Press Release: Rep. Waters Denounces Interim Government of Haiti for Jailing Potential Candidates for President
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<<CBCF statement 9-22-05 press.doc>>

PRESS RELEASE

Embargoed until 12:30 p.m.                                              Contact:  Mikael Moore

September 22, 2005                                                      (202) 225-2201


CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS DENOUNCES

THE INTERIM GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

FOR JAILING POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT

        Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35) released a statement in response to reports that a Haitian judge ruled that there is enough evidence to try former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune for involvement in a massacre in the Haitian town of St. Marc in February of 2004.  The statement was released at an issue forum entitled "Haiti: The Time for Action is Now," which was held at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 2005 Annual Legislative Conference.  The Congresswoman's statement follows:

                    I denounce the decision of a Haitian judge to allow former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune to be tried for participation in a massacre.  If the interim government of Haiti had any evidence against Prime Minister Neptune for any crime what-so-ever, he could have been tried in June of 2004 when he was first arrested.  Instead, the interim government chose to detain him illegally for well over a year.  It is long past time for the illegitimate and unconstitutional interim government of Haiti to set the former prime minister free.

                    It is especially outrageous that the interim government is planning to charge Prime Minister Neptune with a massacre less than two months after releasing Louis-Jodel Chamblain from prison.  Louis-Jodel Chamblain was a death squad leader who was convicted of participation in the 1994 Raboteau massacre, a brutal massacre in a low-income neighborhood of Haiti.  Ambassador James Foley, the former U.S. ambassador to Haiti, said the interim government has tarnished Haiti's image by continuing to detain Prime Minister Neptune while setting this convicted killer free.

                    I also denounce the refusal of Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council to register Father Gerard Jean-Juste as a candidate for president of Haiti.  Father Jean-Juste is a widely-respected Catholic priest who was arrested by the interim government two months ago.  Like Prime Minister Neptune, he is well-known and popular among the Haitian people, and like Prime Minister Neptune, he is unjustly imprisoned by the Haitian government.  Several members of the Lavalas political party tried to register Father Jean-Juste as their candidate for president, but they were told that candidates must appear in person in order to register.  Obviously, persons who are unjustly imprisoned cannot register in person.

                    It is now clear that the interim government of Haiti is determined to eliminate anyone who could become a credible candidate in Haiti's upcoming elections.  Only by imprisoning popular politicians and religious leaders can the interim government make certain that its political opponents will not win the elections.