Haiti Report for March 28, 2006

The Haiti Report is a compilation and summary of events as described in Haiti and international media prepared by Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY. It does not reflect the opinions of any individual or organization. This service is intended to create a better understanding of the situation in Haiti by presenting the reader with reports that provide a variety of perspectives on the situation.

To make a donation to support this service: Konbit Pou Ayiti, 7 Wall Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930.

IN THIS REPORT:
- Runoff Parliamentary Elections Set for April 21
– Under Secretary Shiner Brings Support for Economic Development to Haiti
- Five police officers arrested on embezzlement and  drug  allegations
- Authorities Concerned About Possible New Outbreak of Violence
- Inauguration Set for May 14
- Discoveries of Human Skulls in Port-au-Prince
- Secretary of State Rice Meets with CARICOM
- Governor Jeb Bush’s Plan for Haiti Finds Little Support
- President-elect Preval Visits U.S. to Gather Support for Haiti’s Development
- Two Individuals Sentenced to Hard Labor for Life for Rape Conviction
- UNICEF Report on Haiti’s High Child Mortality Rate
- Police Director General Andresol Denounces Corruption in Judicial System
- Binational Ecotourism Fair in Dajabon
- PAPDA Organizes Meeting Calling for Departure of UN Troops
- Representatives Foley and Waters Meet with President-elect Preval
- A New Energy Alternative for Border of Haiti and Dominican Republic
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Releases Report on Administration of Justice in Haiti

Runoff Parliamentary Elections Set for April 21:
Haiti’s electoral authorities on Saturday brought forward slightly the date for runoff elections to pick senators and legislators.  Originally due to take place on March 19 and then rescheduled for April 23, the second-round vote will now take place on April 21, a Friday, ostensibly to allow officials the weekend to prepare for classes on Monday the schools that will be used as voting centers. ”We finally decided to organize the second round on April 21, which is a Friday, for practical reasons,” Max Mathurin, president of the Provisional Electoral Council, told Reuters. Mathurin said the council decided to hold the runoff on a Friday to give election workers the whole weekend to put desks, chairs and other equipment back in place in time for schools to open on Monday. None of the contenders in the races held alongside the presidential election on Feb. 7 for 30 Senate seats and 99 seats in the lower house appear to have won the majority — 50 percent plus one vote — needed for a first-round victory. No party seems likely to obtain an outright majority but Preval has been meeting other parties in hopes of building a governing coalition that can bridge the deep divides in the country of 8.5 million, in particular the deep distrust between the poor and the small, wealthy elite. (Reuters, 3/11)

Under Secretary Shiner Brings Support for Economic Development to Haiti:
Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs Josette S. Shiner will travel to Haiti from 24-25 March to meet with President-elect Rene Preval, international development organizations, and business leaders to promote economic growth and opportunity, as Haiti works to build a viable democracy. As part of her work on the United Nations High-Level Panel focusing on humanitarian and development assistance reform, Under Secretary Shiner will also tour a UN project promoting democratic institution-building and economic empowerment. ”Haitians should be proud of their recent successful presidential elections. Not only does the United States stand ready to support Haitian democracy, we also want to help Haiti develop its economy, so as to provide hope and opportunity to the Haitian people,” said Under Secretary Shiner. “I look forward to listening and learning from Haitians about their plans to build a better future for themselves and their children.”                             

