Files Disappear in Haitian Reporter Slay

[Rose Siding]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Some documents associated with the slaying of a famed Haitian journalist have disappeared, thwarting efforts to solve the case and angering rights groups.

The investigation into the death of Jean Dominique -- a radio journalist who became increasingly critical of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government before being shot in 2000 -- has been plagued with problems, including the deaths of two suspects and the resignation of two investigating judges who had received death threats.
...
Michele Montas, the journalist's widow, suspected foul play.

"It's an alarming situation," Montas told The Associated Press on Monday. "This means someone with power, someone that acted before to block the investigation, had the connections to get inside the court to get rid of all the evidence."

Shortly after the first investigation began into her 69-year-old husband's death, one suspect was killed in mysterious circumstances in police custody and another was killed by a mob that attacked a police station where he was being held outside the capital.

Haiti's U.S.-backed interim government, which replaced Aristide after he fled a three-week rebellion in February, has been hamstrung to rebuild the police force and judiciary, which was depleted of personnel and equipment after Aristide and his supporters left.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-haiti-slain-journalist,0,697331.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Judi Lynn]

1. AP's Amy Bracken, who wrote this story, might want to brush up

on some of the facts of this murder, for crissakes. I found this information:

Haïti Progrès
5 au 11 Avril 2000
This week in Haiti

The Assassination of Jean Dominique: Is it part of Washington's offensive?

At 6:15 a.m. on Apr. 3, a gunman entered the courtyard of Radio Haiti Inter and shot to death pioneering radio journalist Jean Dominique, 69, as well as the station's caretaker, Jean-Claude Louissaint. Dominique, who was just arriving by car to prepare for his hugely popular 7:00 a.m. daily news roundup, was struck by one bullet in the head and two in the neck. He was loaded with Louissaint into an ambulance, but both men were pronounced dead on arrival at the nearby Haitian Community Hospital in Pétionville.

In recent weeks, Dominique had been sharply critical of the U.S. government's heavy-handed meddling in Haitian elections and bullying of Haitian President René Préval, to whom Dominique was a close friend and advisor.

Are agents of Washington behind Jean Dominique's brutal murder? Is this just the opening salvo of a more violent stage in the wide-ranging campaign to intimidate the Haitian government and people into following Washington's directives?

That is the suspicion voiced by Haitians on radio call-in shows and street corners since the killing. For them, this is just the latest act of aggression in an escalating war which Washington is waging to see that its neoliberal agenda eventually goes through in Haiti. Vilifying articles in the mainstream press, warnings from diplomats, hold-backs of international assistance, and killings by the "forces of darkness" have all been part of a growing offensive to block the return to power of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his party in what has become known as the "electoral coup d'état."
(snip/...)

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HP/4_5_0.html

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Jean Dominique

Jean Dominique became friends with filmmaker Jonathon Demme in the 1980's. Dominique was in exile in the Unites States. He fled Haiti to avoid being killed by the oppressive government of the Devalier (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) regime. He owned and operated a radio station, Radio Haiti Inter, that publicized the struggles of poor Haitians and their callous treatment by the Haitian government. Dominique was an eccentric character. I can see why Demme was so fascinated by him. The way he spoke, his outlandish mannerisms, the man demanded attention. Their friendship grew over the years and Demme began filming his life story through a series of interviews. The chronology of these interviews followed a turbulent time in Haitian history. Governments came and went. Haiti would descend into anarchy and Demme filmed it all through the perspective of Jean Dominique. We see him change over time. His hopes rise and fall with Haiti, as his beloved country staggered under political change.

Dominique, who was raised in a privileged family, abandoned a career in agriculture to pursue his dream of being a journalist. His evolution to the voice of Radio Haiti is a true journey of self-discovery. Dominique fell in love with the cinema. His efforts to bring realistic depictions of Haitian life to film where crushed by Papa Doc Devalier, the Haitian dictator for forty years. Dominique took his voice to the radio, speaking in the patois of the poor Haitian people. They identified with him and he brought them a world of information. He publicized the inequities of Haitian society and was constantly victimized by the Haitian government. His radio station was riddled with gunfire and his employees were tortured. Dominique used his wits to evade capture and thus was borne a lifetime of skillfully evading harm. He would take his family into exile several times. Always returning to a hero's welcome and broadcasting his message out to the Haitian people.
(snip)

http://www.blackfilm.com/20040423/reviews/theagronomist.shtml