UN Supports Death Squads

[bemildred]

On the Justice of Impunity in Haiti

"Conservative" lurkers, don't read this, it will cause brain malfunctions.

Bernstein: This is certainly a dark show and a difficult time. We go from the streets of Baghdad to the streets of Port au Prince, and the new, recreated killing fields in Haiti, and the situation continues to get that much worse....Yesterday, Haiti’s Supreme Court overturned the convictions of dozens of military mass murderers found guilty of widespread torture and murder, in Raboteau, Haiti. The release of these known killers, including, and I mean pardoning, if you will, of Louis Jodel Chamblain signals another dark blow to organizers and leaders of the pro-democracy movement there. Joining us to talk about this latest turn of events, as well as the ongoing life and death situation around Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, is Flashpoints Special Correspondent Kevin Pina, himself receiving several death threats to date. Also joining us to talk about the pardoning of the killers is Brian Concannon. Concannon is an attorney working for the Institute for Justice in Haiti, and he worked closely on the 2000 prosecutions of these mass murderers. I thank you both for joining us again on Flashpoints.

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Pina: I’ve been organizing with Haitian attorneys; I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get this videotape, these videotaped images of the Haitian police, who planted guns in the hands of unarmed demonstrators after they shot them on April 27th, 2005. Apparently, not just the United Nations but the Haitian Police know it’s in my hands, and unfortunately it’s forced me to have to take precautions. I know that people heard the interview with President Aristide with Amy Goodman. I think that’s wonderful but, on the other hand, this information about what’s going on day to day, what the Haitian police are doing with the complicity of the United Nations, is particularly of importance...can you hear me?

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KP: The Haitian police have shot at unarmed demonstrators several times. On February 28th, we heard the testimony on Flashpoints, of Bill Quigley, who is an attorney who’s close to Father Jean-Juste, of the United Nations being present while the Haitian police shot at unarmed demonstrators and killed them. And then on April 27th, of course, we had another attack by the Haitian police. Between that, February 28th, the so-called Justice Minister, Bernard Gousse, said that the United Nations did not have the right to keep the Haitian police from firing at unarmed demonstrators. The United Nations said that they would keep the police out of demonstrations that are pro-Lavalas, which are demanding the return of the Constitutional President, Jean Bertrand Aristide, but the UN backed down to the Justice Minister, Bernard Gousse, and allowed them to enter the demonstrations again. The result was that on April 27th, the police not only shot and killed several unarmed, peaceful demons trators, but also, the footage I have in my hand, which the United Nations is trying to get from me, which the Haitian police are threatening me not to release, is footage which shows the Haitian police planting guns in the hands of those demonstrators, after they killed them.

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The idea that the UN has essentially become the enforcers of this killing field p0licy is extraordinary. I want to turn, just for a moment, to this situaiton around the Supreme court and the overturning of the convictions of these mass murderers. We have Kevin Pina on the line. Kevin, just briefly, from the ground before we go to Brian Concannon who helped to prosecute these cases, tell us the significance of what the Supreme Court did today in terms of these overturns.

ZMAG