GUATEMALA
Press freedom is constantly threatened in Haiti. There is no security for journalists and the media because of attacks, mostly by sympathizers of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide and police officials.
One journalist was killed, while others were threatened and some were attacked and beaten, especially during the first months of this year. In brief, press freedom in Haiti is still a high-risk activity, despite the fact that it has been more than a year since Aristide left office and the government changed.
On January 14, journalist Abdias Jean was killed while covering a police action in Cité de Dieu. Three other people died in the same police action, according to press reports.
Witnesses said Haitian police officers chased Abdias Jean inside a house and killed him after he had witnessed murders and abuses presumed to have been committed by the police.
During the operation, police officers also mistreated a journalist of television station Telé Ginen , and took his camera. They returned it many hours later without the cassette that had footage of the police action.
On February 14, Claude Bernard Serant and Jonel Juste, two journalists of the daily Le Nouvelliste , were attacked by supporters of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide in Bel-Air, a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. The attackers severely beat the journalists and stole their equipment. The journalists were hospitalized.
On January 23, the press office of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue issued a statement in which he criticized Guyler Delva, the Reuters correspondent in Haiti and president of the Association of Haitian Journalists. It said a recent report by him was a ?regrettable scheme? and that Delva does not miss any opportunity to publish disinformation about Haiti.
This type of government reaction, which would be normal in any other country, is a serious threat to journalism in Haiti, where the lack of security and attacks against journalists by political gangs are so common. Delva has received death threats on several occasions.
On February 7, the government communications agency (National Telecommunications Council) ordered the private radio station Radio Solidarité to change its frequency. Its general manager, Venel Remarais called this a political reprisal. The council gave the station a deadline of February 28 (thee weeks) to change its frequency.
