26200: Holmstead (op-ed): FWD-Police vigilantes, machetes and murder (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

FROM:  John Holmstead      <cyberkismet5@yahoo.com>

Posted on Thu, Sep. 08, 2005
Miami Herald

Police vigilantes, machetes and murder
OUR OPINION: BETTER SECURITY CRITICAL TO HAITI'S
UPCOMING ELECTIONS


The reappearance of a death squad in Haiti is the
latest sign of the island's abysmal security
situation. A United Nations peacekeeping force there
since June 2004 still hasn't staunched the violence in
lawless Port-au-Prince. The stakes are high on both
human and political levels. Any escalation in killings
could threaten general elections planned for November,
which could delay or derail the rebuilding of Haiti's
government.

Brazen attacks

One alarming detail about the new killers: They are
aided and abetted by Haitian police. In the latest
incident on Aug. 20, some 5,000 people attended a
soccer match sponsored by the U.S. Agency for
International Development. The aim was to ''Play for
Peace'' in Martissant, a hillside slum. Instead,
witnesses and U.N. investigators say, black-masked
police accompanied by machete-wielding thugs stormed
the stadium, ultimately shooting and hacking people to
death. Witnesses said pro-Lavalas Party gang members
were targeted. At least six died.

This brazen attack follows at least two other
incidents in which masked police and civilian thugs
teamed up to murder and torch homes. Some fear the
attacks signal the resurgence of death squads directed
by a political player, a bloody phenomenon that
historically has plagued Haitian elections.

The alleged police brutality isn't new, either.
Reports suggest that police-vigilante raids have
killed dozens of people in slums that are strongholds
of support for Lavalas, former President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's party.

While such police actions rarely have been
investigated, this may be changing. Mario Andresol,
Haiti's new police chief, told The Herald that several
police officers were being questioned about the
Martissant killings and would likely be arrested. We
hope this is a first step toward cleaning up and
professionalizing the police force. The U.N. chief in
Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdés, also vowed to work with
the interim government and police to end vigilante
action.

Release critics

Redoubled security efforts are past due. Those who are
profiting from Haiti's instability will find it in
their interest to disrupt the November 20 elections.
Yet half of Haiti's four million voters already have
registered to vote. Political parties are filing to
qualify their candidates. And Lavalas just announced
its intended presidential candidate: the Rev. Gerard
Jean-Juste. He has been jailed since July on suspicion
of involvement in a murder committed when he was in
Miami.

The provisional government creates doubt about itself,
and possibly the elections, by questionably jailing
critics. Haitians are used to risky elections, but
good security and a broad field of candidates will
encourage wider participation. Fair elections are a
first step in building democracy. The government must
show it is willing to take that step.



© 2005 Herald.com and wire service sources. All Rights
Reserved.
http://www.miami.com






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