On 6th Anniversary of the Assassination of
Prominent Haiti Journalist, Haitian Rights Coalition Calls for
the Establishment of a Special Court to Pursue Past Political
Crimes
New York, April 3, 2006 – Six years ago
today, radio broadcast pioneer and democracy advocate Jean
Léopold Dominique was gunned down on the steps of Radio Haiti
Inter shortly before he was to begin the morning’s news
broadcasts. His murderers also killed the radio station’s
groundskeeper, Jean-Claude Louissaint. In the days preceding his
assassination, Mr. Dominique had become openly critical of
government malfeasance and corruption, and increasingly
questioned the commitment to the poor of the Lavalas Party and
its leaders.
 In
recognition of his lifetime achievements, the government treated
him to a hero’s funeral. That is all the honor that Mr.
Dominique and his relatives have received so far. The National
Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) notes with deep sadness that
little progress has been made by Haitian authorities since in
identifying, apprehending, prosecuting and convicting the
killers and their patrons.
Haitian governments in the last six years
have provided scant support for vigorous investigative and
prosecutorial action. Investigations have repeatedly stalled
because of political interference, the refusal or inability of
governments to provide investigative magistrates the means and
the protection necessary to carry out their tasks free of fear,
and the inability of authorities to protect the plaintiffs and
aggrieved parties. The silencing of Mr. Dominique was followed
by an attempt to silence his widow, Michele Montas. The
assassins failed to kill her, but nonetheless succeeded at
silencing Radio Haiti. Ms. Montas lives currently in exile in
New York City and serves among other things on the board of the
NCHR.
René Préval’s recent election in Haiti may
provide a real opportunity for justice in the Dominique case to
be given the attention it deserves. The President-elect should
note that the February 7th vote, which gave him a
second chance at leading Haiti away from abject poverty, was in
large measure a vote for judicial equity, for the absence of
justice lies at the heart of the inequitable distribution of
wealth and resources in Haiti and the corresponding lack of
basic services from the public sector. We also note that in and
out of Haiti there’s virtually unanimous agreement that
law-enforcement must be strengthened and that police and
judicial reform are of the highest priority. However, effective
reforms are at best years away. Yet justice for Jean Dominique,
Brignol Lindor, Jacques Roche or any other victims of political
assassinations cannot wait indefinitely.
While recognizing that the office of the
President is hamstrung by constitutional limitations and the
political and practical reality of barely functioning state
institutions, we urge President-Elect Préval to use his
political capital and moral authority now and in the future to
back a vigorous pursuit of the criminals who conspired to
silence Dominique and the democratic voices to which he gave
voice. The government of Haiti should promptly establish an
interim prosecutorial machine – a special court or prosecutor –
to which the international community should commit significant
resources so that justice reigns supreme. |
