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Archives of Editorials in English Is Another Assassination of JEAN DOMINIQUE about to Take Place? Side
with Haiti on principle, not skin color STATEMENT ON CARICOM SPECIAL MISSION TO HAITI I call that a cardboard coup d'etat.
Is Another Assassination of JEAN DOMINIQUE about to Take Place? Published
by flashadmin on Thursday, March 7, 2002 – 12:40 Michèle Montas Dominique, Radio Haiti Editorial 3/3/02
Today
is March 3, and 23 months ago a journalist committed to the struggle for change
was assassinated.
That
shameful crime aroused indignation throughout the entire country.
Such
an example of growing impunity brings the attention of the world upon Haiti
today. On
the same date last year, on March 3, 2001, twenty-six organizations from the
civil society wrote to the head of the Haitian State.
"This
committed journalist," said the letter "was not killed under the
dictatorships that he had so bravely fought.
He
was assassinated at a time when a government whose efforts he was supporting
toward more justice and stronger institutions was promising, just like you, the
rule of law and the end of impunity... If justice is not served today, in the
cases of Jean Dominique and Jean-Claude Louissaint, other irreplaceable
individuals will be destroyed by the same murderers or other assassins."
And
it continued by reminding the duties of the Chief of State:
"Article
136 of the Constitution makes you, Mr. President, the person responsible for the
stability and preservation of institutions.
Article
145 of our Fundamental Law makes you responsible for ensuring that court orders
are obeyed," said the open letter to the head of the State.
On
this same date last year, March 3, 2001, shortly after that document was
broadcasted by our radio station, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide came to Radio
Haiti to express his support publicly for the judicial inquiry and pledge that
the Executive Branch of government would make available to justice the resources
needed to investigate the April 3, 2000 assassinations at Radio Haiti.
Today,
23 months later, facts are speaking louder than words:
Fact:
The
Chief of State, who has the direct and exclusive authority to renew Judge
Gassant’s mandate, has still not done so although that judge diligently and
systematically conducted the investigation for 16 months with courage and
competence, not allowing himself to be intimidated by individuals presumed above
the law. No
explanation was given to thousands of persons who, for 23 months, have been
calling for justice in this emblematic case. Facts:
All
the resources, i.e. logistical, technical, and financial made available in this
judicial case by the preceding government have been cancelled.
The
special and relatively modest funds which had helped in the success of the
trials of Raboteau and Carrefour-Feuille, as well as the funds allocated, among
other resources, to the work of the first two investigating judges assigned to
the murder cases of Jean Dominique and Jean-Claude Louissaint, allowing them to
follow the leads of a difficult investigation in several areas of the countries,
were cancelled; so were the resources made available for other investigations
such as those about the poisoning of children with diethyl glycol or the
kidnapping of baby Nanoune Myrtil at the General Hospital.
Among
the measures taken to help in the investigation about the murder of the most
famous Haitian journalist, police protection was given to the investigating
judge and some of the witnesses.
Such
help is no longer available.
Fact:
The
Senate of the Republic, composed exclusively of members of Fanmi Lavalas,
returned the Jean Dominique file to the investigating judge, asking for a number
of documents prior to any decision about lifting Senator Dany Toussaint’s
parliamentary immunity, as requested by Judge Gassant; according to jurists, the
release of such documents would amount to a flagrant violation of the
investigation’s confidentiality.
By
doing so, the Senate conferred upon itself the authority of a court, in
violation of the separation of powers.
Fact:
The
Police, which theoretically answers to the Ministry of Justice, has taken no
action on some arrest warrants.
Witnesses
who have refused to appear in court, alleged assassins, or individuals who have
openly committed illegal acts go about their businesses freely, in this case as
in others. Meanwhile,
a new judge is assigned to the cases of Jean Dominique and Jean-Claude
Louissaint, not by the Judges’ Association as required by law, but by the
Senior Judge of the Civil Court, whose animosity against Judge Claudy Gassant is
commonly known. Fact:
Will
you say to me:
The
investigation is making progress?
Judge
Pierre Josiard Agnant, whose expertise is similar to Judge Gassant’s, heard
the plaintiff and summoned an alleged witness and an individual who had been
charged, based on previous hearings held by Judge Gassant in the course of the
investigation.
