Aristide interior minister arrested in Haiti
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): Haitian police
on Tuesday detained the former interior minister in the government of ousted
president Jean Bertrand Aristide on suspicion of involvement in the killings
of opposition members in February, police said.
Jocelerme Privert was detained at his home in the capital, Port-au-Prince,
after at first resisting arrest and is now in prison, according to police
spokesman Commissioner Max Isaac. Privert is
wanted in connection with a series of killings of Aristide opponents in the
town of Saint Marc in February. Gangs loyal
to Aristide, who fled the country on February 29 amidst a mounting rebellion,
are accused of carrying out the Saint Marc killings as part of a campaign of
intimidation. The spokesman said police
staged a raid on Privert's home just after midnight.
"Mr Privert first tried to escape, but he cooperated and his arrest was
completed at 2:00am," added Isaac. A large amount of evidence was seized at
the home, Isaac said. A pro-Aristide gang
known as the 'Balai Rouze' is said to have carried out the killings. Some
police members were said to be in the gang.
According to the National Coalition for Haitians' Human Rights about 50 people
were killed in Saint Marc between February 11 and February 13.
Privert is the first member of the Aristide administration to be arrested
though about 30 other ministers and senior officials, including former prime
minister Yvon Neptune, have been banned from leaving the impoverished
Caribbean republic. An interim government led
by Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has accused the Aristide regime of
plundering the country's treasury before he fled on February 29. It has said
it will seek the extradition of Aristide, who is currently in Jamaica.
Latortue said Monday, during a visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell,
that "The country is in a state of total bankruptcy.
"Those who were here before left the country with absolutely nothing. They
took everything they could and they emptied the coffers, including the central
bank's vault, before leaving," he said. Amid
lingering fears of violence, an international stabilisation force of 3,600
troops is in Haiti and a UN peacekeeping force could follow. About 2,000
troops are American while France is also a major contributor.
Aristide has said he was forced to leave Haiti by the United States and France
and has started legal action against US and French government officials.
Powell insisted again Monday that Aristide left voluntarily and that
international action had avoided a "bloodbath" in Haiti.
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