People and Places Visited:
- CTH (Conference of Haitian Workers): women and men union officials
- Haiti National Penitentiary: prisoners and officials
- Independent radio and print journalists
- Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti: human rights workers and victims of political violence
- Pax Christi Haiti: volunteer leaders
- Port au Prince Police Station: male prisoners
- SOPUDEP Cooperative Community School, Petion-Ville: teachers, administrators, and students
- St. Clare’s Church: children, staff, pastor
- Visitation House: visitors from US Church Twinning Programs, staff
- Women’s Prison, Petion-Ville: local pastor and prisoners
Criteria Used
In evaluating what we observed, we use the principles of Catholic social thought and teachings: respect for life and the absolute dignity of every human person; the demand to honor the human rights of all; a preferential option for the poor which insists we look at each situation from the perspective of the poor and most vulnerable; the dignity of work and the rights of workers to decent working conditions and fair pay; a profound commitment to solidarity with our sisters and brothers as members of our shared human family; and the right and duty of all persons to participate in society in seeking the common good.
Observations
Haiti is in a political, economic, and human rights crisis of immense proportions. The central political crisis is that the government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide which was overwhelming elected by the people of Haiti has been forcibly removed and illegally replaced by unelected powers. People who supported or participated in the elected government are being persecuted by armed gangs, arrested by police without charges, prosecuted by officials of the appointed government, and kept in jail without seeing a judge for long periods of time, some as long as five months. As the poorest country in this hemisphere, the economic crisis of Haiti is well documented. The human rights crisis is made worse by both the economic and political difficulties.
The delegation visited the National Penitentiary in Port au Prince. There were 868 people in the prison, 847 were awaiting trial, only 21 have been convicted. Prison officials advise that most have never seen a judge and do not know when they will see a judge.
The delegation met with several political prisoners in the National Penitentiary including the high officials of the government of President Aristide: Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Privert, and the former Mayor of Port au Prince. The rule of law is being blatantly disregarded in their cases. For example, Minister Privert has been held in the prison for six months and has yet to see a judge for formal charges, which by law should happen within 48 hours of arrest. Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, who was arrested days after giving an interview critical of the government, has been accused by those now in power of prompting police killings in fights with rebel groups, and has been in prison since June 2004. He says the accusations are totally political and he has no confidence in the current government, but remains strong and passionate about trying with every fiber of his being to reclaim the democracy of Haiti. An elected delegate of Parliament, Jacques Mathlier, was reportedly arrested for arson but after going before a judge he was ordered to be released on July 12. Instead the Ministry of Justice ordered him transferred to the National Penitentiary where he has remained in prison ever since. The former mayor of Port au Prince was arrested by Haitian police but was transferred, along with three other members of the Aristide government, into custody of the US military. They were then taken out to sea in a Haitian boat and detained in handcuffs for 20 days, while armed military boats of the US patrolled around the boat were they were imprisoned. For the first three days they were denied water, food and the use of a bathroom. After 20 days, they were transferred to the national penitentiary where Severe now remains.
There have been no reported prosecutions of any invading rebels and opposition gangs who used force and violence to topple the elected government.
The delegation also visited the women’s prison in Petionville where 51 women are kept in a poorly lit concrete structure where we met with Annette Auguste, a 69 year old folk singer also called “So Anne” who supported President Aristide and is an activist who has been in prison since May 10, 2004. Ms. Auguste and all of her family of fifteen, including children as young as 12, 10 and 5 years old, were arrested in her home by US Marines. The Marines used grenades to break into the house in the middle of the night, forced black hoods onto the heads of all inside and bound their arms behind their backs with plastic handcuffs. While she was arrested and questioned by the US, she is now being held by the Haitian government and has never confronted her accusers. She told us “The Americans put me here, I am waiting for the Americans to set me free.”
Contrast this with the treatment of supporters of the current occupiers of the government. At the time of the coup, the entire prison population was released. Among the released were many human rights abusers, many of whom were, along with other released prisoners, were recruited by the rebels. There was a criminal trial in Haiti in August of Louis Jodel-Chamblain, a very high-profile supporter of the current powers in Haiti, who was found innocent of participation in a political assassination of Antwon Izmery that occurred in the prior coup of 1994. This trial was an abbreviated overnight event which was called a sham by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations. During the coup of 1991-1994, this man was second in command of FRAPH, the organization responsible for the deaths of thousands of supporters of President Aristide.
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