PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb. 23 (IPS) – Hundreds of former soldiers and members of paramilitary groups face prosecution for crimes committed during the bloody military rule that followed the 1991 coup, according to the UN’s top human rights official in Haiti.

‘’We’ve documented more than 100 cases that are now before the courts,’’ said Colin Granderson, the head of a joint United Nations and Organisation of American States (OAS) mission. ‘’We have reason to believe that there at least 300 cases in total that have been brought by victims (to judicial authorities).’’

Granderson presented the results of a nationwide survey by the UN- OAS Internatioonal Civilian Mission (ICM) amid continued concern among human rights groups about the ability, or indeed the political will, of the Haitian government to prosecute those responsible for the Sept. 1991 coup that ushered in a three-year reign of terror.

Some activitists have criticized the U.N.’s human rights mission for not doing enough to help the judicial system bring justice for coup victims. Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), and many large popular organisations have denounced the ‘’reign of impunity,’’ saying ‘’justice delayed is justice denied.’’

‘’The actions taken up until this point by the government to assure, reinforce and guarantee the effective enjoyment and respect of rights is very limited,’’ the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organisations, a coalition of nine religious, educational and development groups, said in a recent statement.

Human rights groups estimated that an estimated 5,000 people died during the period of military rule in haiti.

Haiti’s Truth Commission, which handed in a still confidential report to former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide earlier this month, said that some 20,000 human rights violations, ranging from bloody massacres to politically motivated rape, were committed under the military dictatorship.

Those figures were based on interviews with some 5,500 victims – a sample considered relatively small by the commission.

But since US-led forces ousted the Haitian dictatorship in September 1994, and restored the exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power, only eight perons have appeared before the courts on charges for crimes committed during the coup regime, the ICM said.

In reporting results of the Mission’s survey, Granderson said many problems still remained within the Haitian judicial system. Police, prosecutors and judges had responded very slowly to complaints by victims and, in many cases, alleged criminals had not been arrested and charges.

But the fact that courts were responding to human rights victims complaints – for the first time in the country’s history – was an encouraging step in ending impunity, Granderson said.

‘’There are people that have been courageous enough to make complaints to the courts and the courts are taking them up. I’m not saying it’s going fast, and there are problems, but a process has begun,’’ he told IPS.

Out of the 100 cases documented by ICM observers, 87 related to members of the Haitian terror group the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH). Twelve of the 87 were presently in jail and five others had escaped at some point over the last year, Granderson said.

Father Daniel Roussiere of the Justice and Peace Commission, formed by the Roman Catholic Church, reacted skeptically to the survey, saying that the figure of 300 cases was ‘’exaggerated.’’

He said that in the port town of Gonaives, where his branch of the Justice and Peace Commission is based, the judicial system had improved over the last year, largely as a result of popular pressure. But he argued that the system remains effectively non- functional, citing the release from the Gonaives jail this week of one former Haitian army soldier accused of serious human rights violations.

Roussiere also criticised the ICM for not providing crucial information to help local victims of the coup regime push ahead with their legal complaints.

‘’It’s very easy to say nothing has been done,’’ countered Granderson. ‘’These aren’t’ high profile cases; they are very small – but they are extremely important.’’ (END/IPS/dc/mk/96)

Origin: Rome/HAITI-HUMAN RIGHTS/ ----

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