23806: (discuss) Arthur - Rapes carried out by former soldiers (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Charles Arthur writes:

Once more, rape is on the agenda.

- "Amnesty International has also received testimonies about gang rapes of
women by armed individuals. In addition to the psychological and physical
trauma, the women victims of these abuses suffer from a lack of medical attention
and legal assistance." (AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE. AI Index:
AMR 36/060/2004 (Document Public) Nr du Service de Presse : 284 - 11 novembre
2004) (Arthur's translation)

Original: "Amnesty International a également reçu des témoignages de viols
collectifs de femmes par des individus armés. En plus du traumatisme physique et
psychologique, les femmes victimes de ces abus souffrent du manque
d'attention médicale et d'assistance légale."

- On 24 October 2004, the Associated Press' Michelle Faul wrote: One officer
in Bel Air struck the butt of a young woman several times as she walked down
the street and crowded her into an alley where a group of officers giggled. He
let her go when he saw a journalist watching. Asked why he had done that, the
officer said the woman's husband had been seen firing at police and that he
wanted her to tell him where the man was. Human rights lawyer Renan Hedouville
said Sunday that his organization has received reports of women and young girls
being raped in many of the troubled areas in Port-au-Prince, with the most
reports coming from Bel Air. Many of the reports involve former Haitian soldiers
who helped oust Aristide, he said.

- On 22 October 2004, the Associated Press' Michelle Faul wrote: Hedouville,
who presented his case Friday to the Organization of American States,
denounced violations committed by former soldiers whose rebellion ousted Aristide in
February and continue to hold sway in Haiti's countryside despite the presence
of a small U.N. peacekeeping force. "In the month of August, for example, more
than 50 cases of rape by former military were reported to our hot line," he
said. The violence is being committed against women and young girls in poor
neighborhoods of the capital, as well as in other parts of the country. During
the 1991-94 period of military-backed rule, soldiers and paramilitary terrorists
used rape as a weapon to punish Aristide supporters, human rights advocates
say.