Haiti

In this period there was a general lessening of violence against journalists and actions contrary to freedom to report. Justice and Public Security Minister Jean Ranel Sanon recently threatened to impose restrictions on press freedom. In a communiqué issued on February 10 he said that he would regard as inciting to violence any dissemination of information that did not conform to the Executive Branch’s wishes. The minister’s announcement coincided with two unfortunate incidents. Several television crews invited by the Committee for the National Carnival, which took place February 10-12 in Cap-Haitien, had to withdraw under pressure from the King Henry 1 Palace, the festival’s host. The television channels Caraibes, Métropole and Super Star were obliged to leave the place, to the advantage of the state-owned TV Nationale D’Haiti. During the carnival days reporter Wadson Phanor of RFM was beaten by presidential security guards who were accompanying the head of state.