The United States is Haiti’s largest bilateral donor and largest trading partner. U.S. assistance to Haiti during the last three years, including fiscal year 2006, totals over $500 million and is aimed to strengthen governance, improve security, foster broad-based economic recovery and growth, and address critical humanitarian needs. Haitian expatriate remittances (estimated at over $800 million and mostly stemming from the U.S.) have also kept the economy afloat. Key components of the U.S. assistance program include: Health: The United States provides healthcare services to 40% of the Haitian population. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief allocated over $40 million in 2005.  Education: U.S. programs are improving primary education at 450 primary schools; 150,000 children and youth have benefited thus far. Economic growth: U.S. programs have distributed more than 200,000 loans to small and micro enterprises; provided $24 million to support electricity generation; and created over 200,000 short-term jobs. Food Aid and Disaster Relief: The food assistance program has distributed 34,000 metric tons of emergency food relief, equivalent to 850,000 food rations. Responding to the devastation of Tropical Storm Jeanne in 2004, a $34 million program is repairing homes, schools and other public buildings. (Media Note, State Dept, 3/22)

Five police officers arrested on embezzlement and  drug  allegations: 
Five officers of the Haitian National Police (PNH) stationed at the regional directorate at Nippes were arrested Saturday by the office of the PNH inspector general. The officers belonged to the unit named UDMO. They have been accused of involvement in a scheme to misappropriate funds and drugs valued at US$75,000. According to PNH spokesperson Marie Yolande Damas, the officers committed their alleged crimes during a search conducted without police authorization in Carrefour Desruisseaux at the entrance to Miragoane. Marie Yolande said she is counting on the collaboration of the public to shed light on this case. (AHP, 3/20)

Authorities Concerned About Possible New Outbreak of Violence:
Authorities on Monday [20 March] expressed  concern that reports of kidnappings and other criminal gang activities could spell a new outbreak of violence in the troubled Caribbean nation. Interim President Boniface Alexandre’s chief of staff, Michel Brunache, and police officials said the Haitian national police force were working to quell bandits, who through a change in tactics, have been able to perpetrate criminal acts.”We have noted an increase in the criminality rate in the capital and it is a source of concern for the government,” said Brunache. However, he said “there is no comparison with what we’ve seen during the months preceding the 7 February elections”.

Several armed groups from the dangerous slum of Cite Soleil and from other popular neighbourhoods announced shortly before the first round of the ballot that they had put down their weapons. Officials fear, however, the security situation could deteriorate  again after about eight weeks of relative quiet, bringing an end to the truce the country has seen since before the holding of the first round of the presidential and legislative elections last month. The director for the judicial police, Michael Lucius, in charge of  the police department fighting criminal gang activities, said gang  members, such as kidnappers, were moving to different locations. ”The bandits are now using new tactics and move to other locations  because they no longer have the possibility to operate in their usual areas of influence,” said Lucius. “We are fighting to make sure they don’t turn other safe areas into bastions for violence,” he added.

Heavily armed bandits have been calling the shots in the northern town of Gonaives over the past few weeks. Several people have been shot dead and the Haitian police, supported by UN troops, have been unable to restore security there. Some 2,000 people had been kidnapped for ransom from March 2005 up to now and over 2,000 others have been shot dead over the past two years  either during police raids on popular slums to chase bandits, by the bandits themselves or when caught in crossfire, according to human rights groups and witnesses. (Caribbean Media Corporation, 3/20)

Inauguration Set for May 14:
Haiti´s president-elect Rene Preval will be sworn in by the National Assembly on May 14, official sources announced. A press release from the office of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue indicates Preval will take office on that date, according to the Haitian Constitution of 1987. Preval´s inauguration, initially scheduled for March 29, was postponed because of delay in the second round of the legislative elections, slated for April 21. The Hope Party candidate won the elections last February 7. The agronomic engineer, 63 years old, obtained 51.15 percent of the vote. (Prensa Latina, 3/27)

Discoveries of Human Skulls in Port-au-Prince:
Eleven new human skulls were found Monday in a garbage dump in Canapé Vert neighborhood, Port au Prince, amounting to 28 skulls discovered in the last 72 hours in Haiti. Saturday morning, the Haitian police lit upon 17 skulls in a garbage-strewn wooded area in Petionville suburb, not far from several upscale restaurants. Immediately, Brazilian UN peacekeepers came to that place, giving their support to the national police. Eyewitnesses said the bones were thrown by truckers.  (Prensa Latina, 3/26)

