activists who have been arrested without warrants in neighborhood
sweeps and are held without charges. We heard reports that prison
conditions in Les Cayes are so bad that epidemics have broken
out. At least a dozen juveniles are being detained at the Delmas
33 prison in Port-au-Prince.

7) Threats continue against political activists. We have received
numerous credible reports of lists of names being read on the
radio and of anti-Aristide leaders calling for "removal" of
Lavalas members in Cité Soleil and Gonaïves. Key media outlets
have played a significant role in this campaign of intimidation.
For example, in early June, Haitian authorities placed a wanted
poster with the photographs of 37 young men in Le Nouvelliste.
There are reports that at least one of these individuals has
since been killed.

8) There has been a series of targeted high-profile political
arrests and home invasions. The arrests and imprisonment of
Annette Auguste, Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Privert and
Prime Minister Yvon Neptune are among a growing list, pointing to
a politicized use of the criminal justice system. The French and
UN assault on the home of the Mayor of Milot   without a warrant
  is another case in point.

9) While politically-targeted arrests appear systematic, the
overall security situation is also grave.  During the coup
period, "rebels" broke into jails and freed 3000 prisoners, among
them many convicted human rights violators. There has now been a
sharp increase in kidnappings and carjackings, affecting all
sectors of society. We received numerous complaints that police
authorities were doing little about crime, but instead were
focused on arresting Lavalas supporters

(To be continued)

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Please credit Haiti Progres.

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