Haiti Information Project (HIP)
December 25, 2005
From favelas in Sao Paolo to poor neighborhoods in Haiti: Brazil's
military asserts control
HIP, Haiti- Last Friday, nearly a dozen reporters embedded with
Brazilian troops of the United Nations mission in the poor neighborhood
of Pele, witnessed troops handing out gift buckets emblazoned with the
phrase "Vote to bring life to your country." Wearing blue baseball caps
bearing the UN emblem, several of the reporters were barred from leaving
the official area of the aid distribution center and instead were
provided with the opportunity to photograph Brazilian soldiers playing
soccer with young boys and posing with local residents from the
neighborhood. One journalist who asked to not be identified stated,
"Just as I was trying to leave the area a Brazilian soldier physically
pulled me back and said I could not leave. We had just heard loud
gunfire coming from Route Nationale 1 in the general vicinity of Cite
Soleil. I was anxious to see what was really going on behind the
scene."
Heavily armed soldiers of the Brazilian military, which leads the UN
military mission to Haiti known as MINUSTAH, had earlier taken over a
building in Pele belonging to an accused drug dealer with alleged ties
to presidential candidate Guy Philippe. The troops were seen
reinforcing the facility with sand bags and equipment as a military
unit on the ground led a group of black-hooded residents through the
neighborhood on a mission to identify and target suspected "bandits"
for arrest. Twelve residents, ten men and two women, were reportedly
arrested based on the accusations of the hooded informants and were
taken away to an undisclosed UN facility. Several residents reacted
with shock and anger at the site of the black-hooded informants, a new
tactic apparently being used by the UN forces to pacify poor
neighborhoods in the capital. "This is really scary because we don't
know who these hooded accusers are. We don't even know if they are
really from our area. I just saw them arrest a man I have known for
years and who is not involved with anything violent. Where are they
taking him?" asked one angry woman who refused to give her name.
The neighborhood of Pele borders the teeming seaside slum of Cite Soleil
that has been a launching site for massive demonstrations demanding the
return of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Demonstrations have
also demanded an end to political persecution against Aristide's
Lavalas party and the release of their leaders held behind bars and
deemed to be political prisoners. On July 6, about 350 UN troops led by
a Jordanian contingent under the command of the Brazilians, entered Cite
Soleil on a mission to kill a suspected gang leader and Aristide
supporter Emmanuel "Dread" Wilme along with four of his lieutenants.
When the smoke cleared not only did the five men lie dead from a hail
of bullets but also so did at least 12 unarmed residents including
women and children. Exclusive video footage of the incident seen by
independent journalists is said to provide enough evidence to conclude
that UN forces deliberately targeted unarmed civilians in the deadly
raid. Although the UN promised an investigation into the July 6
incident, nothing has been said since except the well-known denials of
UN Special Envoy Juan Gabriel Valdes who continues to dismiss any
criticism of the UN mission as "propaganda and lies."
On November 27, Cite Soleil came under heavy fire again from Brazilian
forces in a military operation against suspected bandits (a code word,
according to residents, borrowed from Haiti's wealthy elite to describe
Lavalas supporters in poor neighborhoods of the capital). At least seven
people were wounded by automatic gunfire in an incident described by
Canadian journalist Isabel MacDonald, "Suddenly, we saw four UN
APCs-also manned by Brazilians--drive slowly up along the largest road
in the vicinity. MINUSTAH bullets were suddenly whizzing by our heads.
In the street alley we were in, people frantically flew in all
directions, ducking into doorways, hiding behind ledges of the long
concrete walls lining the alleyway. I took cover with a half dozen
residents hiding behind a ledge of the wall that jutted out about six
inches. The MINUSTAH APCs continued to fire rounds in our direction for
about ten minutes."
As the embedded reporters were treated to photo opportunities of happy
smiling residents receiving aid buckets in Pele last Friday, heavy
gunfire broke out from Brazilian forces on Route Nationale 1, a main
highway that separates Pele from Cite Soleil. "No one fired at them.
They just started shooting for no reason and several people were
injured," stated a bystander who witnessed the incident. 27 year-old
Fritzner Montinard was later interviewed in St. Catherine's hospital in
Cite Soleil where he lay immobilized by automatic gunfire that strafed
both of his legs. "I was walking down the street. It was quiet and I
saw the blue helmets but everything seemed calm. Suddenly they opened
fire and I was shot in both legs. I didn't hear any gunfire before that
and still don't know what caused them to shot at us like that" stated
Mr. Montinard from his hospital bed.
Amnesty International (AI) recently accused Brazilian security forces of
human rights violations for tactics they use in the poor neighborhoods
of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paolo known as favelas. According to the AI
report issued December 2, 2005 and entitled, Brazil: 'They come in
Shooting': Policing socially excluded communities, "The violence was
highlighted by an incident in March, in which 29 people were shot dead
by a "death squad" -- believed to consist of members of Rio de
Janeiro's military police force -- in the Baixada Fluminense District
of the city; it was the worst massacre in the city's history, but not a
new or isolated phenomenon." It appears that the phenomenon has spread
beyond the borders of Brazil as it's military command assumes primary
leadership for the UN mission to stabilize Haiti ahead of the on-again
off-again elections primarily backed and funded by the U.S. and Canada.