Seventeen human skulls were found Saturday in a trash-strewn wooded lot outside Haiti’s capital — including at least some discovered inside a container that had been tossed from a passing car, police and witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter watched as four United Nations civilian police officers measured and numbered the skulls, including some found in small gray plastic buckets. Police then stacked the skulls into a cardboard box and removed them from the suburban lot, which is adjacent to several restaurants frequented by wealthy Haitians and U.N. officials.  ”All we know is that 17 skulls have been discovered,” said U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst. He said Haitian authorities supported by U.N. police were investigating.
   
Most of the skulls had a yellow-brown tint, as though they had been buried at some point. Only one seen by an AP reporter appeared bleached, and the buckets appeared new. ”It could be a homicide,” said Frantz Lerebours, a spokesman for Haiti’s National Police. “The forensic scientists will have to analyze to skulls to find out what happened to those people because it’s very curious that we found them all in the same place.” Emmanuel Crepsac, 44, who lives nearby, said bystanders told him they saw a container tossed from a moving car earlier Saturday. He said at least some of the skulls were inside the container, which rolled down an embankment into the trash-strewn wooded area. ”They said someone in the car just threw something down there and then sped off. When people went to see what it was, they saw some skulls,” Crepsac said. Police arrived after hearing reports of the discovery. (AP, 3/25)

Secretary of State Rice Meets with CARICOM:
After two days of meetings with Caribbean leaders, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared to have cooled some of their anger toward the United States but failed to persuade them to embrace the new government in Haiti, United States officials said Wednesday. One goal of her visit here was to persuade the other Caribbean nations to take forceful steps to help the new Haitian government stabilize the country and deal with its crushing problems. What she got was a commitment to readmit Haiti to the Caribbean Community of nations and a vague promise to help Haiti in the future. ”Where do we go in the future?” asked Fred Mitchell, the Bahamian foreign minister and chairman of the Caribbean Community. “We remain engaged” with Haiti “and will continue to review the matter.”

Relations between the United States and the Caribbean Community, known as Caricom, have been strained and embittered for two years, in part because of opposition here to the war in Iraq but also because of the role of the United States in Haiti. Many Caribbean leaders contend that the United States forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power in 2004. Before this visit, Ms. Rice met twice with groups of Caribbean foreign ministers, once during an Organization of American States meeting last spring and again at the United Nations in September, but she and her aides said they realized that she had to come here to begin turning the situation around. “We intend not just to continue our relationship but to deepen and broaden” it, she said Wednesday at a news conference with Mr. Mitchell. Several of the Caribbean foreign ministers listened in the front row as she spoke.

At the news conference, Ms. Rice reminded the Caribbean leaders that ”we all have a tremendous stake in the development of a democratic Haiti that can be self-supporting.” If Haiti falls into chaos once again, she added, “that can have an effect on this region and, in fact, an effect on the United States.” (New York Times, 3/22)

Governor Jeb Bush’s Plan for Haiti Finds Little Support:
Gov. Jeb Bush’s vision for a Florida plan to aid Haiti included efforts to improve security, host political reconciliation talks, prepare for disasters and develop the impoverished nation’s economy. But a year after the governor’s Haiti Advisory Group recommended assistance to Florida’s Caribbean neighbor, the state has made little progress toward those goals, some Haitian Americans say. The advisory group, set up in July 2004, called for a state-funded entity to manage an ongoing Florida-Haiti initiative. Despite the Republican Bush’s status as a strong governor whose party controls both houses of the Legislature, the governor could not win $1 million in recommended funding. Florida also delayed work on an ambitious goal: to “sponsor and host” National Dialogue and Reconciliation talks between Haitian political forces and parties. At the suggestion of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bush postponed the conference pending the Haitian elections. Haiti held a presidential election in February and scheduled a legislative runoff for April 21. State officials and members of volunteer groups have made some technical training and information gathering trips to Haiti, but the advisory group’s 25 proposals largely remain a wish list. ”They have to put the money where their mouth is,” said Dr. Aldy Castor, a Weston gynecologist and Republican who served on the task force. “If not, this will turn out like many initiatives in Haiti — 1 million projects without a mission.” Still, Castor commended Bush for setting up the taskforce. He also blamed the lack of progress on Haiti’s interim government and political upheaval in the country.

