(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the recent arson attacks by Haitian opposition supporters against Radio Pyramide and Radio America stations in the city of Saint-Marc, 120 kilometres north of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The organisation called on all political groups to take steps to reduce tension and respect press freedom. Opposition activists set fire to Radio […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the recent arson attacks by Haitian opposition supporters against Radio Pyramide and Radio America stations in the city of Saint-Marc, 120 kilometres north of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The organisation called on all political groups to take steps to reduce tension and respect press freedom.
Opposition activists set fire to Radio Pyramide’s studios on 15 January 2004, following an anti-government demonstration in the streets of Saint-Marc. The attackers destroyed equipment and threatened to kill the station’s manager and staff. The manager had to be rescued by police.
The home of Prosecutor Freneau Cajuste was also set on fire. The magistrate’s home doubles as Radio America’s studios. Cajuste has been accused of persecuting members of the opposition.
Opposition supporters accuse Radio Pyramide of being close to the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party and of broadcasting government propaganda. Several sources suggested the attack might have been carried out by an organisation called Ramicos, in reprisal for a recent armed attack on anti-government demonstrators by supporters of the president that left three people injured.
In several interviews, Radio Pyramide owner Fritson Orius had also spoken out against an alleged plot against his radio station. He accused Radio Tête à Tête director Marc Antoine Adolphe of preparing the attack. Radio Tête à Tête, a rival Saint-Marc station, was recently shut down by the authorities. Adolphe, who lives in exile in the Dominican Republic, denied the accusation.
Radio Pyramide had only just resumed broadcasting after an earlier attack. The station’s offices were ransacked in November 2003 (see IFEX alert of 22 December 2003). Police arrested Orius on 14 January after a demonstrator suffered gunshot wounds in front of the station. Orius said he had ordered a guard to shoot in the air to disperse the demonstrators.
A commando of several armed and hooded men destroyed the transmitters of eight radio stations and one television station on 13 January, forcing them all off the air (see alert of 15 January 2004). RSF condemned the attacks and expressed concern over what it labelled a new form of censorship.
