LaTortue thinks judge will decide on Neptune this weekend
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Jens Iverson
Jun 5, 2005, 12:28:06 AM6/5/05
to HaitianPolit...@googlegroups.com
Hello,
Please find below an article which predicts more news shortly. Neptune
reportedly testified for seven hours before the judge. LaTortue's opinion
and attitude on the trial is on display.
Regards,
Jens
http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=28950
HAITI:
Courts to Decide on Ex-Prime Minister's Case, Says Gov't
Darío Montero
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jun 4 (IPS) - The courts in Haiti should reach a decision
this weekend on the case of former prime minister Yvon Neptune, who has been
in jail for the past year and on a hunger strike since mid-April, said his
successor Gerard Latortue.
According to Prime Minister Latortue, nearly two weeks ago Neptune
testified for more than seven hours before the judge handling his case and
²now we are awaiting his decision, which is certain to come this weekend,
and we will know whether he will be convicted or not, but the case is
strictly limited to the judicial sphere.²
²Neptune's state of health has given rise to many fanciful rumours,² since
²one of the doctors of the military forces in the Argentine hospital (set up
by that country as part of the United Nations peacekeeping operation) said
over a month ago that he could die in just 24 to 48 hours,² said Latortue.
In a press conference Friday with a group of Uruguayan journalists visiting
Haiti this week, the interim prime minister responded with sarcasm and made
no attempt to conceal his irritation when he was asked about the health and
legal status of Neptune, a leader of ousted president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's Lavalas Family party.
The reporters are visiting this Caribbean island nation on the invitation
of the Uruguayan military contingent, the second-largest in the U.N.
Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), after the Brazilian contingent.
²You can see, then, the manipulation that has surrounded this case. Well,
he has health problems, but if he does not eat he will have problems,
although so far there are no worries. But at any rate, we are keeping track
of his situation day-to-day,² said the prime minister.
Neptune, the prime minister in the government of Aristide, who was
overthrown on Feb. 29, 2004, has been held in a house that is an extension
of the prison, along with five other Lavalas Family leaders, since he was
discharged from the Argentine hospital.
His situation ²is a very serious political problem, and there is great
pressure...for him to be either released or tried,² the head of the MINUSTAH
military forces, Brazilian General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro, told IPS after
the news briefing.
Neptune, who was arrested in June 2004, accused of instigating a massacre
of Aristide opponents in February in the northern city of Saint Marc, has
been held without trial or formal charges.
In early May, he refused an offer by the government of caretaker president
Boniface Alexandre to release him on the condition that he go into exile in
the Dominican Republic, which shares Hispaniola Island with Haiti.
The Organisation of American States (OAS), human rights officials in the
U.N. peacekeeping mission, and international human rights organisations have
protested the situation.
The charges against Neptune are widely believed to be politically
motivated.
Latortue complained about the international pressure, and especially took
aim at the Caribbean Community (Caricom), to which Haiti belongs.
Caricom immediately condemned the overthrow of Aristide, who is now living
in exile in South Africa.
²Neither Caricom nor any other organisation has the right to intervene in
the legal situation of any individual in Haiti. It is entirely up to the
local courts to decide on this case,² Latortue said in response to a
question about the Caribbean bloc.
Asked about the justice system's delay in reaching a decision on Neptune's
case, Latortue maintained that the former prime minister ²himself is
responsible for the delay, because he has systematically refused to appear
in the judicial hearing.²
²I have a list of the number of times that Neptune refused to testify,² he
said.
²Mr. Neptune must explain why he has been unable to do so,² he added. ²But
I must tell you that the Haitian government has no interest in holding him
in jail without bringing him before a judge, and we are only hoping that the
law will be enforced. The government has not, and will not, interfere in
this case.²
Standing behind an elegant podium in one of the dozens of rooms in the
immense ministerial palace, Latortue questioned aspects of how MINUSTAH is
functioning, which he said he would discuss next week with the U.N. Security
council.
The news briefing began with an incident that took the 24 Uruguayan
journalists by surprise. Upon entering the room, flanked by two beefy
bodyguards, Latortue detected the presence of an ²intruder²: journalist
Ginger Thompson from The New York Times.
²You are not Uruguayan,² he told her curtly. He then had her sent out of
the room, and reprimanded his head of security for his ²negligence².
But with that out of the way, he immediately shifted to a more cordial
tone, welcoming the remaining reporters and declaring that MINUSTAH had been
a highly positive instrument, although ²there are problems, as with
everything else in life.²
²There are problems with the distribution of troops, and with the ability
of soldiers to deal with situations that perhaps could be better handled by
the police. There are also problems in terms of knowledge of the terrain,
and coordination between MINUSTAH, the U.N. civilian police (who are part of
the mission) and the much-diminished local police forces,² he noted.
Latortue advocated the establishment of a unified command for the different
components of the peacekeeping mission.
²Next week I will be meeting with U.N. officials and the Security Council
in New York, to present Haiti's position and discuss the changes that will
need to be made after a vote is taken on the extension of the mission's
mandate,² he announced.
