9840: [Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Haitian Journalist Hacked to Death] (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <dgcraig@att.net>


Haitian Journalist Hacked to Death
December 3, 2001 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:16 p.m. ET 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- A mob stoned and hacked to
death a journalist Monday in the same town where opposition
members have faced off recently against govewrnment
supporters. 

Brignol Lindor, news director of Radio Eco 2000, was
ambushed as he was on his way to another job as a customs
official near the town of Petit-Goave, 40 miles west of the
capital, Port-au-Prince, Police Chief Alix Alexandre said. 

"We don't know if it was politically motivated,"
Alexandre said. 

Radio Eco 2000 journalist Junol Casimir alleged that his
co-worker was killed by supporters of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas Family party. 

Casimir said Lindor had received death threats from
Aristide supporters after inviting opposition leaders to
speak on his radio show. 

Aristide's Lavalas Family party denied it encouraged
violence. 

"The Lavalas Family unconditionally rejects barbarous acts
like this one. Now we must get to the bottom of this event
to determine who are the guilty people," Lavalas spokesman
Jonas Petit said. 

National and international human rights groups like the
France-based Reporters Without Borders, have accused
Aristide supporters of harassing journalists. 

Reporters Without Borders also accused Aristide of
obstructing justice in the investigation of radio
journalist Jean Dominique's murder last year. 

Dominique, a 69-year-old outspoken advocate for change, was
shot and killed in the courtyard of his radio station in
April 2000. 

In recent weeks, the 15-party opposition alliance,
Convergence, has called general strikes in places like
Petit Goave in protest against Aristide's government and
what they call a lack of basic services such as
electricity, usable roads and sanitation services.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Haiti-Journalist-Killed.html?ex=1008433797&ei=1&en=7a7509e5c8beb5db
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company