Martelly explicitly threatens possible reprisals of “the street” against Haitian journalist

Haitian Journalists Condemn Martelly for Threats (AlterPresse article)

English translation of the statement posted on AlterPresse by Ronald Colbert, General Manager of the Board of Trustees:

Declaration of the Médialternatif Group, dated March 11, 2011

The Group Médialternatif (GM) takes very seriously the threats uttered to the editor and journalist of this agency affiliated with AlterPresse, Gotson Pierre, and consequently with the whole of the journalistic world, by the candidate for the [Haitian] presidency Joseph Michel Martelly, at the time of the televised debate of Wednesday March 9, 2011.

Questioned about his management abilities in light of a document made pubic concerning his debts to US banks and how that reflects on his ability to assume leadership responsibilities, Martelly launched into a fit of anger: “Kite L vini/voye yo voye L/M ap tan Li” ("Let's go! Bring them. Bring it. I'm ready.") Martelly explicitly evoked possible reprisals of “the street”.

Should it be believed that Martelly has a list of journalists who he does not favor who he believes are acting to discredit him?

The serious declarations of the candidate should be considered, rightly, as threats to the freedom of the press and of expression, which are assets going back to February 7, 1986, the fall of the sanguinary dictatorship of Duvalier.

The GM welcomes the vigilance of the national press and international community, which upholds these principles, and invites the community as a whole, as well as the entire enterprise to determine it's own conclusions from the aggressive position towards the media and journalists, taken by Martelly, who aspires to be the presidential chairman of the republic.

The Médialternatif Group reserves the right to take appropriate measures vis-a-vis the resurgence of institutional threats to the free exercise of the journalistic profession, guaranteed by the Constitution of March 29, 1987.

For the Board of trustees of the GM,
Ronald Colbert

Towards the end of the video above, Martelly shakes his fist at journalists declaring: "It's war. Let's go to war!"

Also relevant in this discussion of freedom of the press is the recent (suspicious) death of Jean Richard Loiuis Charles who was a journalist at Radio Kiskeya, in haiti.

Journalist Jean Richard Louis-Charles was killed on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, an apparent the victim of an attempted robbery.

Louis-Charles is the first journalist to be killed in the Western Hemisphere this year according to Reporters Without Borders. RWB said they are "troubled" by the circumstances of Louis-Charles death and await the conclusions of the investigation. The other man killed at the scene was Jean Wilner Duperval, one of the three suspected robbers. According to Haitian police at the time, two accomplices were still being sought and they were to deploy undercover police to try to curb crime in the area.

Father of two children, Jean-Louis Richard Charles was shot twice in the head and neck Wednesday at noon at Capois Street (downtown Port-au-Prince) shortly after completing a transaction at a commercial bank.

His alleged killer, was identified as Jean Wilner Duperval, a prison escapee, who was immediately shot down by a plainclothes policeman.

According to the spokesman of the National Police, Frantz Lerebours, the man, who was actively sought, had escaped from the National Penitentiary, the civil prison in the capital, along with nearly 5,000 other prisoners in the minutes that followed the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

Radio Kiskeya (Feb. 11, 2011)

Sources:

Michel "Sweet Mickey"Martelly Declares War On Journalist (YouTube)

La Presse en Haïti doit prendre garde aux menaces de Michel Martelly ("The Press in Haiti must take care against threats made by Michel Martelly" (AlterPresse)

Haitian media should be wary of Michel Martelly’s threats (English)

La Presse en Haïti doit prendre garde aux menaces de Michel Martelly (Le Nouvelliste)

Haiti's Humanitarian Crisis Ignored as Media Focuses on Failed WyClef Bid

WyClef' Jean's candidacy dies with a wimper.

August 19, the night of the expected announcement from the Provisional Electoral Council (SEC), heavily armed United Nations blue helmets patrolled the streets in armored cars on the alert for a riot that never came. However, about 300 of WyClef's supporters did march through heavy rain to protest outside Haiti's electoral office in Port-au-Prince.

The Council rejected the singer-songwriter's candidacy because of the constitutional requirement that candidates who run must have lived in the country for five years prior to the November 28 election. WyClef moved to the United States when he was nine years old and his primary residence is New Jersey.

WyClef released a statement the next day that he would cooperate with the decision made by the SEC. "We must all honor the memories of those we've lost -- whether in the earthquake, or at anytime -- by responding peacefully and responsibly to this disappointment," he said.

That was then, now WyClef has announced that he is not abandoning his presidential bid. He will appeal the decision rejecting his candidacy. He plans to send a lawyer to a Haitian court to appeal the electoral commission's decision to keep him off the list of eligible presidential candidates. He says he has a document "which shows everything is correct" and that he and his aides "feel that what is going on here has everything to do with Haitian politics." Evidently, the appeal is being based on WyClef's honorary status as "Ambassador at large" for Haiti, a "post" he claims exempts him from residency requirements.

The whole elections process is a charade to begin with, given that it is being carried out under a brutal occupation, so it is not surprising that WyClef and his lawyers are pushing for inclusion in the elections in spite of being officially rejected. Unfortunately, the process is tainted, as WyClef suspects, but not because, "They are trying to keep us out of the race." It is primarily because Haiti is under occupation by the UN military (MINUSTAH).

Additionally, the legitimacy of the November 28 election is also questionable because Haiti’s largest political party Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from the election.

WyClef is being criticized not only because he is not qualified to run, nor because he does not meet the constitutional requirements, but because he does not have the political skills or savvy to deal with Haiti's multitude of problems. The elitist private business sector in Haiti will make mincemeat out of him. He is also not equipped to deal with the legions of multinational interests that occupy and run Haiti through the pulling of purse strings and the muscle of MINUSTAH’s occupying force.

WyClef has not even outlined a comprehensive political platform, except for the declaration that “Haiti is open for business” and other very general statements. It stands to reason that with the neophyte WyClef at the helm, Haiti will be open to further exploitation and the continued apartheid between the super-rich and the ultra-poor. The apartheid class system in Haiti needs to be addressed and acknowledged by Haiti’s next leader. There is also an urgent need to addressed the stranglehold that Non-governmental Agencies (NGOs) have on Haiti in order to determine how to regulate their activities.

Even if he were qualified to run, WyClef’s political constituency is tenuous at best. He has not built a base or electorate. People are asking: What's his platform? He’s a musician. While some are fans and enjoy his music, that does not necessarily translate into voting for him to be Haiti's next president.

Above all, the Haitian majority needs someone in the Presidency who will champion human development (education, health, food, security, housing and infrastructure), above sustaining foreign and private business interests which continue to plunder Haiti for cheap labor and rich natural resources, but do not support the local economy. A notable exception is the Irish-based cell phone company Digicel, which has promoted "the kind of grass-roots entrepreneurship long ignored by the business elite."

While all of the distraction over the candidacy of WyClef is going on, forced evictions continue in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps… and Haitians are tired of sleeping on garbage.

People are living in the streets and no homes are being built, but already they’ve announced plans to build a new textiles factory. Sweatshops should not take precedence over people’s health and well-being.

In this day and age of technology, Haitians are being taught how to sew. This move cements Haiti's role as the low-cost, low-wage, low-tech center of the world.

In the meantime USAID is giving money to countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in Europe to train high tech workers.

The media attention should focus less on the distraction of WyClef Jean’s failed presidential bid and the ensuing circus, and more on the desperate humanitarian situation on the ground in Haiti.