Impunity - Haiti

WHEREAS Haitian radio broadcaster Jean Dominique, owner of Radio Haiti Inter, was murdered in Port-au-Prince on April 3, 2000, and that for the first six months the case had been purposely stalled by government officials WHEREAS Dominique was apparently killed in a political conspiracy planned and conceived over several months and that he exposed the existence of corrupt officials with links to organized crime, including drug trafficking and car theft WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states 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 IAPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESOLVES to request President Aristide not to allow any interference in the progress of the Dominique murder investigation, and to forestall any challenges to the independence of the judicial process to request that current funding for witness protection, protection of Dominique’s widow and the protection and expenses of Judge Claudy Gassant be continued, in order to ensure that Dominique’s murderers and those behind the crime are brought to justice.