For article with photo essay see: www.haitiaction.net
December 25, 2005
From favelas in Sao Paolo to poor neighborhoods in Haiti: Brazil's
military asserts control
HIP, Haiti- Last Friday, nearly a dozen reporters embedded with
Brazilian troops of the United Nations mission in the poor neighborhood
of Pele, witnessed troops handing out gift buckets emblazoned with the
phrase "Vote to bring life to your country." Wearing blue baseball caps
bearing the UN emblem, several of the reporters were barred from leaving
the official area of the aid distribution center and instead were
provided with the opportunity to photograph Brazilian soldiers playing
soccer with young boys and posing with local residents from the
neighborhood. One journalist who asked to not be identified stated,
"Just as I was trying to leave the area a Brazilian soldier physically
pulled me back and said I could not leave. We had just heard loud
gunfire coming from Route Nationale 1 in the general vicinity of Cite
Soleil. I was anxious to see what was really going on behind the
scene."
Heavily armed soldiers of the Brazilian military, which leads the UN
military mission to Haiti known as MINUSTAH, had earlier taken over a
building in Pele belonging to an accused drug dealer with alleged ties
to presidential candidate Guy Philippe. The troops were seen
reinforcing the facility with sand bags and equipment as a military
unit on the ground led a group of black-hooded residents through the
neighborhood on a mission to identify and target suspected "bandits"
for arrest. Twelve residents, ten men and two women, were reportedly
arrested based on the accusations of the hooded informants and were
taken away to an undisclosed UN facility. Several residents reacted
with shock and anger at the site of the black-hooded informants, a new
tactic apparently being used by the UN forces to pacify poor
neighborhoods in the capital. "This is really scary because we don't
know who these hooded accusers are. We don't even know if they are
really from our area. I just saw them arrest a man I have known for
years and who is not involved with anything violent. Where are they
taking him?" asked one angry woman who refused to give her name.
The neighborhood of Pele borders the teeming seaside slum of Cite Soleil
that has been a launching site for massive demonstrations demanding the
return of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Demonstrations have
also demanded an end to political persecution against Aristide's
Lavalas party and the release of their leaders held behind bars and
deemed to be political prisoners. On July 6, about 350 UN troops led by
a Jordanian contingent under the command of the Brazilians, entered Cite
Soleil on a mission to kill a suspected gang leader and Aristide
supporter Emmanuel "Dread" Wilme along with four of his lieutenants.
When the smoke cleared not only did the five men lie dead from a hail
of bullets but also so did at least 12 unarmed residents including
women and children. Exclusive video footage of the incident seen by
independent journalists is said to provide enough evidence to conclude
that UN forces deliberately targeted unarmed civilians in the deadly
raid. Although the UN promised an investigation into the July 6
incident, nothing has been said since except the well-known denials of
UN Special Envoy Juan Gabriel Valdes who continues to dismiss any
criticism of the UN mission as "propaganda and lies."
On November 27, Cite Soleil came under heavy fire again from Brazilian
forces in a military operation against suspected bandits (a code word,
according to residents, borrowed from Haiti's wealthy elite to describe
Lavalas supporters in poor neighborhoods of the capital). At least seven
people were wounded by automatic gunfire in an incident described by
Canadian journalist Isabel MacDonald, "Suddenly, we saw four UN
APCs-also manned by Brazilians--drive slowly up along the largest road
in the vicinity. MINUSTAH bullets were suddenly whizzing by our heads.
In the street alley we were in, people frantically flew in all
directions, ducking into doorways, hiding behind ledges of the long
concrete walls lining the alleyway. I took cover with a half dozen
residents hiding behind a ledge of the wall that jutted out about six
inches. The MINUSTAH APCs continued to fire rounds in our direction for
about ten minutes."
As the embedded reporters were treated to photo opportunities of happy
smiling residents receiving aid buckets in Pele last Friday, heavy
gunfire broke out from Brazilian forces on Route Nationale 1, a main
highway that separates Pele from Cite Soleil. "No one fired at them.
They just started shooting for no reason and several people were
injured," stated a bystander who witnessed the incident. 27 year-old
Fritzner Montinard was later interviewed in St. Catherine's hospital in
Cite Soleil where he lay immobilized by automatic gunfire that strafed
both of his legs. "I was walking down the street. It was quiet and I
saw the blue helmets but everything seemed calm. Suddenly they opened
fire and I was shot in both legs. I didn't hear any gunfire before that
and still don't know what caused them to shot at us like that" stated
Mr. Montinard from his hospital bed.
Amnesty International (AI) recently accused Brazilian security forces of
human rights violations for tactics they use in the poor neighborhoods
of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paolo known as favelas. According to the AI
report issued December 2, 2005 and entitled, Brazil: 'They come in
Shooting': Policing socially excluded communities, "The violence was
highlighted by an incident in March, in which 29 people were shot dead
by a "death squad" -- believed to consist of members of Rio de
Janeiro's military police force -- in the Baixada Fluminense District
of the city; it was the worst massacre in the city's history, but not a
new or isolated phenomenon." It appears that the phenomenon has spread
beyond the borders of Brazil as it's military command assumes primary
leadership for the UN mission to stabilize Haiti ahead of the on-again
off-again elections primarily backed and funded by the U.S. and Canada.
For article with photo essay see: www.haitiaction.net