Haiti: Foreign Press Liaison Update - January 21

Michelle Karshan, Foreign Press Liaison
National Palace, Haiti
Tel: (011509) 228-2058
Fax: (011509) 228-2171
Email: mkarshan [at] aol.com

Haiti: Foreign Press Liaison Update - January 21, 2004

1. Lavalas demonstrating today, opposition attempting to defy police orders
not to march
2. Opposition increases its violence through numerous attacks against
government, radios
3. Prosecutor calls on numerous persons for questioning relating to attack on
transmitters
4. Respecting democracy in Haiti (Boston Globe)
5. Opposition leaders responsible for Haiti's political violence (Miami
Herald)
6. Clarifications for the PRESS
7. Parliament holds Special Session to close 47th Legislature
8. Haiti Progres reveals inaccuracies in Radio Metropole broadcast
9. New Police Chief for Gonaives
10. Haiti improves passport processing
11. Terror campaign against Haiti's schoolchildren

1. Today Lavalas is holding a major march and rally which started this
morning at a church in a popular neighborhood not far from the National Palace.
(International press were advised that the march would occur today) The
pro-government demonstrators have complied with the law/regulations required by
gaining
permission in advance and disclosing the route of their demonstration. The
opposition is attempting to go forward with a demonstration that they announced
in the press. According to a police statement issued yesterday and earlier in
the week, the organizers of today's demonstration aligned with the opposition
failed to comply with required law/regulations (Law of July 23, 1987 and the
1987 Constitution). The opposition has been holding increasingly violent
demonstrations at least a few days per week. The apparent strategy of the
opposition thus far has been to provoke violence and in that vein they are attempting
to march today, most likely to seek out a confrontation with the
pro-government demonstrators. The pro-government march which invited the public to
join in
through radio publicity stated that their march would be peaceful and radio
broadcasts this morning reported that the marchers are wearing their shirts
inside their pants so as to show that they are not armed.

2. Two radio stations (Radio Pyramid and Radio America) both not aligned with
the opposition were burned within a 72 hours period in Saint Marc this past
weekend by opposition forces. Reports out of Gonaives indicate that a group of
armed men from the opposition attacked a police station with a hail of
gunfire, and burned down the homes of two police officers, including the house of
Police Inspector Chariot Casimir. Yesterday in the Gonaives neighborhood of
Raboteau, the opposition shot and killed a man who they accused of being
sympathetic to the government. This morning radio broadcasts referred to Jean
Tatoune as
being at the head of the mobilization against President Aristide in Gonaives.
Tatoune was convicted in the Raboteau massacre and escaped from prison in
the same prison break that Amiot Metayer escaped during. The opposition in
Gonaives openly said they will continue their dechoukaj for two weeks in Gonaives
in an effort to force the President from office.

3. The Chief Prosecutor, Riquet Brutus, has already begun to call witnesses
for questioning regarding the January 13th attack on several radio/television
antennas at a private facility that rents space to media. Yesterday and today
directors of the stations whose antennas were damaged were called before the
court, as well as witnesses to the attack, the engineer whose land houses the
transmitters and those who made public allegations against persons. The damages
have been estimated at more than $500,000 US.

4. Letter to the Editor published in Boston Globe by Juan Javier Salazar,
research assistant at Boston-based Partners In Health, on Respecting democracy
in Haiti, January 18, 2004: While I agree with Robert I. Rotberg that Haiti
has been truly suffering in economic terms in recent years (''Aristide's failed
promise,'' op ed, Jan. 12), there are inaccuracies in his analysis. First,
there is no evidence that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has ever ''rigged''
elections. In fact, when problems arose in the 2000 parliamentary elections, his
administration encouraged the legislators in the contested seats to step
down. There is also absolutely no evidence that Aristide's administration has ever
used paramilitary forces or facilitated narco-trafficking. Finally, the
article fails to acknowledge the tight grip of an economic embargo in place since
May 2000 until fairly recently, preventing the government from receiving any
humanitarian and development aid. The embargo was initiated by the US govern
ment, which should be held accountable for its role in deepening the poverty of
the majority of Haitians. In addition, it is worthwhile to note that Aristide
and his party, Fanmi Lavalas, are in favor of new legislative elections and it
is the opposition that is not supporting them. In this regard, one should
question which side is most in favor of democracy. According to the Haitian
constitution, a democratically elected president should complete his/her term until
the next election. As an individual who works to promote health and well-being
in Haiti, I support political stability under the democratically elected
government of Aristide until the next legitimate national election. Any
''transitional'' government before the next election would clearly move Haiti in a
direction away from true democracy. -end -

