Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Haiti Update

Let’s check in and see how the puppet government we are using to replace Aristide and Lavalas is doing.

"There have been hundreds of killings in Haiti of Lavalas supporters, President Aristide's political party, since the coup d'état," said Congresswoman Waters. "Members of Lavalas have been found shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs. There are reports of Lavalas members being placed in a container and drowned at sea.”

-Am

Rep. Maxine Waters condemns arrest of Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune

6/30/04
Washington, D.C. - On Capitol Hill Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., denounced the arrest of Yvon Neptune, the wrongfully-replaced Prime Minister of Haiti, and demanded the arrest and prosecution of the thugs and killers who have taken over Haitian cities. Yvon Neptune was detained yesterday by Haitian police in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

"Yvon Neptune is still the legitimate prime minister of Haiti, and his arrest is part of a politically-motivated campaign to arrest and intimidate members of Lavalas, President Aristide's political party," said Congresswoman Waters. "The people who were responsible for President Aristide's ouster are now determined to destroy the political movement he led."

Yvon Neptune was the prime minister of Haiti under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected president of Haiti, who was ousted in a coup d'état and forced into exile on Feb. 29. The following month, Prime Minister Neptune learned that his name was on a list of Lavalas party officials whom thugs are targeting for murder. He went into hiding on March 10 after his illegitimate successor, Gerard Latortue, took office. Prime Minister Neptune is now the highest-ranking member of the Lavalas party to be detained since President Aristide's removal.

"The arrest of Anne Auguste is another example of the efforts of the illegitimate interim government of Haiti to persecute Lavalas supporters," said Congresswoman Waters. "Anne Auguste is a well-known community activist who is responsible for feeding many impoverished people and who possesses a long history of working to improve the lives of ordinary Haitians. She should never have been arrested." Anne Auguste (Sò Anne) was arrested on May 10 by U.S. soldiers, acting as part of the Multinational Interim Force, when a warrant for her arrest was reportedly issued by Haitian police.

"While Gerard Latortue's government continues to arrest and intimidate Lavalas party members, it refuses to arrest Guy Philippe, Jean Tatoune and other thugs and killers who took over Haitian cities, freed criminals from jails and terrorized local residents throughout the month of February," said the Congresswoman. "Gerard Latortue's government has also made a mockery of justice by pretending to arrest former death squad leader Louis-Jodel Chamblain. Worst of all, Gerard Latortue's government is turning a blind eye while these thugs and killers continue to commit gross violations of human rights against the people of Haiti."

Guy Philippe is a known drug dealer who returned from exile in order to overthrow President Aristide's government. Since his return, Philippe occupied Gonaives, spearheaded burnings and killings and threatened to kill President Aristide. Louis-Jodel Chamblain and Jean Tatoune are both former death squad leaders who were convicted in abstentia for the killing of thousands of Haitians in the 1994 Raboteau massacre.

"There have been hundreds of killings in Haiti of Lavalas supporters since the coup d'état," said Congresswoman Waters. "Members of Lavalas have been found shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs. There are reports of Lavalas members being placed in a container and drowned at sea. Delegations from Amnesty International, the National Lawyers Guild and Let Haiti Live have documented the repression and killing of Lavalas party members. Many of President Aristide's supporters are now in hiding in Haiti. Others have tried to flee Haiti as refugees and have been forcibly repatriated to the island, where they continue to fear for their lives."

Last week, Amnesty International reported that a number of journalists in areas of Haiti held by the thugs have been arrested and beaten after reporting human rights abuses by the thugs, while pro-Aristide media such as Radio and Tele Timoun have been closed.

"I demand that the interim government immediately release Yvon Neptune and Anne Auguste and end the persecution of the Lavalas party and its supporters," concluded Congresswoman Waters. "The interim government must turn its attention to the arrest and prosecution of the real criminals, thugs and killers who are responsible for so much destruction and devastation in Haiti."

One of the Web Exclusives at www.sfbayview.com this week is an interview with Prime Minister Yvon Neptune originally broadcast only three days after the coup on KPFA’s Flashpoints. In the interview, Neptune explains the unconstitutionality of the transfer of power.


http://www.sfbayview.com/063004/yvoneneptune063004.shtml