24503: ziwolff [political] NCHR-US press release (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Wolff <ziwolff@optonline.net>




NCHR-Haiti Does Not Speak for the National Coalition for Haitian Rights
(NCHR)



New York, March 11, 2005 - Pierre Esperance, Director of NCHR-Haiti,
released earlier today a statement critical of the decision by UN and
Haitian authorities in Haiti to provide emergency medical treatment to
former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune whose health has steadily worsened since
he began a hunger strike 19 days ago. "Neither Mr. Esperance, nor any member
of the staff of NCHR-Haiti, speak for or on behalf of the National Coalition
for Haitian Rights (NCHR), its board or its staff," said Jocelyn McCalla,
Executive-Director of the NY-based human rights organization. Initially
established as a field office of the NCHR in 1992, NCHR-Haiti has functioned
independently for several years, raising its own funds and setting its own
agenda and governance structure.



NCHR launched the NCHR-Haiti office in 1992, at the height of military rule,
to enhance its ability to monitor, report on and advocate for human rights
in Haiti. NCHR provided support to the victims of human rights and in 1995
launched a human rights training program to broaden the constituency for
human rights. But NCHR decided early on to make it possible for NCHR-Haiti
to grow into an independent entity, led and staffed by Haitians trained in
human rights advocacy. NCHR did so by helping NCHR-Haiti to secure funds
that foundations and other donors then made available directly to
NCHR-Haiti. The two independent groups have cooperated in areas of common
concern and hope to continue to do so should opportunities arise. However,
positions expressed by NCHR-Haiti do not represent the positions held by
NCHR, and vice-versa. "We hope that in the near future NCHR-Haiti will adopt
a new name that more accurately reflects its standing and mission in Haitian
society."

The Haitian judicial system delivers little other than injustice

"We note with regret that NCHR-Haiti has draped itself in nationalist flags
to protest the decision by UN and Haitian authorities to place Mr. Neptune
in a UN-operated medical facility, under UN and Haitian police guard. In
doing so, NCHR-Haiti has placed itself in the dangerous position of
defending a dysfunctional Haitian judicial system which delivers little
other than injustice," stated Mr. McCalla.



The Haitian judicial system has failed Mr. Neptune in several ways. "First,
to our knowledge, he has not been formally charged since the investigative
magistrate charged with pursuing the matter has done little or no such
investigation since her appointment several months ago. We learned a few
weeks ago that the government had not provided the magistrate the means or
the security detail necessary to conduct such a high-profile investigation.
We learned further that the magistrate spent at least half of her time
living away from her assigned jurisdiction of Saint-Marc. Second, on the
basis of a minor technicality, Haiti's highest Court denied his appeal for a
change of venue from Saint-Marc to Port-au-Prince. Mr. Neptune reportedly
failed to provide the requisite fee of 200 gourdes, or approximately US
$1.20 for the Court to consider his plea," said McCalla, adding "The sum
total of the lack of action by Haitian government authorities on this case
because of inertia, incompetence, omission or ill will amounts to a travesty
of justice."



The Haitian judicial system is ill-equipped to handle highly sensitive and
political cases, and it is therefore unlikely that it can function free of
political interference, whether from government or non-governmental parties.
Last year, NCHR called on the Haitian authorities to establish jointly with
the UN a Special Tribunal to handle such cases. Foremost among the cases
over which such a tribunal would have jurisdiction is the case of the
assassination of renowned Haitian radio broadcaster Jean Leopold Dominique.
Mr. Dominique was killed almost 5 years ago on April 3, 2000. Although
evidence gathered in investigations carried out so far pointed to the
involvement of key government and Lavalas party officials, the case has
barely moved past the investigative stage. A Special Tribunal, composed of
Haitian and international judges of irreproachable reputation, could and
should be established promptly in Haiti to handle cases such as that of Jean
L. Dominique and Yvon Neptune. The model for such a court already exists in
Sierra Leone and it has proven that it can function well, guaranteeing the
rights of the accused as well as those of the plaintiffs. "We renew our call
for a Special Tribunal and invite Haitian and UN authorities to establish it
by April 3, 2005, on the fifth anniversary of Mr. Dominique's political
assassination," said Mr. McCalla. "Meanwhile, appropriate measures must be
taken to insure that Mr. Neptune is not subjected to cruel, inhuman, or
degrading punishment. Perhaps the only way left for Haitian authorities to
rise to today's challenge is to release him promptly."



#### END ####



For further information, Contact:



Jocelyn McCalla

(212) 337-0005 or (862) 452-7196 or jmccalla@nchr.org

National Coalition for Haitian Rights

275 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001