a1578: BBC: Radio Haiti-Inter staff accuse president of blockingmurder investigation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Radio Haiti-Inter staff accuse president of blocking murder investigation
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 4, 2002


Jean Leopold Dominique, the owner and general manager of Radio Haiti Inter,
and Jean-Claude Louissaint, the caretaker of the radio station, were
murdered on 3 April 2000. On the second anniversary of the unsolved murders,
friends of Dominique and staff of the radio station criticized severely the
attitude of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the investigation, which
they say Aristide has delayed. They want the mandate of examining Judge
Claudy Gassant, who said he had ended his investigation of the case,
renewed. The following is the text of a report by Haitian Signal FM radio on
3 April:
On the occasion of the second anniversary of the murder of the journalist,
the friends of Dominique and the employees of Radio Haiti-Inter have
criticized severely the attitude of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whom
they describe as the person mainly responsible for blocking the
investigations of the double murder that occurred on 3 April [2000].
During a news conference yesterday, the Radio Haiti-Inter journalists
denounced this attitude, which explains the slowness observed in the
process. Journalists such as Pierre Emmanuel, the director of the editorial
room, described the 3 April [2000] event as a state-sponsored crime.
However, they did not neglect to reaffirm their willingness to continue
their fight for justice to the end. Our colleague Jean-Claudy Saint-Cyr
filed the following report:
[Saint-Cyr - recording] From 3 January 2000 to 3 January 2002 [dates as
heard], it has been two years since Jean Leopold Dominique, owner and
director-general of Radio Haiti-Inter, and Jean-Claude Louissaint, the
caretaker at the radio station, were shot and killed by murderers, murderers
whose identities have not yet been revealed, even though many hearings have
been held about the crime. The case has gone from one examining judge to
another but they have never revealed who the criminals are.
Today, Dominique's friends and some Radio Haiti-Inter employees hold
President Aristide responsible for the slowness observed in the
investigations concerning this murder because, according to their
statements, all three powers [executive, legislature and judiciary] are
under the control of the Lavalas Family [FL], whose supreme head is
President Aristide.
They are convinced that the president's words on this matter were false. We
invite you to listen to Sony Exceus and Fritzon Aureus:
[Exceus] Manoeuvre after manoeuvre has been made by the justice minister, by
the dean of the civil court [of Port-au-Prince, lawyer Lise Pierre-Pierre],
by the 21 May Senate [i.e. the Senate elected in the disputed elections of
21 May 2000] and by the police in order to block - [pauses] The person who
believes he can deliver the coup de grace is President Aristide. We say the
coup de grace because President Aristide, as head of state, has blocked the
investigations for four months.
[Aureus] The president always said that he was waiting for a report from
former Minister Louis Gary Lissade before he would make a decision on the
judge's mandate. So far, the president has remained silent. He has never
said anything.
[Saint-Cyr] Furthermore, Emmanuel, the information director of Radio
Haiti-Inter, said, while supporting what had already been said, that the
non-renewal of Judge Gassant's mandate is one of the signs that shows that
President Aristide does not want the investigation to really move forward.
Emmanuel added, however, that if the head of state is interested in getting
the investigations to move forward after all of his nice statements on the
issue, he must prove it.
[Emmanuel] [words indistinct] By today, Judge Gassant's mandate had not been
renewed. This is one of the points that has caused the investigation to be
blocked. It is not without reason that we insist on the renewal of the
mandate, which can possibly be made. But what means will be put at his
disposal? If the proper means are not put at his disposal, the same problems
will recur. He will then be put in a situation where he will not be able to
work or he will have to resign. If the president has good will about the
progress of the investigations, he must prove that.
[Saint-Cyr] The secretary-general of the Association of Haitian Journalists
[AJH] Joseph Guyler C. Delva, says he has observed with sadness how the
investigations regarding Dominique's death have proceeded after two years.
According to Delva's statements, President Aristide does not want justice to
be rendered to the journalist. On that score, Delva asks all radio stations
in the country to go off the air for one minute on 3 April as a sign of
solidarity with Radio Haiti-Inter.
[Delva] It is sad that two years after Dominique's murder, we are still
talking about investigations. I wished that we were at another stage, where
we could speak about a trial, a true trial aimed at finding out who killed
Dominique. I consider, we in the AJH consider, that the president must
decide that he will do so, that he will not do so yet or that he will wait
and do so when he wants to.
The president is the only person who has the authority to renew it
[Gassant's mandate]. He is not required to get anyone's opinion. But if he
thinks that he needs somebody's opinion, I do not believe that - since 4
January and even before 4 January - because they must have started to think
about it even before the judge's mandate expired. They have been waiting for
a report since then. I do not believe that it should take this report an
eternity to arrive.
We are not going any further into this. However, we are asking that a
gesture be made on 3 April. At least, the president should show that he
really wants the dossier to move forward. Judge Gassant had finished with
the dossier. May Aristide allow him to close it.
[Saint-Cyr] In conclusion, we shall add that at 0605 [local time] on 3
April, the very time when Dominique was murdered, Radio Haiti-Inter will go
off the air for the entire day. Several activities, including masses that
will be celebrated throughout the country in memory of Dominique, are due to
take place that same day.
Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 3 Apr 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.