6724: Pina comments: [6704: Bombs Explode in Port-au-Prince (fwd)] (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: KEVIN PINA <kevinpina@usa.net>

What this article fails to report is that a former deputy mayoral
candidate,with ties to the Covergence and Evans Paul, has been arrested in
connection with the bombing of the public school located off Place St. Pierre
in Petionville last Friday. The former candidate has made statements
implicating the Convergence and Evans Paul in the attack which wounded several
bystanders. Evans Paul is the leader of Espace which is one of the pillar
organizations of the Convergence and he is also an author of their recent
effort at establishing a parallel government. 

The bombing occurred two days after President-elect Aristide spoke to an
audience in the same location and Evans Paul attempted a disastrous counter
rally. Paul and his supporters were forced to withdraw as an angry crowd
shouted them down. Just minutes ago, at approximately noon, a gunman armed
with a 9mm equipped with a silencer, opened fire indiscriminantly a short
distance from the same place where Friday's bombing occurred. These acts of
terrorism and intimidation, against an unarmed population, are clearly in
retaliation for the reception received by Evans Paul in Place St. Pierre last
Wednesday.

Evans Paul has certainly come a long way since he was Mayor of Port au Prince
and I saw him beat into a coma on October 7, 1991 by the Haitian military.
Then he was standing on the principle of democracy and the need for the
military to negotiate for the return of President Aristide. Having interviewed
him several times, the only explanation I can offer for his change in
direction is a variant of the Stockholm syndrome whereby the abused takes on
attributes of the abuser. It is a sad chapter in the life of a man who
sacrificed so much for democracy and once enjoyed the respect and admiration
of his own people. 

Evans Paul and the Convergence are, however, the concern of their own people.
My concern is with the position of my own government towards these events. It
is time for the US government and international human right organizations to
condemn this latest round of violence and send a clear statement to the
Convergence that these acts of terrorism against an unarmed population will
not be tolerated. It is the moral thing to do.
 
 

____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1