The U.N. Security Council resolved on Tuesday to extend MINUSTAH's mandate
until Jun. 24 and discuss the possibility of a longer extension. U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan believes the mission should remain in Haiti for
a full additional year.
General Heleno Ribeiro supports the idea of a unified command for all
MINUSTAH members, who include military troops, civilian police officers,
human rights officials and electoral advisors.
Nevertheless, an Uruguayan officer who has taken part in numerous
peacekeeping missions told IPS he was sceptical about this actually
happening, because ²the U.N. bureaucracy doesn't accept changes easily,²
even if they are aimed at improving the effectiveness of operations.
²The changes we want are not aimed at stepping up repression or increasing
humanitarian aid,² stressed Latortue.
²We are against repression, and we also do not believe that we need
soldiers to be involved in humanitarian tasks. What we need is to reorganise
the distribution of MINUSTAH troops, with more forces assigned to conflict
zones, like the Port-au-Prince neighbourhoods of Cité Soleil and Bel-Air,²
he said, suggesting that troops could be moved out of the southwest region
of Haiti, where the Uruguayan contingent is currently based.
Latortue said the problems that have emerged stem from the fact that ²some
soldiers have experience in keeping the peace and dealing with gangs, and
some do it very well, while others do not.²
He also alluded to ²difficulties with the environment that the U.N.
soldiers come from,² but despite being pressed by the journalists to be more
specific, he refused to say anything further on the subject, ²because these
are confidential matters, for reasons of security.²
Finally, like all of the other Haitian officials consulted by IPS this
week, Latortue was hesitant to talk about Aristide.
When questioned about the legal status of the ousted leader, the prime
minister merely commented that ²accusations have been made against him, and
these are being investigated, but he has not been prosecuted.²
Aristide, the first democratically elected president in the history of
Haiti, maintains that he was forced to resign by U.S. marines, who then
placed him on a plane that took him to the Central African Republic.
(END/2005)
Home Page | Global affairs | Africa | Asia-Pacific | Caribbean |
Europe | Latin America | Middle East | North America | Environment |
Development | Human Rights | Columns | Culture | Subscription |
Reprint | About IPS
Copyright © 2005 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
--
Jens Iverson
J.D. Candidate, UC Hastings College of the Law
http://HastingsHumanRights.org
http://HastingsToHaiti.org
Currently gratefully accepting help regarding:
* NYC, June-August: Free housing/house-sitting/pet-sitting (with housing)
* Public International Law contacts and inspiration
* Informal music-making opportunities
* Legal ways to be filled with joy while doing well in law school
* An accurate, useful world view
Please find below an article which predicts more news shortly. Neptune
reportedly testified for seven hours before the judge. LaTortue's opinion
and attitude on the trial is on display.
Regards,
Jens
http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=28950
HAITI:
Courts to Decide on Ex-Prime Minister's Case, Says Gov't
Darío Montero
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jun 4 (IPS) - The courts in Haiti should reach a decision
this weekend on the case of former prime minister Yvon Neptune, who has been
in jail for the past year and on a hunger strike since mid-April, said his
successor Gerard Latortue.
According to Prime Minister Latortue, nearly two weeks ago Neptune
testified for more than seven hours before the judge handling his case and
²now we are awaiting his decision, which is certain to come this weekend,
and we will know whether he will be convicted or not, but the case is
strictly limited to the judicial sphere.²
²Neptune's state of health has given rise to many fanciful rumours,² since
²one of the doctors of the military forces in the Argentine hospital (set up
by that country as part of the United Nations peacekeeping operation) said
over a month ago that he could die in just 24 to 48 hours,² said Latortue.
In a press conference Friday with a group of Uruguayan journalists visiting
Haiti this week, the interim prime minister responded with sarcasm and made
no attempt to conceal his irritation when he was asked about the health and
legal status of Neptune, a leader of ousted president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's Lavalas Family party.
The reporters are visiting this Caribbean island nation on the invitation
of the Uruguayan military contingent, the second-largest in the U.N.
Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), after the Brazilian contingent.
²You can see, then, the manipulation that has surrounded this case. Well,
he has health problems, but if he does not eat he will have problems,
although so far there are no worries. But at any rate, we are keeping track
of his situation day-to-day,² said the prime minister.
Neptune, the prime minister in the government of Aristide, who was
overthrown on Feb. 29, 2004, has been held in a house that is an extension
of the prison, along with five other Lavalas Family leaders, since he was
discharged from the Argentine hospital.
His situation ²is a very serious political problem, and there is great
pressure...for him to be either released or tried,² the head of the MINUSTAH
military forces, Brazilian General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro, told IPS after
the news briefing.
Neptune, who was arrested in June 2004, accused of instigating a massacre
of Aristide opponents in February in the northern city of Saint Marc, has
been held without trial or formal charges.
In early May, he refused an offer by the government of caretaker president
Boniface Alexandre to release him on the condition that he go into exile in
the Dominican Republic, which shares Hispaniola Island with Haiti.
