24353: Gosser: [SOA Watch/NE] Hooded Haitian Police Take American...]]] (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dr. Rich Gosser <rgosser@hisurfer.net>



>Daneen Gosser wrote:
>> >
> > Please keep this in prayer!!!  D.  We have known Ron since before we
> > started to take people with us to Haiti!!!
> > >
> >                                                   7:20 PM
> >
> >  Subject:
> >          Fwd: FW: [SOA Watch/NE] Hooded Haitian Police Take American...
> >> >> >
> > Hi Friends
> >
> >     Called Senator Specter's office and Charles Fitzpatrick is looking
> > in the situation. Called the Haiti Desk at State 202 736-4628 and left a
> > message. If anyone gets an update let me know.
> >
> >> >> >
> >                                                            1:13 PM
> >
> >  > > > Subject: [SOA Watch/NE] Hooded Haitian Police Take American...
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Friends,
> >
> > I just received the shocking news that our dear friend, Ron Voss, was
> > taken from his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti by several hooded and
> > heavily armed policemen.  Ron is a staunch advocate for the oppressed;
> > his ministry in Haiti reaches out to the poorest of the poor.
> > Accompanying him is Attorney Bill Quigley, who many of you know from his
> > tireless advocacy work with SOA Watch/NE, and many other human rights
> > cases that he has defended. The details are described below, but clearly
> > this is an intimidation tactic by those brought to power since the coup
> > in February (2004).  Based on the lack of response by the US
> > Embassy, some are left to believe that they may have known about the
> > raid, yet did nothing to protect Ron's rights, even at the urging of
> > Bishop Gumbleton.  I will provide you with more information as I receive
> > it.
> >
> > In Solidarity,
> > Linda Panetta
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> >
> > The details follow:
> >
> > There was a prison breakout last weekend in Haiti (see attached article
> > below).  On Tuesday, the Minister of Justice (Bernard Gousse) and Prime
> > Minister LaTorture made unwarranted accusations and
> > announced that the prison break had been planned at the Visitation House
> > in Delmas 33, which he cited as a program of the Haiti Parish Twinning
> > Program.  This announcement was repeated over and over on
> > several different radio stations in the 18-20 hours leading up to this
> > afternoon.  When asked by a reporter what they were going to do about it
> > - he replied that action was going to take place "within 72 hours."
> >
> > Visitation House is a compound run by American, Ron Voss, and provides
> > medicine, nutrition, education and a sports facility for local
> > residents, and is a guest house for delegations visiting Haiti, especially
> > progressive and human rights delegations. Visitation House is connected
> > with the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas.  Current guests at
> > Visitation House include Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, Law
> > Professor Bill Quigley of Loyola University of New Orleans, Karen
> > Wisniewski, Bob Boucher, Clair Schaffer-Duffy, Johanna Berrigan, as well
> > as Dave Robinson and Johnny Zokovitch of Pax Christi USA.
> >
> > Uncertain about what the Minister of Justice was referring to when he
> > issued the "72-hour" deadline - Bishop Gumbleton made two attempts to
> > garner support from US Embassy officials in Haiti.  The first attempt
> > was made Tuesday evening when he spoke with Dana Banks - who is a senior
> > assistant to Ambassador James Foley.  She told Bishop Gumbleton that she
> > didn't have time to talk with him that she was leaving
> > for the evening.  When word was leaked that a raid on the Visitation
> > House would occur this afternoon, Bishop Tom again asked for the support
> > of the Embassy - but his appeal was again disregarded by Ms.
> > Banks.
> >
> > At around 1 PM about a dozen heavily armed and hooded members of the
> > Haitian police force, three plainclothes police officials, and a judge
> > arrived at the Visitation House. No warrant was presented.  When
> > an urgent plea was made to the US consulate during the raid, they were
> > told that they would need to present the Embassy with something in
> > writing.
> >
> > The police searched the house and grounds, confiscated Ron Voss'
> > computer, and took him away for questioning.  The police also found a
> > .38 pistol on the grounds, which it is believed belonged to Visitation
> > House's watchman - the paperwork for the guns' registration was found
> > and is being submitted to the police. The police stated that Ron was
> > "not under arrest," just that they needed more information. This is the
> > same statement though that the police made in regard to Fr. Gerard
> > Jean-Juste when they brought him in in October, yet he spent 7 weeks in
> > prison.  It is estimated that more than 1,000 people are in prison,
> > some for several months, who have not yet had formal charges issued
> > against them.
> >
> > Bill Quigley, who also represented Fr. Jean Juste, insisted that he
> > accompany Ron as his lawyer.  We are currently trying to identify where
> > they have taken Ron and Bill and need your support to put pressure on
> > the authorities to secure the release of Ron.  More information will be
> > provided as we receive it.
> >
> > ---------------------------
> >
> > Haiti's Most Famous Political Prisoners Announce Hunger Strike
> > By Bill Quigley, Professor of Law, Loyola University - New Orleans.
> >
> > Bill is in Haiti as a volunteer attorney with the Institute for Justice
> > and Democracy in Haiti, www.ijdh.org
> > Political prisoners Yvon Neptune, Haiti's former Prime Minister, and
> > Jocelerme Privert, former Minister of the Interior, survived the massive
> > prison revolt at the National Penitentiary of Haiti on February 19, 2005.
> > The Saturday afternoon revolt began with the firing of heavy automatic
> > weapons at the main gate of the prison and the sudden disappearance of
> > all the guards. In the chaos one guard was killed and 490 of
> > the 1250 prisoners left.
