U.N. to investigate Haiti slum lynchings 24 Aug 2005 23:30:37 GMT Source: Reuters

By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. mission in Haiti has launched an inquiry into the lynching of at least 20 people by vigilantes armed with machetes and by Haitian police last weekend, U.N. officials said on Wednesday.

During a soccer game on Saturday funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the interim Haitian government, hooded police and individuals with machetes attacked people they called "bandits," according to residents of the Port-au-Prince slum of Martissant.

"Everybody gathered to watch the game, suddenly the police surrounded the area and ordered everyone to lie on the ground," said Roland Roy, a community leader in Martissant.

"Then a group of people, armed with machetes, who came with the police, started identifying people one by one, saying here is a bandit, here is another one. They cut them with machetes and killed a number of them," said Roy. He said up to 30 people died, some shot by police.

Another community leader, Lionel Mondestin, said at least 20 people were killed on Saturday during the soccer game and on Sunday during another police operation. Many other residents gave similar accounts.

French Lt. Col. Philippe Espie, the head of international police who are part of a U.N. force keeping the peace since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted by an armed revolt last year, said the incident was being investigated and would not be tolerated.

"In the first place, we can only condemn what happened. It is intolerable to accept that sort of situation where people take justice into their own hands," Espie told Reuters.

The soccer game was part of a "tournament for peace," funded by USAID and the interim Haitian government that took over after Aristide fled into exile at the end of February 2004, organizers said. Once viewed as a champion of Haiti's fledgling democracy, Aristide faced increasing accusations of corruption and despotism.

POLICE ABUSES ALLEGED

The head of a U.N. human rights unit, Thierry Faggart, said his office was also investigating the incident and several other cases of human rights abuses blamed on police.

Haiti's new police chief, Mario Andresol, said he was ready to punish any officers, if their involvement were confirmed.

"We are here to protect the population, not to repress them or kill them. Such behavior won't be tolerated while I'm there," Andresol told Reuters.

Both the Haitian police and U.N. forces have previously announced investigations into alleged abuses by police officers. To date, no reports have been published.

Dozens of people have been hacked to death in vigilante justice that often accompanies police operations in slums regarded as strongholds of support for Aristide.

The authorities blame Aristide supporters for violence that has killed at least 700 people in the past year while Aristide's Lavalas Family party says it is being persecuted. Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is scheduled to hold elections in November.