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Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 9:32 PM
Subject: [unioNews] Fwd: Haiti: International Forces Must Assert Control
From Human Rights Watch
Haiti: International Forces Must Assert Control
More Troops Urgently Needed to Protect Human Rights
(New York, March 3, 2004) - International troops must immediately begin
to assert effective control over Port-au-Prince and the rest of Haiti,
Human Rights Watch said today. In the power vacuum existing after the
fall of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government, armed
rebel forces exercise de facto authority over the country and are
reportedly engaging in reprisal killings.
The rebel forces entered Port-au-Prince on Monday and immediately took
over government buildings, including the former headquarters of the
Haitian army. At a press conference held on Tuesday, rebel leader Guy
Philippe declared himself "military chief" of the army. "The country is
in my hands," he reportedly stated.
"It is irresponsible for the international community to abdicate
effective power over Haiti to armed insurgents whose leaders include men
responsible for some of Haiti's worst abuses," said Joanne Mariner,
deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Americas Division. "To do so
would be a recipe for continued violence."
Although detailed information was not yet available, Human Rights Watch
has already received reports of reprisal killings of Aristide supporters
in Port-au-Prince.
U.S. government spokesmen have dismissed the rebels' claimed role in
governing Haiti, but U.S. military forces have failed to back up such
statements with action. Although U.S., French and Canadian forces are in
Port-au-Prince, they have shown little indication of challenging the
rebels' control over the city.
Among the leaders of the insurgency are such notorious figures as Louis
Jodel Chamblain, a former paramilitary responsible for countless
atrocities under the military government that ruled Haiti from 1991 to
1994. The rebels have stated their intention of reestablishing the
Haitian military, an institution with a long and shameful history of
repressing political movements and propping up authoritarian
governments. The army was disbanded by then-President Aristide in the
wake of the 1994 U.S. military intervention in Haiti.
Human Rights Watch called on the United States and other countries to
send additional troops to Haiti to secure the country in accordance with
the U.N. Security Council's February 29 resolution. This resolution
authorizes the immediate deployment of a Multinational Interim Force to
"contribute to a secure and stable environment in the Haitian capital
and elsewhere in the country."
"Haiti remains unstable and insecure," said Mariner. "The international
community must take rapid steps to take the country back from armed
criminals and thugs who are now in control of the country."
For more information on human rights in Haiti:
http://hrw.org/doc?t=americas&c=haiti
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