But another task force member, state Rep. Phillip Brutus, D-Miami, said the recommendations have “sat on the shelf gathering dust,” because neither Tallahassee nor Washington has the will to foster real change in Haiti. The largest expatriate Haitian community lives in Florida. They’re among those living abroad who send more than $1 billion in remittances annually to their homeland. When the advisory group submitted its report a year ago, some Haitian Americans greeted it with enthusiasm because Haiti’s interim prime minister, Gerard Latortue, a former Boca Raton retiree, was in power. They hoped his connection to South Florida would allow Haitian-Americans to play a greater role in stabilizing the country. 

Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss said the governor included the $1 million for the Haiti initiative in his recommended state budget last year, but could not convince state legislators to fund it. Bush will try again, Schweiss said. Dan Erikson, an analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank, said the governor’s plan could succeed if it extends beyond his term to the next Florida administration and is continued by his successor. Any effort to help rebuild the impoverished nation should be judged on a long-term basis, Erikson said. States can do little to change a foreign country, but Florida is in a unique position because of its proximity to Haiti and the governor’s relationship to the president, Erikson said

Still, some think the Republican governor and his task force did not go far enough. ”The governor has the good fortune to have the House and the Senate controlled by his party,” said Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of Haitian American Grassroots Coalition in Miami. “If he says he has failed to get funding for those initiatives being proposed by the advisory board, I think this is an indication of his leadership or his commitment regarding Haiti.” Lafortune said many Haitian Americans wanted temporary protected status for Haitian refugees trying to escape political turmoil in their homeland. Temporary protected status allows foreign nationals who might have slipped into the United States illegally, overstayed their visas, or who are seeking asylum, to live and work in the United States without being deported. ”The fact that the advisory board didn’t make TPS a priority sent a bad vibe to the Haitian community here,” Lafortune said. “It seems the advisory board had a political aim to it, instead of a humanitarian aim that people think it should have. It was just a way for the governor to appease the Haitian community by showing that he’s doing something good.” (South Florida Sun Sentinel, 3/26)

President-elect Preval Visits U.S. to Gather Support for Haiti’s Development:
President-elect Rene Preval left Sunday for the United States in a trip aimed at drumming up support for Haiti’s mammoth development needs. He plans to visit New York City. Preval, making his first trip to the U.S. since winning the Feb. 7 election, will visit the United Nations headquarters on Monday for talks with Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Security Council. There are 7,300 U.N. peacekeepers and 1,750 international police in Haiti to help maintain order. Preval said he wants troops to stay until stability returns. On Tuesday, Preval will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Bush and members of Congress. He also will hold talks with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Preval, who is scheduled to take office in May, is seeking to secure large amounts of foreign aid to help rebuild Haiti. Foreign donors have paid out slightly more than half of the $1 billion pledged for reconstruction following the revolt, but observers say the Caribbean nation will need much more to improve roads and ports, boost education and provide security and health care.

