Protests and general strike in Haiti as prosecutor refuses orders to arrest government critics

Three news articles enclosed.

Amid judicial crisis, war of words erupts in Haiti

By Jacqueline Charles, The Miami Herald, Saturday, Sep. 29, 2012

MIAMI-While Haiti President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe made the rounds in New York this week, a judicial crisis erupted at home with the firing of a chief prosecutor, the swearing-in of another and an alleged resignation in less than 24 hours.

Former Chief Prosecutor for Port-au-Prince Jean Renel Senatus said Haiti's Justice Minister Jean Renel Sanon fired him Thursday because he refused to execute an order to arrest 36 government opponents.

Senatus also said that Josue Pierre-Louis, a presidential legal adviser and head of the six-member electoral council, asked him to serve warrants against two attorneys - Newton St. Juste and Andre Michel - who have brought corruption complaints against the presidential family and members of Haiti's government.

"I told him, 'No, I don't have a case against them in my hand,'" Senatus said. "It's not democratic. It's not democracy."

Senatus said he had previously refused to execute several "illegal" arrest orders, including one against prominent human rights lawyer Mario Joseph.

Asked if the president had issued the orders, Senatus said in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince that Sanon was responsible but added that Sanon "told me you would make the president happy."

Senatus spent Friday (Sept 28) calling in to Haitian radio stations and blasting Sanon for the "attacks" against him by the justice minister.

In the job for nine months, Senatus was the sixth and longest serving Port-au-Prince chief prosecutor in Martelly's 18-month presidency. He had earned the nickname "Zokiki," which refers to juvenile delinquency, because of his campaign against underage prostitution and clubbing and men who have sex with underage girls.

Sanon could not be reached for comment. But on Haitian radio he called Senatus a liar and said that he was fired because of insubordination and his failure to produce results. Several Haitian government spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment on this week's events.

Senatus said he was informed of his firing by local journalists and found that his replacement had already been named. The replacement, Elco St. Amand, was sworn in late Thursday

But by Friday, St. Amand too was holding a press conference declaring that he was still in the job despite assertions that he had resigned. St. Amand also defended himself against Internet allegations of drug trafficking saying, "If I were a trafficker, why didn't the United States revoke my visa?"

However, a former government official, who declined to be identified, told The Miami Herald St. Amand was fired in 2001 by Haiti's justice minister after he was implicated in a drug trafficking scandal. The firing, said the source, came after much consultation.

Late Friday, text messages were circulating, indicating that yet another new chief prosecutor had been named. The Miami Herald was unable to confirm this.

Sorting out the judicial quagmire is just one of the problems awaiting Martelly and Lamothe when they return from the United Nations General Assembly.

On Friday, thousands of government supporters took to the streets in the city of Gonaives in the Artibonite region in support of Martelly. That followed a day in which thousands of Haitians protested against Martelly in Cap-Haitien.

On Sunday, members of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas political party are expected to take to the streets with others to protest against government corruption and rising prices. A general strike also has been called in Cap-Haitien on Monday.

Several thousand people protest Haiti gov't

The Associated Press, published in Miami Herald, Sunday, Sept 30, 2012

Several thousand people poured into the streets of Haiti's capital on Sunday to protest the government of President Michel Martelly. It was among the biggest demonstrations this year in Port-au-Prince against the first-time leader as he tries to rebuild the impoverished nation following a powerful 2010 earthquake that displaced more than a million people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Demonstrators' complaints included the high cost of living, rising food prices and allegations of corruption as they snaked through the poorer neighborhoods Port-au-Prince. Some protesters carried small red cards to suggest that Martelly has committed too many fouls since he was sworn in as president in May 2011.

The Martelly government had no immediate public reaction to the protest.

Martelly, a pop music star before he turned to politics, presented himself as an outsider when he ran for the presidency. He promised free schooling and houses for people displaced by the earthquake. But some Haitians complain that Martelly has fallen short of improving their lives in one of the poorest countries in the world.

"The president has made so many promises but nothing has become a reality," protester Max Dorlien said. "It's only a clique of his friends who are making money."

The Sunday protest followed several weeks of mostly peaceful demonstrations in the countryside, and more are planned for October.

