24011: Esser: (news) New York Times: questionable reporting on Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser <torx@joimail.com>

Haiti Action Committee
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HNW/1_1_5.html

Haiti News Watch: New York Times unproven claim of responsibility for
death of Weber Adrien

Analysis:

MICHAEL KAMBER of the NYT lays responsibility for the brutal murder
and decapitation of Weber Adrien on supporters of ousted President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide despite the absence of an official inquiry by
Haitian law enforcement authorities. Unfortunately, his
pro-government bias and reliance on their unproven assertions can
seen throughout the entire article.

Infraction: relies upon hearsay, does not present balanced view of facts

Article Title:

A Troubled Haiti Struggles to Gain Its Political Balance

January 2, 2005

By MICHAEL KAMBER

URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/international/americas/
02haiti.html?ex=1105246800&en=b715e8e3f96605f1&ei=5006&partner=ALTAVISTA
1

News Organization(s):

The New York Times Company
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Main number for general inquiries about the Company and The New York
Times: (212) 556-1234

Quotation(s):

Some university students held a rally to call for Mr. Latortue's
removal and to honor Weber Adrien, an advocate for change who was
pulled from his home and killed by Aristide partisans who also
mutilated his body.

Omissions:

Source 1:

Agence Haitian de Presse (AHP) November 24, 2004 12:05 PM

Samba Boukman also rejected accusations that Weber Adrien, the
coordinator of the city halls of Port-au-Prince, murdered on November
17, was killed by Lavalas activists.

He demanded that an investigation be opened to determine the
circumstances of the killing.

Source 2:

Haiti Info. November 4, 2004

Les funérailles du coordonnateur des marchés publics de
Port-au-Prince, Wéber Adrien, dont le cadavre a été découvert au
Bel-Air le 18 novembre dernier ont été chantées jeudi \x87 l'Eglise
Adventiste de la rue de la Rue de la Réunion.

Des secteurs progouvernementaux ont, bien entendu, accusé les
militants Lavalas d'Ítre les auteurs du meurtre.

Translation:

The funeral of the coordinator of the public markets of
Port-with-Prince, Wéber Adrien, whose corpse was discovered in
Bel-Air last November 18, was held Thursday at the Adventist Church
of Rue de la Réunion .

Pro-government sectors, of course, held that Lavalas militants were
the authors of the murder.

Haiti News Watch (HNW) is an independent organization dedicated to
fact checking news sources related to coverage of events in Haiti.
Our reports and analysis of news content is intended to provide
readers with story context and the background of sources used in
published articles related to Haiti.