5. Letter to the editor published in Miami Herald by Jessica Leight, a
research fellow at the Washington, D.C. Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA),
January 20, 2004: Opposition leaders responsible for Haiti's political violence -
The Jan. 12 article Aristide scolds armed backers neglects to mention the role
of the opposition coalitions, Democratic Convergence and Group 184, in
perpetuating the current volatile political situation. The story notes that the
opposition has refused to participate in balloting because of concerns about fraud.
However, the ''fraud'' consisted of a technical disagreement over whether
eight senatorial candidates in the May 2000 legislative election should have
advanced to a run-off election. Seven of these senators have since resigned at
Aristide's urging. The opposition leaders continue to brandish the claim of fraud
to block progress toward elections simply because they know that they have no
chance of victory. A U.S.-sponsored poll in 2000 showed only a 4-percent cred
ibility rating for the opposition leadership. The opposition's unprincipled
intransigence has plunged Haiti into stalemate, creating widespread resentment
among Aristide supporters at the paralysis of the democratically elected
government and producing a political standoff that is ripe for violence. Blame for
the current unrest must be placed where it is deserved. If opposition leaders
truly want to see the end of the recent violence, they should stop blaming
President Aristide for it. Instead, they should announce their willingness to
proceed immediately to parliamentary elections. - end-

6. Clarifications for the PRESS:
- President Aristide was not the President at the time of the May 2000 local
and parliamentary elections. - The May 2000 local and parliamentary elections
are the only elections that were contested. - The elections that President
Aristide is referring to holding in the next six months are for local and
parliamentary seats. The presidential elections are to be held at the end of 2005.


7. Parliament. While some press reported that on January 12th Parliament
stood still and empty, there was actually a special session held which was well
attended. During this closing session of the 47th Legislature the Parliament
gave a full briefing on the recent work of the 47th Legislature (29 Conventions,
Treaties and Accords, 43 projects of law passed, 17 Ambassadors ratified, 41
Convocations of Members of the Executive, 13 Visits to the Prison, 32 missions
to the exterior) they also passed a resolution calling for the swift
organizing of local and parliamentary elections, and the President of the Senate, Yvon
Feuillé, delivered a speech denouncing efforts by various sectors to
destabilize and paralyze the government.

8. From Haiti Progres, January 14 - 20, 2004: Press Lies Noted: Radio
Métropole is the most powerful and influential radio of the Haitian bourgeoisie...it
broadcasts almost exclusively in French and many foreign journalists rely on
it for their dispatches. On January 1, 2004, Métropole broadcast the following
report from Gonaïves...to which President Jean-Bertrand Aristide traveled to
make a speech:

In Studio Anchor: So who accompanied [Aristide] during his speech?

Correspondent Jean Alfred: During his speech it was only the delegate to the
Artibonite Dr. Billy Racine who was there along with members of the
government.

In reality, the stage in Gonaïves was packed with local dignitaries, priests,
parliamentarians, representatives from Haiti's diaspora, artists and other
VIPs.

In Studio Anchor: Was the South African president there?

Jean Alfred: Certainly he was there and we noticed that the South African
president's knees were shaking at the moment when a lot of gunfire was fired at
the stand where the Head of State was giving his speech.

First, there was no gunfire around or near the podium during Aristide's
speech. Some shots were heard after the president had left. Secondly, South African
President Thabo Mbeki did not travel to Gonaïves.

