23492: radtimes: Message from a Jailed Priest in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

Message from a Jailed Priest in Haiti

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1018-29.htm

Published on Monday, October 18, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
by Bill Quigley

Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste shares a small dark jail cell with 18 other men in
Haiti. Their bathroom is a smelly bucket in the corner of the cell - open
for all to see. When I visit him it is 96 degrees outside and much hotter
inside. A prisoner who wants water or food must purchase it. There are no
beds. At night they lie on the floor and try to keep the mice off. There is
no water for bathing and no time outside the cell.

The priest's crime? He has been an outspoken leader of the movement calling
for the return of Haiti's elected President, Jean Betrand Aristide, who was
forced out of the country in a coup in February 2004.

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Fr. Gerard was dragged out of his rectory
at St. Claire's Catholic Church in Port au Prince by masked heavily armed
men. The men were dragging him and firing rifles and pistols at the crowd
gathered to support their parish priest. Handcuffed, he was thrown bleeding
into the back of a car and was sped away to jail, where he has been ever since.

There are no formal charges against Fr. Jean-Juste. He has not seen a judge
and it is not clear he ever will. No judge will review his case because it
is "too political." The police wrote down that he is jailed for "disturbing
the peace." The unelected government of Haiti says he was "aiding the
uprising" and that they have all the evidence they need to hold him.

This pastor joins a growing number of political prisoners in Haiti. The
prime minister, the minister of the interior, the former mayor of Port au
Prince, a member of parliament or two, a prominent woman folk singer and
activist, are all in jail cells in Haiti. None have a date for a trial.
None expect to have trials.

Since overthrowing Haiti's elected government in February 2004, the
unlected government, supported by the US, has ignored Haiti's laws and
constitution. Fr. Jean-Juste is but the latest prominent victim.

I met Fr. Gerard two weeks ago while visiting Haiti on a human rights
mission for Pax Christi USDA, the vatholic peace movment. When I first saw
him, he was in the middle of feeding 600 children their only real meal of
the day. Later that evening, he told us, "Haiti has gone too far in being
violent to our sisters and brothers. We must kneel down, ask forgiveness
and start over." (Our report is posted at www.paxchristiusa.org).

Two weeks later, during the same Wednesday meal for 600 children, he was
arrested.

But Fr. Jean-Juste is far from defeated. Through the metal bars separating
us, he smiled and whispered, "Like St. Paul and St. Peter, my body is in
jail, but my spirit is free!"

When I asked him what message he had for the people who support democracy
in Haiti, he leaned forward, a rosary around his neck, and said without
hesitation:" Insist that we return to constitutional order in Haiti. Demand
freedom for all political prisoners. Respect the human rights of everyone.
Pledge to respect the vote of the people. Advocate for the return of
President Aristide so he can finish his electoral mandate through February
2006."

Those who care about human rights and democracy must listen to the message
of the jailed priest. And we must also consider the question, "If the
unlected government does this to a priest, how are they treating the
regular people?"

Human rights workers in Haiti say the only way Fr. Jean-Juste is going to
get justice is if the international community, especially the US, demands it.

We must listen to the message of the jailed priest. And we must advocate
for justice for Fr. Jean-Juste and for all the people of Haiti.

Bill Quigley is a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans School of
Law. He writes this from Port au Prince. Bill is one of the lawyers
representing Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste.

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