Preval will be accompanied by a delegation of Haitian and American business leaders, including Dumarsais Simeus, a millionaire businessman who was barred from running for Haiti’s presidency because he holds U.S. citizenship. Preval also will meet with members of the Haitian immigrant community in New York. He was scheduled to return to Haiti on Wednesday. (AP, 3/26)

Two Individuals Sentenced to Hard Labor for Life for Rape Conviction:
Two individuals were condemned Wednesday, by the magistrate’s court of Port-au-Prince, to hard labor for life, for their involvement in a collective rape, on February 27, 2005, on Marie Camelle Jules and her 16-year-old daughter, Yveline Adras, who was killed after being raped. The two men, Mackenson Joseph and Elifète Beljean, who are part of a group of 5, are accused o committing their crime in the neighborhood of Martissant, south of the capital. Magistrate Brédy Fabien, who headed the court, pointed out that the verdict was given in accordance with Article 281 of the criminal code. According to the magistrate, the accused will have to pay 500,000 gourdes damages to the civil party. The other 3 accused who are on the run will have to answer for their acts, he assured. Yveline Adras’ mother Marie Carmelle Jules welcomed the court’s decision, taken without a jury. However, she declared she feared for her life because the other 3 criminals still haven’t been arrested. The trial took place under pressure from several women organizations which demanded the two men’s sentencing.

In reaction to the sentence Thursday, several women from the populist district of Bel-air declared that it is justice’s duty to punish those who are guilty of rape and other human rights violations. However, they expressed the wish that women organizations of Port-au-Prince launch the same mobilization for the hundreds of women raped in Bel-air and in other populist districts of the capital by attachés, during hasty punishing expeditions in the last two years. Several of them deplored the fact their demands to these organizations haven’t been taken into account because, they said, of their ideological membership. Other residents of Bel-air, victims of abuse or saved from massacres, declared on the occasion that they have always kept from opening up to human rights organizations (which they didn’t name) to avoid exposing themselves to more danger. (AHP, 3/23)

UNICEF Report on Haiti’s High Child Mortality Rate:
One in eight children will likely die before age 5 in Haiti, the highest child mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere, UNICEF said in a report Wednesday. Preventable disease, malnutrition, environmental decay and violence are among the main reasons why 117 children out every 1,000 will die before their fifth birthday in this impoverished Caribbean nation, according to the report. ”There are few more challenging places to have a healthy childhood than Haiti,” said Adriano Gonzalez-Regueral, a representative for the United Nations Children Fund in Haiti, in a statement. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Haiti accounts for 2 percent of all births but nearly 20 percent of deaths for children under 5, the report said.
   
The report blamed many deaths on low immunization for infectious diseases. Only slightly more than half of children are vaccinated for measles in Haiti, a rate lower than sub-Saharan Africa. The report also said Haiti’s massive deforestation had contributed to more deaths among children during the Atlantic hurricane season. Storms killed some 3,000 people in Haiti in 2004, including hundreds of children living in low-lying communities of flimsy tin-and-wood shacks. In addition, many children fall victim to gang violence, which exploded in the slums of the capital of Port-au-Prince.  President-elect Rene Preval, expected to take power in May, has pledged to place homeless children in school. UNICEF also said it was sponsoring programs to boost immunization, improve nutrition and purify water in Haiti. (AP, 3/22)

Police Director General Andresol Denounces Corruption in Judicial System:
The director general of the Haitian National Police (PNH), Mario Andrésol, on Tuesday again denounced the corruption infecting the Haitian judicial system.  According to Mr.  Andrésol, it is unacceptable that police officers would be freed in a manner that is not provided for under Haitian law after having been arrested based on accusations of responsibility for reprehensible crimes. A group of six police officers, including two senior officials (Carlo Lochard and Renan Etienne) accused of involvement in an August 2004 massacre in Port-au-Prince which left more than 10 people dead, were released at the beginning of this month.  ”This type of arbitrary decision constitutes a grave danger and creates a command problem within the police force,” said  Mario Andrésol. It is not appropriate to speak of justice, he said, explaining that these types of situations inevitably create frustrations among both the police and the families of the victims of injustice.  

