Haitian protestors demand release of hundreds of political prisoners

Several groups in Haiti and abroad are calling for the release of all of Haiti's political prisoners by March 29, the 19th anniversary of Haiti's 1987 Constitution. Many of us had expected that the prisoners would be freed upon the inauguration of President-Elect Préval.

But delays in legislative elections have postponed the inauguration, and now it is not likely to happen for eight weeks or more. Some of the political prisoners, especially former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, whose health continues to deteriorate, might not live that long.

The prisoners and their supporters in Haiti are continuing to organize for freedom and they need our help. The Kolektif Fanmi Prizonye, or Prisoners' Families Collective, organized a demonstration outside the Port-au-Prince courthouse Tuesday, March 21, as it has every Tuesday since the beginning of the year.

Yvon Neptune issued a public letter to President Rene Préval from prison, calling on him to free the political prisoners when he can:

"Excellence,

"Once again the poor majority, the unemployed majority, the struggling majority, the illiterate majority - yes, once again this majority used its smarts and its insight to choose what it estimates good, rather what it estimates best in its quest for the necessary changes that will ameliorate life in its country, Haiti.

"Those who have an easy life yet heard and understood the pleas of the majority and their struggle to ameliorate their lot, abobo for their solidarity? The majority encourages them to continue to offer their example of solidarity that balances things out, brings understanding, harmony and the possibility of peace in a society.

"I take advantage of this opportunity to thank you for your decision to help the majority stand in unity, no mater how fragile, to cross the presidential election threshold. Please use all the wisdom necessary to maintain the unity, reinforce it, so that the nation can use every positive force so that Haitian people can become one with the land of Haiti, so that slowly but surely every Haitian's lot can improve.

"You are not a coup d'état president. You are a president with a mandate, freely chosen by the people. I wish that all the other elected officials, running for all state office, will come out of the people's will.

"The Feb. 29, 2004, coup caused much turmoil in Haitian people's life. Well before 2004, the coup d'état forces started to wreak havoc and still today they continue their rampage.

"Coup d'état empowered acts can't be construed for justice; they are opposites. When the coup d'état authorities enjoy the complicity of some superpowers, they decide that arbitrary acts are "coup d'état style justice." They transform justice into an improvised justice, on behalf of one or the other or both of them simultaneously protecting their putschists' interests.

"Annette Auguste (Sò Ann) and all of the political prisoners as well as myself, we were not sent to jail by the judiciary. An unjust machine empowered by a coup d'état perpetrated this criminal deed.

"Therefore, the liberation of the political prisoners has nothing to see with justice. The coup d'état authorities, Boniface Alexandre and Gérard Latortue, along with the putschists clan that keeps this regime in power, they are the ones who should release these political prisoners. This should have been done already.

"Release them well before the majority-chosen government takes the office of the presidency.

"That is the type of decision, along with many more like it that would bring hope to the Haitian people that justice can begin to take root, grow strong and last in the country.

"Sincerely,

"Yvon Neptune"

Haiti's current interim president, Boniface Alexandre, was chief judge of the Supreme Court, and before that, a government prosecutor. He had a good reputation as a supporter of the rule of law. Other lawyers would often come to him for advice on complex human rights cases.

We are appealing to that part of Mr. Boniface that once worked for justice. He has a short time left to rescue some of his legacy, to go down in history as the president who finally released the political prisoners instead of being one who held on to the prisoners until the end.

Write Interim President Alexandre, and implore him to release the political prisoners by March 29. A sample letter in English is below. A French translation is available at http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_halfhourforhaiti.htm:

His Excellency Boniface Alexandre

Interim President of the Republic of Haiti

Palais National

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Your Excellency:

I am writing to you as the Interim President of Haiti, but also as Me. Alexandre, the lawyer, prosecutor and judge who worked hard to establish the rule of law in Haiti and was a role model and advisor to young lawyers. I am asking you to free all of Haiti's political prisoners by March 29, the 19th anniversary of the Constitution.

As a man of the law, you know well that the detention of Yvon Neptune, Annette Auguste, Jacques Mathelier and dozens of others has not conformed to Haitian legal procedures or respected constitutional protections. You are also aware that this illegality has been well documented by the United Nations, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and even the U.S. State Department in its recent human rights report on Haiti.

Many prisoners have been kept in jail for two years or more without any legal justification. Some, especially former Prime Minister Neptune, may not survive much longer if they are not released for medical treatment.

This illegal, politically-motivated detention causes much suffering to the prisoners and their families. It also undermines respect for all the law in Haiti and revives a troubling precedent that most Haitians thought they had left behind on March 29, 1987. Finally, the existence of political prisoners in your presidency undermines the good reputation you had worked so hard to build.

You have a short time left in which to make an important decision about your legacy. You can go down in history with the Duvaliers and other presidents who held onto political prisoners to the very end, or you can be remembered as the president who released the political prisoners when he could.

Please make March 29 a celebration of the Constitution, not a memorial service, for everyone - the prisoners and their families, yourself and everyone who cares about justice in Haiti.

Thank you for your kindness in reading this letter and in considering my request.

You can send the letters by regular mail, or you can send them to IJDH by fax to (206) 350-7986 or email them to avokahaiti [at] aol.com, and we will ensure that they are delivered.

For more information about the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti and human rights in Haiti, see http://www.ijdh.org. To receive Half-Hour for Haiti Action Alerts once per week, send an email to info [at] ijdh.org.

http://www.sfbayview.com/032206/consititutionday032206.shtml