(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release: Vienna, 22 March 2004 IPI Worried by Attack on Haitian Journalist The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, calls on the Haitian National Police to protect journalists after gunmen fired on the residence of Radio Vision 2000 journalist […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release:
Vienna, 22 March 2004
IPI Worried by Attack on Haitian Journalist
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, calls on the Haitian National Police to protect journalists after gunmen fired on the residence of Radio Vision 2000 journalist Elysée Sincère.
The 13 March attack on Sincère’s residence in Petit Gôave occurred after the journalist’s comments about the absence of policemen in the town. It is believed the attack was carried out by members of political parties forming the Democratic Convergence coalition, who are sensitive to issues concerning law and order.
Significantly, the incident is only the most recent in a number of attacks on the media as groups within Haiti struggle for power. In late February, two radio stations in Haiti’s second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien, Radio Africa and Radio Télé Kombit, were destroyed by anti-Aristide rebels.
Speaking of the shooting at Sincère’s residence, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz called on the authorities to bring the attackers to justice. “These are dangerous times for the media in Haiti. The media must be allowed to practice their profession free of intimidation and harassment and those presently in power must act to ensure that this happens. If media are not allowed to do this, then an important independent voice in Haiti will be lost,” Fritz said.
“There is a strong tendency in Haiti for political parties or groups to view elements of the media as their own personal property. Such groups need to accept that this is not so and the media also needs to work harder at altering this perception,” Fritz added.