Mario Andrésol also criticized the attitude of the interim authorities who are practicing a double standard, he said, and who are demonstrating a very high level of favoritism by being lenient toward people who are accused of documented crimes while the authorities have been holding former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune in prison for nearly two years. Yvon Neptune has been incarcerated since June 2004 based on an accusation that he had given the order to perpetrate an alleged massacre in a Saint-Marc hamlet named La Scierie. Two organizations opposed to Mr. Neptune’s government (NCHR/Haiti and RAMICOSM) that pushed for his arrest have never been able to substantiate their accusations or prove that such a massacre was ever committed.  

Before the head of the police spoke out, another senior official, Michael Lysius, central director of the judicial police (DCPJ), denounced a current practice within the judicial system of freeing criminals and bandits upon payment of large sums of money.  A commission formed by the Minister of Justice to shed light on this matter created more confusion by washing its hands of its own responsibility and sending the ball into the court of the head of the judicial police.  The PNH director general considered that the officials of the DCPJ followed appropriate administrative guidelines with regard to the report sent to the office of the PNH director general.  According to Mr. Andrésol,  the DCPJ did not accuse any judge by name in its internal report. The police director said he is determined to encourage these police officers in their mission of justice and deplored the fact that there are too many corrupt judges in the Haitian judicial system.  

On the eve of the installation of the new government, each sector is looking after its petty interests, said Andrésol, affirming that the judiciary, the police and the civil service each have their own gang.  ”And if nothing is done to destroy these gangs, the country will collapse,” he warned.   (AHP, 3/21)

Binational Ecotourism Fair in Dajabon:
Environment Minister Yves André Wainright announced this Tuesday that the second edition of the Binational Ecotourism fair will be held from March 25 to April 9, 2006 in Dajabon in the north of the Dominican Republic. The fair will be celebrating the theme “Protect our rivers along the borders to promote solidarity between the Dominican and Haitian people”.  At a news conference, Yves André Wainright indicated that this fair will enable artisans from both countries to exhibit their wares.  Educational and cultural programs will also be on the agenda, he explained.  This event also aims to achieve greater understanding among local authorities all along the border and to enable Haitian entrepreneurs to gain a better understanding of the Dominican market and to see how to penetrate it, said Mr. Wainright. This will also be an opportunity, he said, to pose the problems of governance in order to better manage the environment in all the watersheds along the borders.  Steps have already been taken by Haiti to promote the transport of merchandise from Ouanaminthe to Dajabon without the payment of customs duties.  Mr. Wainright also announced the release of one million gourdes, which will be applied toward cleaning up the city of Ouanaminthe (in the northeast of Haiti) in connection with this activity.  

For his part, the Dominican Ambassador to Haiti, José Ramilla Serulle, spoke of a number of steps that have been taken by the Dominican authorities to make the fair possible.   The fair features 135 pavilions spread out across 55,000 square meters that have been set up to host the activities, he said.  More than 80 scientific exhibitors from the two countries will be present, said the ambassador. The last day of the fair will be devoted to international cooperation in order to offer other countries the possibility of accompanying Haiti and the Dominican Republic in their joint projects.  The Haitian-Dominican border in the vicinity of Ouanaminthe will remain open from March 25 through April 9 and no citizen from either of the two countries will need a visa to travel from one country to the other. There will be a special visa issued for this period for all who wish to route their travel through Jimani, Ambassador Jose Serulla Ramilla added. The director of the development foundation for alternative tourism in Haiti, who is also a member of one of the foundations in charge of organizing the fair,  Jean Camille Buissereth, considered that this fair will be an opportunity to discover the cultural and ecotouristic potential of the two countries as well as the best forms of cooperation between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.   Mr. Buissereth invited the Haitian people to take part in this fair, which will constitute a solid investment for them, he said. This activity will also make it possible for residents of the two countries to get to know one another better, he said, which will help solve a number of conflicts.   (AHP, 3/21)

