Haiti: Wanting to Change Movies

Rebel Leader Guy Philippe who led the violent rebellion which saw Jean-Bertrand Aristide resign the PRsidency and flee into exile. Picture: Alex Smailes/Panos Pictures

“Here, from the night of slavery rose the sun of freedom” affirmed the President Jean Bertrand Aristide in his official bicentenary speech this January 1. He paid homage to the founders of the nation that started an “epidemic of freedom”.

Despite the cult of these heroes, promoted by today’s political leaders, a tradition of violence and violation of human rights continues. This situation deteriorated exponentially in the last 4 months as opposition grew against Aristide’s government.

Since last September regular Police and armed groups linked to authorities have joined to silence a clamour that has not been heard so loud in the last fourteen years.
In his report of January 21 Louis Joinet, the independent expert on Haiti for the UN, observed that journalists, political and trade union activists, Human Rights defenders and students are victims of “persecution and executions”.

Among the most spectacular repressive acts was a brutal intervention in the State University in Port-au-Prince of armed civilians supported by Police leaving 25 wounded. An attack by an armed commando unit against broadcast aerials on the periphery of the capital damaged infrastructure of 10 broadcasters, including those who are the main voice for the opposition.

Dozens of people including journalists were killed and injured by gunfire, many arrested arbitrarily, in daily demonstrations by thousands of people across the country to demand Aristide’s resignation.

However, from his Palace Aristide referred to the multitudes who protested against him and sang for an end to violence as ‘a minority’.

Elected for a second time in Nov 2001 in an electoral process denounced as ‘fraudulent’ by sectors of the opposition, Aristide had not achieved conditions for dialogue to solve the political crisis or to respond to basic social needs.

The Head of State, an ex-priest who was very popular in 1990 when he was elected first, went into exile in September 1991 after a bloody coup. He returned to the country in 1994, preceded by US troops.

Despite all this Haitians haven’t abandoned hope. However, year after year, and above all since 2001, the increase of abuses, arbitrary acts in a context of economic crisis, have convinced broad sectors of Haitian society that (as Haitian filmmakers have said) instead of getting the “love movie that Aristide promised, we’ve got a horror movie”.

Gotson Pierre, inset, is President of WACC’s Caribbean Regional Association, Coordinator of Groupe Médialternatif and Editor of the online Haitian news agency  AlterPresse. www.medialternatif.org/alterpresse

For more reports on the recent catalogue of attacks on journalists, television and radio stations in Haiti see the trilingual RSF website: www.rsf.org

 Also see: Haiti Support Group: http://haitisupport.gn.apc.org