Call # 250 June 2002

Batay Ouvriyé had alerted Haitian authorities for several months. Tensions were so high in the plantations of bitter oranges of Guacimal that they risked leading to violences. The former mobilization of the workers and farmers for the right to farm lands, turned to a tragedy. Two farmers of Saint Michel, who came to show their solidarity to their friends of Saint-Raphaël, were killed with an axe. Several demonstrators were taken in for questioning; they are still imprisonned in Port-au-Prince without any clear evidence against them. Two journalists who witnessed the scene were also arrested, injured and imprisonned for several days. At the same time, the murderers of the two farmers and the persons behind were not even bothered. The President Aristide has to intercede to bring the truth about this case to light, and to put an end to impunity and the chaos that prevail in Haiti.

Since the activities of the Guacimal (1) plantation were launched, more than half a century ago, farmers are used to farm the land to eat during the interseason period. But the current leaders of the plantation questioned this habit.

On Monday 27th May 2002, a farmer’s delegation is therefore heading towards the plantation to prepare plots of land. Because of the rain, it is quite urgent to start sowing. A meeting is planned on the spot with about 200 farmers to proceed to the sharing of the land to be farmed. Representatives of Batay Ouvriyè, from St Michel de l’Attalaye and from the Haitian Cap (2), joined the farmers of Saint-Raphaël to back their demands. Two journalists accompanied the militants: Darwin St Julien from Haiti Progrès and Allan Deshommes from Radio Atlantique.

When mobilization turns to a tragedy

No sooner had the farmers, unionists and journalists arrived than they were suddenly attacked by armed men. The attackers were local representatives, hired hands of a great landowner and of guardians of the plantation. Some of them defended themselves with what they had to hand, others just fled. Several people were seriously injured. Two old people, from Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye, hid in a little house. The attackers found them, killed them with axes and beheaded them. Their bodies were taken to the plantation and thrown into a hole; no doubt it was to lend weight to the idea that these two were land thieves, and that they had been caught on the plantation.

The police arrived later on and arrested several demonstrators and the two journalists. The mayor of Saint-Raphaël said they were "terrorists". However, no legal accusation was directed to them.

On 29th May, the national police force sent a helicopter to take the prisoners. First, the authorities of Saint-Raphaël just did not want to let them go. They were however taken to the national penitentiary of Port-au-Prince. For several days the fate of the journalists worried the Haitian press and the international organizations: one of the journalists risked loosing an eye if not properly treated, the other suffered from faintings which were probably due to cranial traumatisms.

On 8th June the journalists were finally released, but 7 men and 2 women are still illegally detained. On 13th June, more than forty Haitian organizations signed a common text claiming for the release of the people imprisonned, and the creation of a joint and independent commission to investigate on the bloody events of 27th May 2002.

Everything goes wrong on the plantation

Tensions had increased in Saint Raphaël since the official creation of a trade union in September 2000. Even though the trade union finally received its official recognition from the Ministry of Employment in March 2001, negociations with the managers of the plantation are not speeding up.

International campaigns are developping to back the demands of the trade union. On 23rd October 2000 and 20th December 2001, Réseau-Solidarité got mobilized and questioned the Cointreau society (which receives the production of the plantation). The company, after having said it was "very important for it to respect the fundamental human principles", announced its withdrawal from the plantation. It abandoned the idea of assuming its responsibilities and therefore the idea of supporting a negociation process. It is a great blow for Batay Ouvriyé, which had even met representatives of Cointreau in Paris to try to speed up the case.

A climate of violence prevails in Saint Raphaël. From July 2001, Batay Ouvriyé wrote to the minister of Employment and the minister of Justice of Haiti. The trade union alerted the authorities and asked them to intercede in order to " avoid a bloodbath ". In March 2002, orange trees were uprooted in the plantation. The trade union was accused; the people in charge were disturbed (3). In April 2002, the priest of Saint Raphaël held several meetings; the landowners of the plantation had entrusted land control to him. He announced that the old workers of the plantation would not anymore have the right either to farm lands or to work for the next picking of bitter oranges.

In May, the farmers organized a march towards the plantation. But no sooner had they arrived than a " welcoming committee " was waiting for them, and the demonstration turned to a disaster.

Several organizations of defense of Human Rights are really worried about how the events went on, about the circumstances of the death of the two victims and about the fate reserved for the people still imprisonned in Port-au-Prince (see box).

Mobilization is necessary

For the moment, there is no clear evidence against the imprisonned militants; the murderers of the two persons from Saint Michel are still at large and no investigation was undertaken to find them.

Réseau-Solidarité has followed for several years the events in the plantation of Guacimal, as well as the efforts of Batay Ouvriyé to find a solution and avoid bloody clashes. In this case, all the contacts we had refused to take and admit their responsibilities. Now, we are therefore turning to the highest authority of the Haitian State to obtain the answers to the pending questions.

See Calls 228 (Haiti: Bitter Cointreau, 23rd October 2000) and 242 (Haiti: Cointreau still bitter, 20th December 2001)

Representatives of Réseau-Solidarité went to Le Cap and to Saint Michel to meet Batay Ouvriyé in July 1999.

In May 2002, the owner of the plantation recognized that the trade union was not responsible for the uprooted orange trees.

For more information

Reactions to the events of Saint-Raphaël

The Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH) and the Haitian Advocacy Platform for an Alternative Development (PAPDA) called on, on 4th June, for the setting up of an independent investigation Commission in order to bring the truth about these events to light.

" The truth has to be brought to light on the grounds of these arrests, and the situation of the journalists has to be regularized as soon as possible", Robert Ménard said (General Secretary of the international organization of the defense of journalists, Reporters Sans Frontières).

These new arbitrary facts are reinforcing "the anxiety and the indignation of citizens at the abuses of the authorities of this country, which seem to be suffering from deafness in face of the protests and the reports of the national and international organizations of Human Rights", written in a press release, the Eucumenical Centre of Human Rights (COEDH).

The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) reveals that approaches made to visit the prisonners were in vain.

Just write!

M. Jean Bertrand Aristide

Président

Palais National

PORT AU PRINCE - HAITI

Fax: 00 509 228 23 19

e-mail: palaisnational_jp@yahoo.com

TEXT suggested (this text is only a suggestion, you can adapt it to your own style)

Dear President,

I have been informed by Réseau-Solidarité (10, quai de Richemont 35000 RENNES - France) about the serious events that took place in Saint-Raphaël, during which 2 persons were murdered.

7 men and 2 women are today imprisonned in the National Penitentiary and in Fort National, Port-au-Prince, without any evidence against them. The people responsible for the murders of 27th May are still at large.

I therefore ask you to:

  immediatly release the people arbitrarily imprisonned.

  appoint an independent commission of investigation that will bring the truth to light about the events of 27th May and about the conditions in which the arrests and imprisonments of the people detained happened.

  take an active part in the search for the murderers and the persons behind in order to bring them to justice.

(signature)

You can also write to the Haitian Ambassy in France (stamp with 0,46 € - 4,90 FF)

Ambassade d’Haiti

10 rue Théodule Ribot

75017 PARIS

Fax: 01 42 27 02 05

Yannick Etienne, representative of Batay Ouvriyé during the Forum of Réseau-Solidarité underlined that suppression is still going on in Saint Raphaël. Houses were burnt down; militants have once again been threatened.

Yannick called us to help him. The executive team of Réseau-Solidarité exceptionally decided to help him by making an immediate payment of 1500 €. You can also participate if you wish to.

To be aware of the situation in the plantations : www.ifrance.com/syndicats-bo-haiti