[Bloquez l'empire!] UN Commits War Crimes in Cite Soleil, Haiti

[aaron at resist.ca]

UN commits war crimes in Cite Soleil, Haiti
by Leslie Bagg

-->To view the photo gallery which accompanies this report, visit:
http://gallery.cmaq.net/album52

January 20, 2006

Port au Prince -- As pressure from Haiti's elite on MINUSTAH (United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) continues to escalate, so too does
the violence perpetrated by UN forces against civilians in Cite Soleil.
The death toll in the desperately poor neighborhood has been climbing
steadily since the Group 184 organized a business strike and a
demonstration on January 16th outside UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince
with the aim of pushing MINUSTAH to do more to provide security and
eliminate so-called terrorists in the city's poorest neighborhoods. At
least 10 civilians have been killed by UN forces this week.

Many feel that more killings could also be in order in retaliation for the
January 17th deaths of two Jordanian MINUSTAH soldiers in Cite Soleil. 
Representatives from Cite Soleil contest that no one from the community
was involved in these killings, and that outsider intervention is a
possibility.

Residents of Cite Soleil showed us the bodies of two of the most recent
victims of MINUSTAH's campaign of terror. Jean Ericson, a man in his early
20's, lies dead on the sidewalk in a pool of his own blood. His neighbors
tell us he was killed by MINUSTAH bullets at 9:00 am on January 19th. The
second body is a short walk away. An unidentified man lies with a bullet
hole in his chest. He was a porter, residents tell us, one of many who
pull heavy loads in the hot sun in order to survive. They show us his
empty cart a few blocks away.

Our next visit is Ste-Catherine's hospital, where we meet eight-year-old
Valencia who was shot in the leg during a MINUSTAH attack on her home
during the night of January 18th. We learn more disturbing news at the
hospital. It was itself a target of MINUSTAH fire that same night. Lani
Byeneme, who was present at the hospital with her 13 year-old child, Aline
Jean-Denis, during the attack explains: “Yesterday night, we were sleeping
here, and MINUSTAH came to kill us. It was MINUSTAH that shot the bullet
which almost killed my little child. The window was broken, and it fell on
the bed of the child.” Small children and their parents look on as we
photograph bullet holes in the glass window of the children's ward.

Thus far, the only MINUSTAH personnel we have come in contact with have
been ensconsed in their armed personnel carriers. However, as we drive
through Pele, another slum area adjacent to Cite Soleil, we see armed
blue-helmeted soldiers out patrolling a busy street. They are accompanied
by a masked man who is questioning people, including a woman sitting by
the side of the road. She tells us that he is a Cite Soleil resident who
has been hired by MINUSTAH to lead them to the 'chimeres', the armed
bandits who are supposedly terrorizing the neighborhood.

The actions of MINUSTAH in Cite Soleil make one wonder just whom is
terrorizing whom. The Geneva convention states that “Combatants must
distinguish between civilian and military objects and attack only military
targets.” (Protocol I, Art. 48). Residents that we interviewed stressed
that the two men who had been gunned down in the street were unarmed. It
is impossible to make the argument that eight year old Valencia is a
combatant. The Geneva convention also specifically protects hospitals,
stating that “Fixed establishments and mobile medical units must be
protected and respected by all sides in a conflict.” (Convention I, Art.
19). If the United Nations is willing to ignore international law to serve
the interests of the rich in Haiti, it should be cause for concern not
only for residents of Cite Soleil, but for citizens the countries like
Canada whose governments are supporting the UN mission here.

[Leslie Bagg is an activist and independent journalist based in Montreal. 
She will be in Haiti filing reports during the month of January.  Leslie
can be reached at montrealtohaiti at resist.ca]