The Organisation of American States (OAS), human rights officials in the
U.N. peacekeeping mission, and international human rights organisations have
protested the situation.
The charges against Neptune are widely believed to be politically
motivated.
Latortue complained about the international pressure, and especially took
aim at the Caribbean Community (Caricom), to which Haiti belongs.
Caricom immediately condemned the overthrow of Aristide, who is now living
in exile in South Africa.
²Neither Caricom nor any other organisation has the right to intervene in
the legal situation of any individual in Haiti. It is entirely up to the
local courts to decide on this case,² Latortue said in response to a
question about the Caribbean bloc.
Asked about the justice system's delay in reaching a decision on Neptune's
case, Latortue maintained that the former prime minister ²himself is
responsible for the delay, because he has systematically refused to appear
in the judicial hearing.²
²I have a list of the number of times that Neptune refused to testify,² he
said.
²Mr. Neptune must explain why he has been unable to do so,² he added. ²But
I must tell you that the Haitian government has no interest in holding him
in jail without bringing him before a judge, and we are only hoping that the
law will be enforced. The government has not, and will not, interfere in
this case.²
Standing behind an elegant podium in one of the dozens of rooms in the
immense ministerial palace, Latortue questioned aspects of how MINUSTAH is
functioning, which he said he would discuss next week with the U.N. Security
council.
The news briefing began with an incident that took the 24 Uruguayan
journalists by surprise. Upon entering the room, flanked by two beefy
bodyguards, Latortue detected the presence of an ²intruder²: journalist
Ginger Thompson from The New York Times.
²You are not Uruguayan,² he told her curtly. He then had her sent out of
the room, and reprimanded his head of security for his ²negligence².
But with that out of the way, he immediately shifted to a more cordial
tone, welcoming the remaining reporters and declaring that MINUSTAH had been
a highly positive instrument, although ²there are problems, as with
everything else in life.²
²There are problems with the distribution of troops, and with the ability
of soldiers to deal with situations that perhaps could be better handled by
the police. There are also problems in terms of knowledge of the terrain,
and coordination between MINUSTAH, the U.N. civilian police (who are part of
the mission) and the much-diminished local police forces,² he noted.
Latortue advocated the establishment of a unified command for the different
components of the peacekeeping mission.
²Next week I will be meeting with U.N. officials and the Security Council
in New York, to present Haiti's position and discuss the changes that will
need to be made after a vote is taken on the extension of the mission's
mandate,² he announced.
The U.N. Security Council resolved on Tuesday to extend MINUSTAH's mandate
until Jun. 24 and discuss the possibility of a longer extension. U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan believes the mission should remain in Haiti for
a full additional year.
General Heleno Ribeiro supports the idea of a unified command for all
MINUSTAH members, who include military troops, civilian police officers,
human rights officials and electoral advisors.
Nevertheless, an Uruguayan officer who has taken part in numerous
peacekeeping missions told IPS he was sceptical about this actually
happening, because ²the U.N. bureaucracy doesn't accept changes easily,²
even if they are aimed at improving the effectiveness of operations.
²The changes we want are not aimed at stepping up repression or increasing
humanitarian aid,² stressed Latortue.
²We are against repression, and we also do not believe that we need
soldiers to be involved in humanitarian tasks. What we need is to reorganise
the distribution of MINUSTAH troops, with more forces assigned to conflict
zones, like the Port-au-Prince neighbourhoods of Cité Soleil and Bel-Air,²
he said, suggesting that troops could be moved out of the southwest region
of Haiti, where the Uruguayan contingent is currently based.
Latortue said the problems that have emerged stem from the fact that ²some
soldiers have experience in keeping the peace and dealing with gangs, and
some do it very well, while others do not.²
He also alluded to ²difficulties with the environment that the U.N.
soldiers come from,² but despite being pressed by the journalists to be more
specific, he refused to say anything further on the subject, ²because these
are confidential matters, for reasons of security.²
Finally, like all of the other Haitian officials consulted by IPS this
week, Latortue was hesitant to talk about Aristide.
When questioned about the legal status of the ousted leader, the prime
minister merely commented that ²accusations have been made against him, and
these are being investigated, but he has not been prosecuted.²
Aristide, the first democratically elected president in the history of
Haiti, maintains that he was forced to resign by U.S. marines, who then
placed him on a plane that took him to the Central African Republic.
(END/2005)
Home Page | Global affairs | Africa | Asia-Pacific | Caribbean |
Europe | Latin America | Middle East | North America | Environment |
Development | Human Rights | Columns | Culture | Subscription |
Reprint | About IPS
Copyright © 2005 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
--
Jens Iverson
J.D. Candidate, UC Hastings College of the Law
http://HastingsHumanRights.org
http://HastingsToHaiti.org
Currently gratefully accepting help regarding:
* NYC, June-August: Free housing/house-sitting/pet-sitting (with housing)
* Public International Law contacts and inspiration
* Informal music-making opportunities
* Legal ways to be filled with joy while doing well in law school
* An accurate, useful world view
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