Miami Herald editorial, Sep. 08, 2005  

Police vigilantes, machetes and murder
OUR OPINION: BETTER SECURITY CRITICAL TO HAITI'S UPCOMING ELECTIONS

The reappearance of a death squad in Haiti is the latest sign of the island's abysmal security situation. A United Nations peacekeeping force there since June 2004 still hasn't staunched the violence in lawless Port-au-Prince. The stakes are high on both human and political levels. Any escalation in killings could threaten general elections planned for November, which could delay or derail the rebuilding of Haiti's government.

Brazen attacks
One alarming detail about the new killers: They are aided and abetted by Haitian police. In the latest incident on Aug. 20, some 5,000 people attended a soccer match sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The aim was to ''Play for Peace'' in Martissant, a hillside slum. Instead, witnesses and U.N. investigators say, black-masked police accompanied by machete-wielding thugs stormed the stadium, ultimately shooting and hacking people to death. Witnesses said pro-Lavalas Party gang members were targeted. At least six died.

This brazen attack follows at least two other incidents in which masked police and civilian thugs teamed up to murder and torch homes. Some fear the attacks signal the resurgence of death squads directed by a political player, a bloody phenomenon that historically has plagued Haitian elections.

The alleged police brutality isn't new, either. Reports suggest that
police-vigilante raids have killed dozens of people in slums that are
strongholds of support for Lavalas, former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party.

While such police actions rarely have been investigated, this may be changing. Mario Andresol, Haiti's new police chief, told The Herald that several police officers were being questioned about the Martissant killings and would likely be arrested. We hope this is a first step toward cleaning up and professionalizing the police force. The U.N. chief in Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdés, also vowed to work with the interim government and police to end vigilante action.

Release critics

Redoubled security efforts are past due. Those who are profiting from Haiti's instability will find it in their interest to disrupt the November 20 elections. Yet half of Haiti's four million voters already have registered to vote. Political parties are filing to qualify their candidates. And Lavalas just announced its intended presidential candidate: the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste. He has been jailed since July on suspicion of involvement in a murder committed when he was in Miami.

The provisional government creates doubt about itself, and possibly the
elections, by questionably jailing critics. Haitians are used to risky
elections, but good security and a broad field of candidates will encourage
wider participation. Fair elections are a first step in building democracy. The government must show it is willing to take that step.
 

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