24190: Anonymous (radio) Dissident Lavalas OP Leader Identifies Sponsors of Violence (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Bob,

Please post anonymously.

Dissident Lavalas OP Leader Identifies Sponsors of Violence
Port-au-Prince Radio Kiskeya 27 Jan 05

[Announcer Dandin] About this statement sent to us in an audio recording by
Lavalas militant Ouanche Luc, we are going to listen, just before the 'Seen'
segment, to this statement that gives us information on the mechanism that
has been set up for perpetrating crimes and acts of violence throughout the
country and in particular in Port-au-Prince since the month of September
2004. Ouanche Luc, a well-known militant of the Lavalas Family [FL] and of
people's organizations [OP], in particular of the Frustrated Base, has
called on FL partisans who he thinks do not approve of the orientation of
other elements of this party's grassroots. He calls on them to publicly take
a stand, to get out of their reserve. As to those who have chosen the wrong
path, he wishes them to regain their self-control, put down their weapons,
and negotiate with the authorities their reinsertion into social life. Let
us listen to this important statement that gives information on the
identities of the persons here in the Dominican Republic and in Miami who
are in the pay of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to create this situation that we
have known and that we have been undergoing for some time.

[Begin Luc recording, in Creole] I am an FL member and I am also the
spokesman for the Frustrated Base in Martissant. Today, I stand apart from
Lavalas given that two groups of people have taken the party hostage. For
example, on 25 September 2004, a meeting was held at the Aristide Foundation
for Democracy. Participants in this meeting included Jean-Marie Samedy,
(Leslie Fareau), Leslie Gustave, and a big crowd. Dismy Cesar was also
there. This meeting was held under the pretext that they wanted to intensify
the mobilization for President Aristide's return. Eventually, on 30
September, it ended up in the disastrous violence that has been developing
in the country even today. This violence includes the killing of policemen,
burning vehicles, and perpetrating [bad] actions against people in some
areas. This is what they say can (? lead) to a physical return of President
Aristide. As for us, we denounce that and we also denounce a number of
people who are under cover in Miami and who are intensifying the movement
with money and weapons. The names of these people are Myrlande Liberis and
Jonas Petit. They have an intermediary whose name is Lutes who used to work
at that very Foundation. He is now in the Dominican Republic. They contacted
him and he brings the messages to the Foundation. When the message is taken
to the Foundation, the latter takes it to the bases.

The persons whose names I mentioned, like the heads of the FL cells, have
directly contacted bandits such as Dread Wilme, Dread Mackenzie, Dread Titi,
Ti Yabout, and Kenso since 30 September to do a number of jobs in Bel-Air so
that the violence could increase and end up in what we are experiencing
today. Many of them have perhaps fallen. But these last days, people like
Kenson in Solino and Ti Yabout in Bel-Air are burning vehicles and doing a
number of [bad] jobs in the Nazon area. These people have received money and
weapons from a number of people in Miami who have intermediaries in the
Dominican Republic. When these people are in the Dominican Republic, they (?
open an account) with the money that is intended to buy weapons and
ammunition to make the violence rate get higher in the country. For example,
there is Barthelemy Valbrun who has a brother whose name is Jean-Claude
Valbrun. He often brings messages also to Bel-Air, La Saline, and Cite
Soleil. As for Petit, when he wants to intensify the movement and make it
stronger, he just speaks on the radio or he calls people here and asks them
do such and such in Haiti. Similarly, there are people who are financing the
movement. When I say people who are financing the movement, I mean people
who perhaps had links with them like Rose Gabriel and Tit Soeur. All these
people were part of the Foundation. Perhaps these people have enterprises
and a number of things here. Sometimes they go and order people to give such
and such amounts within the Foundation so that the disorder or mobilization
can take place or so they can buy T-shirts, make pictures, and distribute
the president's posters. There is also Cesar who said that FL has several
groups of people who are supposed to do politics, people who are supposed to
take weapons, and there are also those who are perhaps under cover in Miami
and who are doing the job on the international level so that President
Aristide can return to the country.

I want to point out also that President Aristide trusts more or gives more
credit to the bases. When I say bases, this includes the FL thought cells
and the other people's organizations. I think the reason why he trusts these
organizations more than the FL officials is perhaps that he knows these
people are indeed marginalized people. They use them the way he wants. He
does whatever he wants with them. He can order them to do this or that. He
can tell them to go and shoot and so on. So, he does not trust those who are
in upper positions. This is also what has allowed the existence of a
division within the Family. The managerial staff members of the FL cannot
have the authority or the right to tell the people to do such and such or
not to do such and such. The Family is led by bases. This is why you will
see that there are two different tendencies. You will see that a group of
people are in favor of elections. However, the bases can stand up and say
that they are against elections because they have direct relations with the
Miami people, and when the Miami people talk to President Aristide, they
directly send the message to a number of leaders they have here.