It also marked the 21st anniversary of the first ouster of two-time President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former priest who returned to Haiti last year after seven years in exile. Since his return, Aristide has remained in his compound in the capital and out of the public spotlight, fueling widespread speculation on his political relevance.

As reported in the article below (in French), thousands of people protested on Sept 27 in Cap Haitien against the high cost of living and the poor performance of the Martelly government. The demonstration was organized, among others, by Senator Moïse Jean-Charles and several other elected political figures. It was the third such mass march in two weeks and is to be followed today, Monday Oct 1, by a general strike in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city.

Milliers de personnes dans les rues du Cap-Haïtien pour denoncer le coût excessif de la vie et l'absence de pouvoir d'achat: les manifestants appellent au départ du président Martelly et annoncent une journée de grève pour ce lundi dans la deuxième ville du pays

http://www.ahphaiti.org/ndujour.html

Port-au-Prince, le 27 septembre 2012 - (AHP) - Le mouvement de contestation anti-gouvernementale a pris de serieuses proportions dans la deuxième ville du pays avec la nouvelle manifestation realisée jeudi au cap-haitien (nord) et qui a rassemblé plusieurs milliers de personnes pour protester contre la déterioration des conditions de vie de la population et la gestion jugée inadéquate de la crise alimentaire par le gouvernment du président Michel Martelly.

Des slogans appelant clairement au départ du chef de l'Etat, ont été lancés tout au cours de la manifestation conduite entre autres par le sénateur Moïse Jean-Charles et plusieurs autres figures de la classe politique, de la société civiles et du secteur des affaires qui ont pris l'engagement de se mettre ensemble pour, ont-elles dit,  mener la lutte anti-gouvernementale, mettant de côté leurs divisions.

Les manifestants ont également dénoncé la corruption, les détournements de fonds et la cupidité d'une bonne partie des nouveaux hommes et femmes au pouvoir qu'ils accusent de faire "main basse et sur le pain et sur les miettes", pendant que la misère ronge les couches defavorisées, banalisant ainsi l'effet des programmes sociaux, comme :"Ti manman cheri" et autre katye pa m poze.

Le chef de l'Etat est egalement accusé d'intransigeance, de jusqu'auboutisme et de mépris vis-à-vis des autres pouvoirs de l'Etat et secteurs de la société.

La manifestation s'est deroulée sans incidents majeurs, sous haute protection de la police nationale et les démarches présumées de proches du pouvoir pour tenter de faire déraper le mouvement, n'ont pas éte verifiées ou n'ont pas eu d'effet, en dehors de quelques jets de bouteilles.

Intervenant jeudi matin dans la presse, le secrétaire d'Etat à la communication, Guyler C. Delva, comme dans une constatation de fait accompli, a demandé à la population de manifester, mais de façon pacifique. Il l'a quand même mise en garde contre ceux qui veulent, a-t-il dit, semer le trouble. M. Delva a également donné l'assurance que le gouvernement est en train de tout entreprendre pour faire baisser le coût de la vie et pour donner un nouvel élan à la production nationale

Cependant au Cap-haïtien, vu l'engouement qui a caracterisé cette 3ème manifestation en l'espace de deux semaines, les fers de lance du mouvement ont fait savoir qu'ils ne comptent pas s'arrêter en si bon chemin. Ils ont ainsi annoncé une journée de grève lundi  au lendemann d'une journée de manifestation anoncée pour ce dimanche 30 septembre à Port-au-prince, à l'ocasion du 21ème anniversaire du coup d'Etat du 30 septembre 1991, qui a fait entre 3000 et 5000 morts.

Ces manifestations anti-gouvernementales non-stop se déroulent à Port-au-Prince et dans les villes de province, alors que, en plus du choc GNB contre GNB, on fait état de graves frictions entre des secteurs de l'équipe au pouvoir et aussi de malaise parmi les membres du gouvernement qui craignent à tout moment une interruption brutale de leur mission.

La mise à pied jeudi du commissaire du gouvernement réputé zélé, Jean Renel Senatus et son remplacement immédiat par Me  Elco Saint-Amand, confirme cette sensation de malaise.