Jean Alfred : Today truly there is a big, big tension, and guns are firing in
the entire city and at this moment in the Dekawo section gunfire continues.
It was there that they took hostage the presidential cortege, which has headed
towards Port-au- Prince.

At no point was the presidential cortege "taken hostage"...From behind houses
in the Dekawo neighborhood, opposition hooligans did stone and fire at the
departing south-
bound cars and buses of celebrants.

Other opposition-aligned Haitian media and the international press echoed
Radio Métropole's version of events, including Mbeki's imaginary attendance of
the Gonaïves ceremony.

Perhaps it is not ironic that Radio Métropole is financially supported by the
government of France, Haiti's former colonial ruler. On the "Politics" page
of Métropole's website
(http://www.metropolehaiti.com) is an advertisement thanking the French embassy for
its "assistance."

9. New Police Chief installed in Gonaives. A new police chief for the city
of Gonaives was installed last week, replacing Marcellus Camille who was shot
by opposition members a couple of months ago as he was leaving the police
station there. The new police chief held a press conference and explained that he
intends to meet with the press on a regular basis to inform them of any
events and progress relating to the Gonaives police. He said that this is how he
worked in his previous post.

10. Minister of Interior modernizes passport process. The Minister of
Interior, which oversees the Office of Immigration and Emigration. explained in a
recent press conference that the Immigration office has updated their
technological capacity which has resulted in expediting the time in which passports
can
be processed. This will increase the amount of passports processed per day
from 800 to 1,000. Additionally, the new passports, which can also be applied
for at the Immigration office in Cap Haitian and through the Haitian Embassy in
Washington, DC, contain a feature on each page which makes them more secure.
The Minister said the fee for applying for a passport will not increase.

11. Terrorism Campaign Against Haiti's Schoolchildren.
Monday's AP story Haiti Police Break Up Student Protest stated: A student
demonstration turned violent Monday when police fired tear gas and bullets into
the air to break up a protest...Angry students then threw stones at private
schools that had stayed open despite a request to close in solidarity. ``We asked
the schools to close,'' said Jacques Toussaint, a 22-year-old university
student. During the mayhem, a canister of tear gas landed in a Roman Catholic
girls school, sending children into a panic and leaving them gasping, radio
stations reported. Worried parents hurried to pick up their children and schools
quickly closed.

On the same day as described above in the AP story, opposition members
calling themselves students were heard on radio broadcasts threatening
schoolchildren and giving a list of schools they plan to attack and set on fires in
front
of. They also stated that whatever the children get is what's coming to them
because they warned them not to go to school. On Monday opposition could be
heard on the radio threatening to kill any students that go to school. Children
in Port-au-Prince have been experiencing nightmares, crying spells, anxiety
and overall fear. Those that attend school do so in fear. Ironically, the
"student" movement which allegedly began on December 5th with the incident at the
university out of the student's outrage about their own security, has now
turned around to target young schoolchildren. The radio airways are full of
parents, children, teachers, directors and organizations, expressing their shock at
such terrorism employed for the political interests of the opposition. Many
parents have stated that children are not in politics and that it is not fair
to punish the children and to deny them their right to attend school. The
opposition, through Evens Paul, has stated that the closing of schools, as well as
hospitals, is necessary as part of their movement aimed at forcing the
President from office.

The new Minister of Education, Youth and Sports stated yesterday that the
government is taking measures to assure that schools can open safely and that
children will be secure. Indeed armed CIMO agents (a specialized unit of the
police) could be seen in front of several private schools yesterday, including
some of the upscale Catholic schools on Avenue Jean Brown (Lalue), which has been
one of the routes used by the opposition demonstrations in several of their
demos. He also expressed alarm that the same people demanding that the school
be shut also are parents of school age children. The Minister pointed that,
"Education is the foundation of development, it's access should be guaranteed in
all situations." (This story can be found on the government's newspaper
website at http://www.journallunion.com