http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/haiti9872.htm The bicentennial of Haiti’s independence, 2004 was a year of turmoil, lawlessness, and humanitarian disaster. The interim government, which took power in March, has been unable to impose its authority over large swathes of the country or uphold the rule of law. With only a small, demoralized, and poorly-trained police force, the government has had to rely on the U.N.-mandated multinational force to maintain security, but that force’s numbers are insufficient for restoring public order and stability.
In responding to mounting violence, the Haitian police are responsible for frequent illegal arrests and, in some instances, extrajudicial executions. The justice system is in disarray, with even the most serious crimes going unpunished. Prison conditions remain deplorable.
...
In February 2004, rebel forces captured large sections of the country and pushed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. The rebels, who began by taking over police stations in the northern city of Gonaives, included a solid core of former officers and soldiers from the county’s disbanded army, as well as former paramilitaries responsible for innumerable atrocities during Haiti’s 1991-1994 military government. Among their leaders was Louis Jodel Chamblain, one of the founders of the Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advancement and Progress (Front révolutionnaire pour l’avancement et le progrès haïtien, FRAPH), who had been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for the September 1993 murder of activist Antoine Izmery, as well as for involvement in the 1994 Raboteau massacre.
...
Haiti’s violence and instability did not end with the establishment of an interim government in March 2004. Despite the arrival of international military forces mandated to reestablish a stable and secure environment, much of the country remains under the control of irregular armed groups. The Haitian National Police—a demoralized and discredited force by the end of the Aristide presidency—is small, poorly trained, and under-resourced. Its personnel are outnumbered and outgunned by former soldiers, criminal gangs, and other irregular armed groups. Although a few weak attempts at disarmament have been made, the country remains awash with illegal weapons.
...
In responding to the wave of violence in September and October 2004, police arrested and detained people illegally, often carrying out arrests without warrants and failing to bring detainees before a judge within the forty-eight hour period mandated under Haitian law. Detainees included Yvon Fuille, the president of the Haitian Senate, and two other politicians associated with the Aristide government, who were arrested on October 2 at Radio Caraibes in Port-au-Prince. Indeed, hundreds of Aristide supporters were reportedly arrested on suspicion of involvement in violence. Whether the police have evidence to justify some of the arrests—like that of Father Gerard Jean-Juste, picked up on October 13 at his parish in Port-au-Prince—is far from clear.
Beatings and extrajudicial executions by police have also been reported. In November 2004, the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), a nongovernmental human rights group, called for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate police responsibility for the October 26 killing of seven to thirteen youths in Fort National, a poor area of Port-au-Prince. According to reports received by NCHR, the youths were tortured by a “commando unit” of masked police officers before they were killed.
...
Despite Haiti’s dire human rights and humanitarian conditions, the United States continues to deny Haitians on U.S. territory temporary protection from deportation back to Haiti. It also intercepts Haitians who flee their country and repatriates them immediately. In late February 2004, in a clear violation of international refugee protections, the U.S. Coast Guard dropped off hundreds of asylum seekers in the main port in Port-au-Prince, the site of violence and widespread looting.
The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a fifteen-member group of Caribbean countries, suspended ties with Haiti after President Aristide went into exile. In November CARICOM leaders decided to maintain the suspension, stating that it was based on “fundamental principles of respect for human rights, due process and good governance.”
In October, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed grave concern over human rights conditions in Haiti.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