I will also point out a situation that is developing inside the
neighborhoods, especially inside the poor neighborhoods. These neighborhoods
include many people's organizations. For example, if you take Bel-Air,
Martissant, La Saline, Cite Soleil, and Carrefour-Feuilles, there a is
nucleus of FL cells in these areas, and this nucleus has all the things. It
holds all powers. Once an organization or members of an organization or
members of the family choose not to participate, they will have to leave the
area. This is why many militants have now gone into hiding or are away from
their areas. They have either gone to the provinces, have innocently fallen,
have gone to jail innocently, or are in jail innocently while the bandits
are operating and are not arrested. So, I think that if these militants arm
themselves with courage to denounce the bandits, that will help because we
are now at a point when we must make a firm decision to identify the bandits
so that they [the militants] are not victimized when the police or the UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, are conducting interventions. So,
I encourage --- I am going to mention some names here --- Henry, Raram,
Zamor, Willy in Solino who does not agree with him, Rivelino Marie and
Fanfan in Solino, and many other militants in other areas like Fanfan Rakete
in Cite de Dieu and Cite L'Eternel. I know that he is against these things.
But he cannot speak. So, he has to go into hiding. I urge all these people
to talk, to denounce violence, and to allow the police to find the bandits
so that normal life can return to the country.

We are pointing out that the FL is divided into two groups. I want to talk
about a number of extremist Lavalas supporters who are perhaps marginalized
people who smoke marijuana, who are doing a number of bad things, who are
involved in acts of violence, and a number of other people who are perhaps
managerial staff members and some of the FL grassroots members who are not
in favor of violence. Today, I think that it is clear that President
Aristide needs to identify which one of these Lavalas groups he supports,
because in the last statement the president made in Bangui he said that the
roots are deep and numerous. He added that he thinks that even if the head
is cut off, the roots will keep growing. So, I wonder who the roots are for
President Aristide. Is it the bandits or the people who are in favor of
peace and elections, the nonviolent people the roots for President Aristide?
If it is the people who are carrying out violence, I think that what is
taking place today is the result of the statement President Aristide made in
Bangui. But similarly, I think that if it is the people in upper positions,
perhaps there is a chance for the FL to be rescued. But if this is not the
case, I can assure you that the FL will not be a political party, because no
honest people will dare speak on behalf of the party. We also ask that
President Aristide clearly identify which of these two groups of people are
the roots. Lavalas is divided into two groups. Which one of them is a true
Lavalas group?

Then we will add that on 25 September a group of people entered the
Foundation. They were very excited and wanted to take up weapons to fight to
do a number of things. Indeed, they actually did what they wanted. As of 30
September, mayhem began to be carried out. The attack on the Teleco
[telephone company] office on Rue Tiremasse was done by these bandits. We
are taking this opportunity to say also that it is time for all the people
whose names I am going to cite here --- valuable militants, staunch
militants who I know are against violence, are in favor of peace, and who
are in favor of Lavalas participating in elections --- to clearly identify
themselves and say whether they will leave Lavalas to bandits or to honest
citizens to have the right to be part of Lavalas. So, the time has come ---
we did not sign any diabolical treaty with Lavalas --- for Nadege Mesias,
Patrice, Mario, Henry Raram, Emmanuel Zamor, Daniel, and Yvon Baz Choy to
clearly state whether they will leave the party to bandits or they will take
[care of] the party because the time has come for us to make a choice either
to save this country or to leave the country to bandits. I think that to
save this country, we can cooperate with the police to identify the bandits,
because when the bandits perpetrate wrongdoing, they do not identify them as
bandits, but they just attribute them to Lavalas because they are seated in
the same place as you and are considered the same as you. I think that if
you identify the bandits, cooperate with the police as a Lavalas supporter,
and allow them to find the bandits in Bel-Air, La Saline or wherever they
might be the country will have relief.

If I have a last message to send it is that I ask all other Lavalas
supporters to do the same. I am a clear example. I had weapons. I turned
them in to the UN Development Program, which has a community support program
for the reduction of violence and insecurity in Haiti. I turned them in on
22 June. I wish those who are in favor of peace, those who are really in
favor of change in this country in Bel-Air, La Saline, Cite Soleil, and so
on to make a choice. If you are not in favor of violence, if you are a
bandit, you must turn in your weapon and thanks to this [community support]
program, I think that you will be reinserted [into society]. Thank you very
much. [end recording]

[Dandin] This was the very important statement from Luc who was giving
information on the important connection between the incidents, the acts of
violence, and the FL hierarchy disseminated throughout Africa, the United
States, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Obviously, we will return to this
statement during another newscast.