PAPDA Organizes Meeting Calling for Departure of UN Troops:
The international weekend of mobilisation against war had echoes in Port-au-Prince, where a meeting was convened on 18 March by the Haitian Platform for Alternative Development (PAPDA), in order to ask for the departure of the UN troops deployed in Haiti. At the Faculty of Human Sciences (FASCH), dozens of Haitians reflected on and discussed various topics, such as the militarisation of Haiti, the US war in Iraq, the class struggle, security, peace, and rebuilding the nation. This organized activity was a prelude to the Anti-Militarism Day on 19 March and was realised as part of a global initiative for peace involving leftist activists, trade unionists, peasant leaders, residents of popular districts of Port-au-Prince, and dozens of students from the FASCH. ”It is a day to denounce the exactions made by the soldiers of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to denounce war and the foreign domination of the countries of the South”, specified Josué Vaval of the PAPDA.

Ansy Vixamar of the organisation, Tet Kole Ti Peyizan (Union of small farmers), stressed that the US occupation of 1915-1934 “which still continues to this day”, cost the lives of some two thousand Haitian peasants. “They massacred two thousand peasants at Marchaterre (South) in 1919 and assassinated an unknown number people in the prison in Cap-Haïtien (North) between 1922 and 1929", stated the peasant leader. Vixamar invited Haitians to make a common front in order to defend the country’s sovereignty, and to create the means to make it possible for Haitian families to provide for the needs of their children. ”The time has come to force the foreign soldiers to withdraw, leaving us to take care of building universities for the benefit of all Haiti’s children”, he declared.

All through the day, a rara band from Martissant (southern suburb of Port-au-Prince) ensured a musical accompaniment, signing along to the rhythms: “The MINUSTAH must leave, it must leave immediately”. The president-elect of Haiti, René Préval, has called for the MINUSTAH troops to remain in Haiti. The country “needs the presence of the MINUSTAH”, comprised of 7,300 soldiers and approximately 1,700 police officers from several countries, declared Préval at the time of his visit to Argentina on 13 March. Préval did however request that “a new orientation” be given to the mandate of the MINUSTAH, without pronouncing on the the length of this mandate. (Alterpresse, 3/20)

Representatives Foley and Waters Meet with President-elect Preval:
Two members of Congress said they are hopeful for Haiti’s future after meeting Monday with President-elect René Préval and the beleaguered nation’s business leaders. Reps. Mark Foley, R-Fla., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif., flew to the troubled Caribbean nation early Monday to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to Haiti and Préval, as he attempts to bring economic and political stability to the country. Both said the discussions focused on areas of mutual interest: security, jobs and a well-trained police force. They stayed away from addressing more thorny topics, such as the possible return of Préval’s one-time ally, ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, or the release of Aristide’s imprisoned supporters arrested after his 2004 ouster. ‘’Any discussions would have been counterproductive,’’ Foley said when he returned to Miami on Monday afternoon. ``[Préval] needs time to put together his government, his Cabinet.’’

During their hour-long meeting, Foley said Préval affirmed his commitment to having a depoliticized police force, while stressing his vision for providing healthcare, education, water and electricity to the Haitian people. He also discussed the importance of creating jobs. ’’It was a refreshing meeting,’’ said Foley, who with Waters plans to host a three-day visit by Préval to Washington next Monday through Wednesday. Foley hopes to have Préval meet with key members of Congress, as well as President Bush, in hopes of building support for a Haiti aid bill that has been churning through Congress for two years without success. Haitian manufacturers estimate that the bill, aptly called HOPE, would create about 40,000 textile jobs over the next two years. It would be more than twice the number the country currently has. ’’We see this as a new beginning and new opportunities,’’ said Waters, noting that she was impressed by Préval and his vision for Haiti. Waters, an Aristide supporter, said she stressed during her meetings that ``Haiti belongs to all of the people. . . People must work together for the good of Haiti.’’ (Miami Herald, 3/21)

