29505: Nat: News human rights failures of Haiti transition BY JACQUELINE CHARLES (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Rob 6969 <liberalproject@hotmail.com>


Posted on Tue, Nov. 14, 2006 human rights failures of Haiti transition BY 
JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com


> From the prolonged jailing of thousands of Haitians to the nearly 2,000 
killed under its watch, the U.S.-backed interim government that led the country 
following the 2004 ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide failed to protect 
the rights of the country's people, according to a report Tuesday.
''Even if it is true that this government did not commit crimes of a political 
character like the former regime, one is forced to admit that it failed in its 
obligation to protect the rights of everyone,'' the Port-au-Prince-based 
National Human Rights Defense Network said in the report.

The independent group's report examines the situation in Haiti following 
Aristide's ouster amid a bloody rebellion to June 2006, when the country's 
newly elected legislature swore in new cabinet ministers.

The report points out that during the two years interim Prime Minister Gérard 
Latortue, a Boca Raton resident, and interim President Boniface Alexandre 
governed Haiti, hundreds of Haitians were jailed, close to 2,000 were killed in 
''assassinations'' and the country experienced a rash of kidnappings and rapes.

''The general human rights situation under the administration of the 
transitional government was catastrophic,'' the report says.

Latortue, contacted by The Miami Herald, said he would not comment on the 
report but added, ``This government never attacked a political leader or the 
press, but they never mention that.''

Latortue was appointed in March 2004 and promised to return security to the 
troubled Caribbean nation, revamp a police force that had just about collapsed 
and reconcile the country's bitterly divided political factions.

''They didn't do anything to improve the situation,'' said Pierre Esperance, 
executive director of the human rights group. ``They were implicated in the 
corruption, too.''

Before leaving office, Latortue announced a broad probe into allegations of 
official corruption. At one point, several judges were placed under 
investigation for allegedly accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to grant 
bail to a group of jailed kidnapping suspects.

The investigation into the interim government continues amid promises by 
President René Préval to tackle corruption. A group in the legislature is 
investigating the ministry of foreign affairs, and the High Court of Accounts 
and Administrative Disputes is also conducting probes.

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