Haiti

WHEREAS Representatives of pro-government and paramilitary groups have attacked, threatened and harassed several Haitian journalists, and more than 90 such cases have been reported in the past six months WHEREAS the harassment of the journalists has caused the closing of the radio station Radio Inter, whose owner, Jean Léopold Dominique, was killed by people with ties to the government, because of his criticism of the nation’s political, economic and social situation WHEREAS four Haitian journalists have fled the country and taken refuge in nearby Dominican Republic because of the pressures, threats and attacks WHEREAS the Haitian authorities have not given journalists the minimum guarantees of safety and freedom that they, like every citizen, have the right to WHEREAS the Haitian justice system has not punished the people responsible for the murders of journalists Jean Léopold Dominique, Gérard Denoze and Brignol Dindor WHEREAS Principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec establishes that “No people or society can be free without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise of this freedom is not something authorities grant, it is an inalienable right of the people” WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec establishes that “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly” THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to demand that President Jean Bertrand Aristide guarantee that Haitian journalists can do their jobs without being harassed, threatened and attacked by government supporters to demand that Haitian judicial authorities expedite the adjudication of those responsible for the murders of journalists Jean Léopold Dominique, Gérard Denoze and Brignol Dindor, so they are properly tried and punished to ask government, police and military authorities to guarantee the minimum security for the free practice of journalism.