(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed serious concern about the deteriorating situation in Haiti, where nearly a dozen media outlets have been closed or been victims of violence or harassment since 16 December 2003. The alarming rise in attacks on press freedom over the past few weeks comes as demonstrations calling for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s resignation […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed serious concern about the deteriorating situation in Haiti, where nearly a dozen media outlets have been closed or been victims of violence or harassment since 16 December 2003.
The alarming rise in attacks on press freedom over the past few weeks comes as demonstrations calling for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s resignation have spread throughout the country.
“We are deeply concerned about the dangers of the government’s ‘politics of desperation’, as some members of parliament from the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party have called on supporters of the beleaguered president to take up arms,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
The organisation has urged the authorities to act against those calling for violence and to give very strict orders to government supporters not to resort to violence. RSF also asked that Radio Maxima, which was shut down by police on 17 December, be compensated as soon as possible and allowed to resume its broadcasts.
Latest incidents
Various sources reported that on 17 December, police armed with a search warrant entered the premises of Radio Maxima, in Cap-Haïtien, the country’s second largest city, in northern Haiti, saying they were searching for weapons. Police officers destroyed some of the radio station’s equipment and shut it down. The station’s watchman was also arrested.
Also in Cap-Haïtien, Radio Vision 2000, which is run from the capital, Port-au-Prince, had its sign destroyed on 17 December, at approximately 8:00 a.m. (local time). The station suspended its broadcasts until the end of the day. Several other Cap-Haitien radio stations also suspended their news programmes on that day.
The previous evening, unidentified gunmen fired shots at Radio Maxima. These attacks followed statements made earlier in the week by Fanmi Lavalas Member of Parliament Nawoom Marcellus, who threatened to “forcibly” deal with the station’s director, Jean-Robert Lalanne. Intruders also attacked the premises of Radio Vision 2000 in Cap-Haïtien.
In addition, gunmen travelling in a vehicle owned by a state-run company in Port-au-Prince threatened several journalists on 17 December, including Josué Jean and Wendy Richard, of Radio Vision 2000. Both men described the attacks as assassination attempts.
Radio Ibo also reported that two of its journalists, Hans Pierre-Louis and Patrick Chéry, were chased through the streets of Port-au-Prince by government supporters. Leaflets were distributed in the capital threatening a bloodbath if Aristide is forced to leave office.
On 16 December, Richard was threatened with violence on the air by Jean-Marie Perrier, nicknamed “Pa Pé Chay”. Perrier heads a “people’s organisation” close to Fanmi Lavalas. Such armed civilian militias terrorise people in southern Haiti. Perrier also threatened Marie-Lucie Bonhomme, editorial director of Radio Vision 2000, Valéry Numa, from the same station, and Lilianne Pierre-Paul and Sony Bastien, from Radio Kiskeya.
On 16 December, Fanmi Lavalas Member of Parliament Marcellus spoke on Radio Guinen, accusing the same journalists of seeking Aristide’s resignation. He also accused the journalists of using violent language and called on the Haitian National Media Association (Association nationale des médias haïtiens, ANMH) to take disciplinary steps against them.
Also on 16 December, Police Superintendent Ricardo Etienne clubbed Fegentz Calès Paul, of Radio Antilles, as he covered a demonstration calling for the president’s resignation in an eastern neighbourhood of the capital. The radio station’s director, Jacques Sampeur, said that a band of about 40 “chimeras” (pro-government thugs) had previously besieged the station on 12 December and threatened to set it on fire. The journalists were trapped inside the station from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The 17 December attack against Radio Maxima was the third such attack on the station in less than two months. On 25 November, two gunmen burst into the Cap-Haïtien home of station director Lalanne, shooting and wounding him. On 27 October, the station was forced to temporarily suspend its news broadcasts after receiving threats, it said, from pro-government sources (see IFEX alert of 31 October 2003). Lalanne is also secretary general of the Northern Front party, a coalition of several opposition groups.
Calls to violence
According to Radio Métropole, Fanmi Lavalas Members of Parliament Marcellus and Wilnet Content urged Aristide supporters to “prepare their weapons” in a 14 December broadcast on both Africa and Négritude radio stations. Radio Métropole said their call was condemned by Secretary of State for Communications Mario Dupuy, who nevertheless did not announce any sanctions against the two parliamentarians.
On 12 December, Communications Minister Lilas Desquiron called on the media to adopt a “responsible attitude.” She denounced a “disinformation campaign” by several media outlets and denied they had been threatened.
On 11 December, Radio Vision 2000, Radio Métropole, Radio Caraïbes and Radio Kiskeya interrupted their broadcasts after receiving threats from Artistide supporters. The temporary suspensions followed statements by Marcellus, who on the same day accused certain media outlets of being funded by the United States and broadcasting anti-government propaganda. The parliamentarian vowed to carry out “the appropriate response” and called on the president’s supporters to take up arms. The four radio stations resumed their broadcasts on 12 December. Radio Kiskeya director Pierre-Paul believes the government is taking issue with the media simply for reporting on the disturbing events that are taking place in the country.
On 6 December, armed men were spotted in a Suzuki jeep in front of the home of Nancy Roc, of Radio Métropole. Witnesses quoted by the journalist said the men made no attempt to hide and remained parked in front of the journalist’s home through the morning of 7 December. Roc believes the intimidation tactics are linked to the outspokenness of Radio Métropole’s “Métropolis” programme, which she hosts. In February, thugs fired gunshots and threw bottles at her mother’s home. They also shouted abuse against the journalist (see alert of 20 February 2003).
On 5 December, Rodson Josselin, a journalist for the online news agency Haïti Press Network, was attacked by a group of Aristide supporters. They clubbed him on the arms while he was covering a student demonstration against the president. He was also threatened. At least two other journalists, including Vénèl Casséus, a reporter for Radio Kiskeya, were slightly injured in stone-throwing incidents. A total of 25 people were assaulted, including the rector of the university, who had both his legs broken.
On 25 November, a human head was found on a garbage heap in central Port-au-Prince, surrounded by leaflets threatening reprisals against certain figures from opposition and civil society groups and the press. Among the journalists named were Pierre-Paul, Bonhomme, Numa, Lalanne and François Rotchild Junior, of Radio Métropole.
On 28 October, several men armed with sub-machine guns opened fire on the Port-au-Prince offices of Radio Caraïbes (see alerts of 31 and 30 October 2003). Nobody was injured in the attack, but the front of the building was badly damaged, as well as a car belonging to Harold Domond, a sports commentator at the station. Witnesses said the car used by the assailants bore an official licence plate. Editorial director Jean-Elie Moléus said the station had been receiving threats on a regular basis. Radio Caraïbes was forced to temporarily suspend its broadcasts.
