IAPA Emergency Forum in Haiti on February 3
Miami (January 21, 2005).- In a letter sent by the Inter American Press Association
(IAPA) to the Prime Minister of Haiti, the organization condemned the murder
of a journalist and asked for a prompt investigation, as well as safeguards
for journalists in that country, where there have been reports in past days
of incidents of violence against the media.
The letter addressed to Haitian Prime Minister Gerald Latortue and signed by
Committee of Press of the Press and Information chairman, Gonzalo Marroquin,
condemns the murder of Abdias Jean, correspondent of a Miami radio station and
deplores other incidents against journalists and the media.
The matter of violence and other murders that remain unpunished in Haiti will
be part of the agenda during the IAPA Emergency Forum to be held in Port-au-Prince
on February 3. In early October, the IAPA organized a training seminar on journalism
in danger zones in which 30 journalists from around the country participated.
The following is the complete text of the protest letter:
“Mr. Prime Minister:
On behalf of the 1,300 newspaper members of the Inter American Press Association
throughout the Western Hemisphere, we express our condemnation over the murder
of reporter Abdias Jean, and we ask for an immediate investigation to find those
responsible and demand that there be the necessary safeguards for a free press
in Haiti.
According to reports received at our organization, on January 14 radio reporter
Abdias Jean was covering a police operation and raid in the Village de Dieu
sector of Port-au-Prince - considered a stronghold of supporters of the deposed
President Jean-Betrand Aristide. According to the information received, Jean
was allegedly killed in retaliation for having been witness to the execution
of three children in a case that members of the National Police are also being
blamed.
The reporter’s murder is a serious attack against press freedom and the
public’s right to information, since several people stated that Jean identified
himself as a journalist before being killed.
Therefore, we urge you to take adequate and immediate measures so that the respective
authorities can launch an in-depth investigation to bring those responsible
to justice.
We have also been made aware of a series of attacks reported in the past
few days against media workers. Last Friday, two other journalists from Le
Nouvelliste, Claude Bernard Serant and Jonel Juste, were assaulted by Aristide
supporters. On another occasion, in recent days, the police confiscated videos
and working materials from Harry Francillon, from Tele Ginen, in Port-au-Prince.
We have also been informed of death threats against Joseph Guyler Delva, president
of the Haitian Journalists’ Association.
Mr. Prime Minister, we cannot ignore the fact that one of the pillars of
democracy is a free press. Therefore, it is essential that journalists be
given respect and the necessary safeguards to conduct their work freely.
We hope that the attacks and murder of Abdias Jean, as well as the other
murdered journalists, Jean Leopold Dominique, Brignol Lindor, and Gerad Denoze,
are investigated and those responsible severely punished promptly.”