> >
> > Ministers Neptune and Privert were forcibly taken out of the prison by
> > former military people concerned for their safety. Once secure, they
> > immediately called on international authorities to guarantee them a safe
> > return to the prison. They were returned to the penitentiary by the UN
> > authorities within hours of the end of the revolt.
> >
> > Speaking from a cement cell with no running water, no bathroom, and no
> > electricity, Yvon Neptune and Minister Privert vowed not to eat to until
> > the injustice and insecurity of their confinement is addressed.
> > Privert has been in prison since April 2004 and Neptune since June 2004
> > and neither has a trial date set.
> >
> > Yvon Neptune said, "My life has been in real danger since the elected
> > President of our country was removed in February of 2004. This is the
> > third time my life has been put in danger in prison. There was an
> > assassination plot against me in the fall confirmed by the National
> > Police. Then there was the prison massacre on December 1, 2004, in which
> > unknown numbers of prisoners were killed. When the prison was
> > attacked this weekend, my life was again clearly and seriously in
> > danger. I could easily have been killed by people inside or outside of
> > the prison. Who is it that keeps putting me in situations where I might be
> > killed?"
> >
> > After Neptune and Privert returned to the prison by the UN, Haitian
> > authorities wrongfully reported that the two men had been captured by
> > national police, a charge Neptune said is a total lie and a story
> > repudiated by the UN.
> >
> > Neptune concluded by asking, "We have been patient for over eight
> > months. We have given time for the government and the international
> > community to act.  Enough is enough."
> > ________________________________
> >
> > Newsday
> > http://www.newsday.com/
> >
> > February 22, 2005
> >
> > Answers as Elusive as Prison Escapees in Port-au-Prince
> > By Reed Lindsay
> > SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
> >
> > PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - How could only a handful of heavily armed,
> > black-hooded gunmen storm the national penitentiary in broad`daylight,
> > freeing about 480 prisoners?
> >
> > Were they supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide? Were
> > they gang members? Former soldiers? Or the police themselves?
> >
> > Two days after the daring assault on the prison, there are more
> > questions than answers.
> >
> > Two key allies of Aristide were among the escapees. Both former Prime
> > Minister Yvon Neptune and Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert were back
> > at the penitentiary five hours after it was raided Saturday, with
> > government officials and representatives of the United Nations
> > peacekeeping mission giving contradictory accounts of how they were returned.
> >
> > Police spokeswoman Gessy Coicou said Neptune and Privert were captured
> > by police after escaping. But UN spokesman Damian Onses-Cardona said
> > that in the chaos of the gunmen's assault the two had
> > sought refuge in the house of another escapee. They contacted the UN and
> > asked to be returned, he said, because they'd had no intention of
> > fleeing or living as fugitives. Bill Quigley, an American lawyer
> > who visited Neptune and Privert yesterday, confirmed this account.
> >
> > In the local media, the prison break was portrayed as an attempt to free
> > Neptune and Privert. UN Civilian Police Commissioner David Beer said,
> > however, the heavily armed men who attacked the penitentiary
> > were likely chimeres, or armed gangs, seeking to free fellow gang
> > members. And one top official in the police force who asked not to be
> > named said he suspected former soldiers were responsible.
> >
> > It remains unclear how such a massive prison break could have taken
> > place in downtown Port-au-Prince just three blocks from the national
> > palace and police headquarters, where 125 UN riot police and dozens
> > of Haitian police officers stand guard.
> >
> > Nor is it apparent how the handful of assailants (witnesses in front of
> > the penitentiary said they saw only one vehicle and several gunmen)
> > managed to get past dozens of guards and free more than a third of
> > the inmates before the police and UN troops arrived. Most escapees
> > remained at large last night.
> >
> > According to Marie-Yolene Gilles, an observer for the National Coalition
> > for Haitian Rights who was at the prison Sunday, only six hooded gunmen
> > dressed in black entered the prison. One off-duty prison guard
> > was shot and killed outside, but no guards inside were harmed, Gilles said.
> >
> > Claude Theodat, chief of Haiti's prison system, declined to be
> > interviewed, and a government spokesman said yesterday that he had been
> > fired, according to The Associated Press. The government has
> > promised to form a commission to investigate the prison break.
> >
> > In the poor, strongly pro-Aristide neighborhood of Bel Air, one man who
> > claimed to have escaped said he saw two hooded gunmen in black, "POLICE"
> > on the backs of their shirts, and carrying automatic
> > weapons telling prisoners they were free to leave. Such a uniform is
> > commonly used by Haitian police.
> >
> > Reynold Georges, a politician and lawyer who represents more than 20
> > prisoners, said several of his clients who had escaped told him the
> > attackers appeared to be police officers.
> >
> > Reached on his cell phone Sunday, prison warden Sony Marcellus said he
> > was being held in an isolation cell in the Port-au-Prince police
> > station, although he did not say why. The prison break comes at a time
> > when police are being investigated by the UN for a spate of executions
> > and being criticized in the media for failing to capture Remissainthe
> > Ravix, an anti-Aristide leader accused of killing four police officers.
> >
> > Members of Aristide's Lavalas party accused the government Sunday of
> > staging the attack to divert attention from the manhunt for Ravix and to
> > justify a crackdown on Aristide's supporters.
> >
> > "It's a simulation," said Samba Boukman, spokesman for the Popular Base
> > Resistance Movement, a coalition of anti-government groups. "They say it
> > was Lavalas activists, but it was the government who did it."
> >
> > Brian Concannon Jr.
> > Institute for Justice and Democracy in