Senator
Toussaint, charged by Judge Gassant, bragged and claimed victory.
It
is not a common practice for an individual who has been charged to select the
investigating judge by whom he will be interrogated.
Will
you tell me that the investigation is also making headway, since things are
apparently moving?
Because
of those very facts, serious questions arise about the political will to render
justice to Jean Léopold Dominique, after 23 months and many other
assassinations.
In
the case of Judge Gassant, one could mention the need for the regime to be
careful with a few rich and powerful party members that the investigating judge
had not spared, or with members of the judicial branch resentful of that judge
who spent several months in the spotlight.
In
the interest of the State:
Appease,
in the name of forced reconciliation, adversaries or possible political rivals
within the same party facing accelerated implosion.
There
are still more serious questions arising:
Would
it be the case that the healthy wing of this party, who expressed itself for an
independent and transparent judicial investigation, is being sacrificed in favor
of those who constitute a mafia within the party?
Putting
the "continuing investigation" on the back burner and forgetting the
demands for justice formulated in the emblematic case of Jean Dominique, is that
one of the prices that the regime must pay?
Power
at what price? Seriously,
what has been Judge Gassant’s professional mistake, when the Supreme Court
just ruled in his favor over Senior Judge Lise Pierre-Pierre?
Why
is the Chief of State keeping so silent?
We
have the right to know.
You
may remember, Mr. President, the three famous "roch dife"
(firestones):
Participation,
Justice, and Transparency.
If
it is confirmed, that decision not to renew the mandate of a competent
investigating judge after he conducted an investigation for 16 months may seem
like an easy way out, in the short term; however, even if it is never explicitly
announced, that decision will exert a powerful effect undermining the
credibility of the Chief of State.
How
can someone really expect that Judge Agnant, no matter how competent or
dedicated, will manage to bring himself up to date in a matter of days, and work
effectively on a difficult and eminently dangerous case, while obviously he will
have no special police protection?
Is
it possible to believe that the purpose is just
"the
investigation continues?"
In
the case of the majority party in the Senate of the Republic, as in the case of
the Police, the inability to impose guidelines and to clean up, control, and
manage is dramatically eroding the authority of the already weakened State, by
projecting the image of a lack of cohesiveness, planning, and, above all, the
absence of political will. But is that just an image?
Today,
beyond words and promises, the facts indicate that the balls are biased and the
regime is affected with a dangerous gangrene.
Principles
and moral guidelines are compromised every day by political opportunism.
Those
ideals shared by Jean, including a generous but rigorous socialism, respect for
liberties within the framework of democracy, nationalist independence, based on
a long history of resistance, those ideals that Jean used to call "Lavalas"
are trampled every day in this balkanized State where weapons make right, and
where hunger for power and money takes precedence over the general welfare,
causing havoc on a party which, paradoxically, controls all the institutional
levers of the country.
Our
concerns run deep, since the cracks are widening and the building will
eventually collapse over all of us.
Today,
it may be politically incorrect to demand truth and justice, 23 months after the
murders of April 3, 2000.
All
we want is a decent country, and we will never accept a new assassination of
Jean Dominique, even perpetrated insidiously.
Michèle
Montas Dominique Radio Haiti Editorial 3/3/02
Side
with Haiti on principle, not skin color RAY
KILLICK In
its darkest hour ever, Haiti is about to celebrate the bicentennial of one of
the greatest moments in black history and the only successful slave uprising of
all time. Driven
by the cause of freedom and emboldened by their slogan of war -- Freedom, or
death -- the slaves of Hispaniola took on the greatest army of the time, the
army of Napoleon the Great. Those phenomenal victories of 1803 against
Napoleonic France culminated on Jan. 1, 1804, with the creation of the first
independent black nation of the world. Haiti's birth could not have been
possible without the precursory work of Touissant L'Ouverture, the great Haitian
general entrusted by France in 1797 to be commander-in-chief of the island.