A New Energy Alternative for Border of Haiti and Dominican Republic:
A proposal for producing energy from alternative sources along the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic could be a first step towards development for Haiti. ”The solution for the crisis in Haiti should come from within the island” that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, Johanna Mendelson-Forman, director of the United Nations Foundation’s Peace, Security and Human Rights Programme, told IPS. She recommended a focus on development that sees Hispaniola Island as a whole, noting that while the Dominican economy is much more advanced, the government in that country is afraid that if Haiti collapses, its failure would drag them both down. On the Dominican side of the border are plantations of Jatropha curcas shrubs, which produce the physic nut (also known as Barbados nut), used to extract vegetable oil. The oil can be refined into biodiesel, an alternative fuel that could help ease dependence on costly oil imports, she said. The idea, which has the support of Germany, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), and the private sector in the Dominican Republic, “is a development alternative that could also help restore the soil (in Haiti), which has been devastated by intense deforestation,” she explained. That is because the Jatropha curcas is a drought-resistant shrub that helps alleviate soil degradation, prevents soil erosion and serves as a natural boundary fence or live hedge.

Brazil, which heads up the international military mission in Haiti and has decades of experience producing fuel alcohol (ethanol) from sugar cane, can provide assistance in the form of know-how and experts, said Mendelson-Forman. ”The problem is that Haiti does not offer fast profits, which is why teams of experts specialising in development are needed, to carry this kind of project forward,” she added. “Haitian entrepreneurs do not invest in their country, and it is unlikely that investment will come from abroad.” A development approach that focuses on Hispaniola Island as a whole can help boost cooperation between the two countries and the flow of international aid to the island, she argued. However, the government of the Dominican Republic cannot do it on its own.. It needs support from the United Nations, the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the multilateral lending institutions, she underlined.

Mendelson-Forman said the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is very concerned about the soaring international oil prices and that it is especially interested in programmes for the development of alternative, sustainable sources of energy, she said in a presentation on the Buenos Aires campus of the Italian Universitá di Bologna. In addition, some officials in Washington believe that support for alternative energy initiatives can help counteract Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s growing influence in the Caribbean, she said. (IPS, 3/16)

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Releases Report on Administration of Justice in Haiti:
Today, during its 124th Regular Period of Sessions, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its report on the situation of the administration of justice in the Republic of Haiti.  The report, entitled “Haiti: Failed Justice or the Rule of Law? Challenges Ahead for Haiti and the International Community”, evaluates the current status of the administration of justice in Haiti in light of its obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments. The report concludes that the justice system in Haiti is gravely deficient in almost all respects and systematically fails to protect the fundamental human rights of the Haitian people. The report also emphasizes that efforts to address Haiti’s present and serious political, economic and social problems will not succeed without urgent reforms to strengthen the administration of justice and the rule of law in Haiti, and will require ongoing, coordinated and sustained support from OAS Member States and other members of the international community.

The report analyzes three main areas of the administration of justice in Haiti: law enforcement, the court system, and the system of detention facilities and prisons. Among other conclusions, the report finds that the national police force suffers from grave shortages of officers and resources, lacks a clear and enforced hierarchy of command and control, and is tainted by corruption and human rights abuses. Also according to the report, the court system is plagued by inadequate resources and training as well as outdated laws, resulting in chronic and unacceptable delays in the judicial process and systemic impunity for serious human rights violations. Further, the report finds that the conditions in Haiti’s prisons and other detention facilities fall far short of minimum international standards, including special protections for minors.  In light of these and other fundamental deficiencies, the report calls upon the international community to expedite the delivery of funds pledged to Haiti in 2004 and to take the measures necessary to ensure that their justice initiatives in Haiti result in lasting change. The release of the report is particularly timely in light of the recent election of René Préval as Haiti’s new President following a particularly violent and unstable period in the country’s history. As President Préval takes office, the Commission urges his government to make reform of the justice system a critical priority. An Executive Summary of the report is attached to this press release and the full text of the report can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.cidh.org. (IACHR, 3/16)