Haitian journalists victims of kidnappings and murder: IAPA denounces impunity
The IAPA presents an alarming assessment of violence against journalists in Haiti. Murders, kidnappings and assaults are multiplying in a context of total impunity.
Spiral of violence against Haiti's press: IAPA sounds the alarm
According to vantbefinfo.com, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) has published a preliminary report detailing a wave of murders, kidnappings and assaults against journalists in Haiti. The document, presented to the Press Freedom Commission at the organisation's general assembly, paints a bleak picture of a profession exercised under the constant threat of armed gangs.
The IAPA emphasises that journalists operate in a context of chronic insecurity, with virtually non-existent government protection and widespread impunity for perpetrators of violence. The absence of elected authorities and the police's ineffectiveness against the multiple gangs controlling large portions of the territory are cited as aggravating factors.
Documented cases from May to September
On 5 May, Paul Jean Marie, host of the programme "Une voix dans la nuit" on Radio Lumière, was shot dead at his home in Croix-des-Bouquets, east of Port-au-Prince, as gunfire between gangs broke out in the neighbourhood.
Kidnappings continued throughout the summer. On 14 June, Marie Lucie Bonhomme Opont, a journalist at Radio Vision 2000, was kidnapped from her home before being released a few hours later in Tabarre. Her husband, Pierre Louis Opont, co-owner of Télé Pluriel, was himself kidnapped on 20 June and freed only on 25 August. On 21 July, Blondine Tanis, co-host of "Tribune Matinale" on Radio Rénovation FM 107.1, was kidnapped and held for nine days before being released in Delmas.
Also in July, reporters Daniel Lamartinière of Vant Bèf Info and Jameson Jean Baptiste of JB Média were violently assaulted by a police officer in Port-au-Prince while covering an anti-government demonstration. The headquarters of Radio Antarctique 96.1 FM in Liancourt was also set on fire by a gang. Journalist Arnold Junior Pierre was assaulted during a demonstration in the south-west of the capital.
In August, Brown Larose, host of "Matin Débat" at Radio Télé Éclair, survived an attack outside his home. In September, around a dozen journalists from the Carrefour-Feuilles neighbourhood were forced to flee after their homes were set on fire or their lives directly threatened by gangs.
A long list of victims
The IAPA report also lists Réginald Esaie Orélus and Richardson Jourdan of Haitian National Television, Jacques Desrosiers of the Association of Haitian Journalists, Celou Flécher and Dessources Dieumaitre, chief executives of digital media outlets Le Facteur and Fact Checking News, as well as Samuel Dallemand and Rubens Artist of Télé Ginen among the victims of these acts of violence.
Other media professionals are also featured in the document: Jean Yves Saint-Louis of Radio Lumière, Kettia Marcellus of the Solidarity of Haitian Women Journalists organisation, Jacques Stevenson Saint-Louis of the Ministry of National Education's Educational Radio, Judex Vélima of Télé Espace and Arnold Junior Pierre of Radio Galaxie.
Source: Google News HT — Port-au-Prince