L'ouverture often has been called the black Napoleon. L'ouverture
dreamed of a society based on rights and justice for all. He fiercely believed
in the promise of the French Revolution and the ''Declaration of Human Rights
and of the Citizen'' of 1789. He rose against the slave trade carried out by
former slaves against their own kinship. He allied himself not on kinship but on
grounds of justice and fairness for all. He listened to everyone before going
with or against anyone. He fought injustice whether committed against whites,
mulattoes or blacks, without ever wavering in his fight against slavery. Two
centuries ago, in an epic uprising, Haiti was drumming up its way to a
triumphant quest for freedom. Once the standard bearer of slave freedom, Haiti
has lost its own freedom to a succession of thugs over the course of its
history. Yesterday called Tonton
Macoutes or Chimères today, those thugs are a disgrace to the black race. A
SINISTER CAUSE Black
masters now are at the helm of a dictatorial government engineered to be
dysfunctional to funnel the people's money and foreign aid to overseas banks for
personal benefit. Those new masters terrorize eight million defenseless
Haitians, who seemingly have lost their only champion, President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, to some sinister cause. Corruption, anarchy and divisive rhetoric on
the part of those in power have further paralyzed the nation's economic, social
and political life. Police
officers allegedly have kidnapped people for ransom and continued to live with
impunity. A couple of years ago, the country's most revered journalist, Jean
Dominique, was gunned down in front of his radio station. He had warned against
what was shaping up to be the bogus parliamentary elections that eventually
yielded a 100 percent majority to the current rule. His alleged killers have
refused to testify and continue to move freely. BOGUS
ELECTIONS Against
this backdrop of terror, lawlessness and lack of civil rights, Aristide has been
lobbying the Congressional Black Caucus and the 14-Caribbean-nation CARICOM to
get Washington to lift the economic sanctions imposed on his government after
the bogus elections. The Black Caucus and CARICOM seem to have no second
thoughts in echoing Aristide's call for money. The call seems noble. Haitians
are in dire straits and need help indeed. To
the Black Caucus and the Caribbean nations, I repeat the Russian proverb:
''Trust, but verify.'' The record must be put on the table as a political marker
of good will. Everyone stands to gain by exerting good judgment instead of
making a hasty decision based on a black solidarity of sort. Get the facts
before rallying behind those who currently hold power in Haiti. Is the support
for Aristide solely based on solidarity by kinship -- that is, by way of skin
color? POWELL
IS RIGHT What
then of the alleged corruption and assaults on human and civil rights by the
Aristide government perpetrated mostly against poor black Haitians? In
this quagmire, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has come across as the one
whose words and deeds seem to reflect concern for the Haitian people. He has
enjoined Aristide to demonstrate his commitment to give democracy a chance in
Haiti before $200 million in conditional U.S. loans can be released. The
Black Caucus and other prominent black leaders who were instrumental in
restoring constitutional order in Haiti (following the military coup of Gen.
Raoul Cedras) must uphold the same principles now. They must apply the necessary
pressure to thwart an attempt at reestablishing a despotic government in the
Caribbean. It's unfair to give away millions to enrich Haitian politicians and
expect the Haitian people to pick up the tab. MLK'S
DREAM The
Black Caucus has the moral obligation to ensure that Martin Luther King's dream
lives on -- beyond America's borders, too. What better time to further King's
dream than Black History Month! It would be ironic if, in the name of black
solidarity, a black coalition stood in the way of the civil rights of a black
people. I
hope that, transcending all partisan cleavages, the black leaders of the Western
Hemisphere will echo in unison Powell's fair stand toward the Haitian
government: Govern responsibly, and we'll lift our sanctions. In
its darkest hour ever, Haiti -- led by one of the most retrograde and inept
governments in the world -- is about to commemorate the bicentennial of the
founding of the first black republic in the world. By serendipity, such an honor
falls in the hands of a government distrusted by the Haitian people. All the
Aristide government will be able to celebrate is its contribution to 200 years
of mismanagement and irresponsible governance. ENEMIES
AT HOME L'Ouverture
fell by high treason at the hands of enemies disguised as allies. Today is no
different, but more than one life is at stake. The eight million people of Haiti
are in the hands of enemies none other than their very own -- the black rulers. The
Black Caucus and CARICOM should not allow themselves to be giving legitimacy to
a regime whose raison d’être is its perpetuation in power and
corruption. Continue isolating the Haitian government until it shows respect for
human lives and human rights. Make it a moral tenet that Haiti's people come
first this time -- first after 200 years of neo-slavery. Ray
Killick, a software engineer in Atlanta, writes on topics ranging from high
technology to political leadership and democracy in his native country, Haiti.
CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Belize at the Thirteenth Inter-Sessional
Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government at which the Government of
Haiti was represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency
Joseph Phillipe Antonio, received the Report of the CARICOM Special Mission to
Haiti, which took place on 28-31 January 2002 under the leadership of the Hon.
Julian R. Hunte, Minister of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil
Aviation of Saint Lucia.
Heads of Government recalled that the Special Mission was sent to Haiti by the Bureau of the Conference with a view to assessing the situation in Haiti and report to the Conference on its findings. Heads of Government commended the Mission for the work it had completed and the wide cross-section of groups with whom it had held discussions. They welcomed and accepted the recommendations of the Mission that an independent international commission of inquiry be established, sufficiently broad-based, to engender confidence in its evaluation of the events of 17 December 2001 and the necessary remedial actions to be taken; that CARICOM be represented on that Commission and that CARICOM should play an active role in efforts to strengthen the democratic process, particularly as it relates to the independence of the judiciary, the professionalism of the police force, and the maintenance of the rule of law in Haiti. Heads of Government CARICOM urge the international community to release funds to Haiti in view of the steps taken by the Government of Haiti to establish an environment of confidence in that country; and that these funds should initially support the strengthening of the democratic pillars of governance as well as provide humanitarian relief to the people of Haiti, particularly in the areas of education and health. They welcomed the positive response of the Government of Haiti to the provisions of the OAS Resolution on Haiti which called on the Government of Haiti to extend an invitation to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conduct an on-site visit to Haiti and one to the OAS to send representatives to Haiti to investigate and assess the situation and to assist the Government of Haiti in strengthening its democratic system and institutions. Heads of Government called on the political parties in Haiti to respond positively to these initiatives by the Government of Haiti by resuming negotiations and signing the Accord. Heads of Government believe that it is essential that a fully functioning Government is appointed to conduct the affairs of Haiti. To that end, they urged the President of Haiti to move quickly to appoint a Prime Minister who is capable of securing the confidence of all parties. They also commended the Organisation of American States for the critical role it continues to play in resolving the political situation in Haiti and in supporting that Government in strengthening the democratic process in Haiti. Heads of Government noted the observation by the Team that press freedom and the independence of the media were areas which needed to be addressed, and in which CARICOM could play a role. They agreed to continue to monitor the situation in Haiti through regular visits to that country, subject to the concurrence of the Government of Haiti, with a view to providing timely technical assistance, as required. Heads of Government also noted that it was expected that elections of all Parliamentarians elected in May 21, 2000 in Haiti, would be held prior to the end of 2002. Elections for the local officials would be held prior to Haiti's bicentennial celebrations, in January 2004. They urged both parties to allow the CEP to play a positive role in the determination of the date. They also accepted the invitation of the Government of Haiti to CARICOM, to be part of the international observer mission to Haiti's elections when they are held. Belize City, Belize 05 February, 2002
I had the opportunity recently to reunite with a friend from my
youth, Guy Larreur, professor at the University of the Virgin Islands where
he taught hospitality management. We had an interesting
conversation covering a variety of subjects, including his life in
semi-retirement and his work as an active Haitian-American citizen.
At this point, it may be appropriate to mention that Larreur, being my junior
by a few years, was not as we say back home "de ma promotion," which
means in French not at the same grade in school.
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there
was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper
there an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So I
just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would
know when they found one. An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship
as each of them choose. Many of them were working in the twin towers on the morning of
September 11, earning a better life for their families.
I call that a cardboard coup d'etat. This coup d'etat started with an attack on the National
Penitentiary, it didn't work; it ended up at the National Palace.. it didn't
work. Unknown author
I woke up at 6 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17, to learn about the attempted coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A group of armed men had taken over the National Palace in Port-au-Prince at about 2 a.m. By Monday afternoon, the palace was back in the hands of the government. In the meantime, many travelers were stuck in Miami and the grapevine was working full blast, as always. One of those stranded travelers was Gerard Pierre-Charles,
coordinator of
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