This is a message from Bill Quigley. He is someone I have met several times and is definitely on the level legit. >From: bill quigley >To: wardpeace@hotmail.com > >Dear Friends: > This is Bill Quigley. I was with Fr. Gerard >Jean-Juste all day yesterday from church to jail. >Though it seems unbelievable even to me, this is is >what happened and some action ideas about what to do >about it. Pardon if it is not very well-written, but >the computers are not working well and this is the >best I can do in short time with little sleep. Please >circulate this to anyone you want. Please feel free >to reprint and send it anywhere. > >Story: >Haitian Priest Assaulted by Mob at Funeral and >Arrested for Murder. > By Bill Quigley, in Port au Prince. Bill is a law >professor at Loyola University New Orleans and is >co-counsel with Mario Joseph and the Institute for >Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Mario Joseph can be >reached at 509.554.4284. Bill can be reached in Haiti >at 509.401.4822 and in US at 504.861.2709. > > On Thursday July 21, 2005, Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste >went to St. Pierre's Catholic Church to be one of the >priests participating in the funeral of Haitian >journalist Jacques Roche. Fr. Jean-Juste is a cousin >of the Roche family and members of the Roche family >protected him from a mob earlier in his life. He went >to express spiritual comfort and reconciliation to the >family. > The tragic kidnaping and death of Jacques Roche >has been taken up as a cause by those opposed to the >Lavalas party. Jacques Roche was identified as a >supporter of the people calling themselves the group >of 184, who overthrew by force the democratically >elected goverment of President Aristide, the leader of >the Lavalas party, in February 2004. > Oppononents of Aristide say that because the body >of Jacques Roche was found in a poor neighborhood that >he was executed by the Lavalas party who is very >strong in the poorest neighborhoods. For those of us >in the US, this is much like blaming John Kerry for >inner city deaths because most of the people in the >inner city vote democratic. > Fr. Jean-Juste went to the funeral expressly to >pay his respects to the family and express his open >remorse and opposition to any killing of anyone, no >matter their political affiliation. > Jacques Roche's coffin was in the chapel next to >the sacristy and main area of the chuch. At 10 >o'clock the bishop and about seven priests robed in >white with purple stoles or sashes paraded out of the >sacristy of the church to the chapel next to the main >area of the church to say blessings over the coffin of >Jacques Roche. > When Fr. Jean-Juste walked out, people started >yelling at him in the chapel. They called him >"assasin" and "criminal" and yelled out to "arrest and >kill the rat." > Fr. Jean-Juste has been publicly accused in the >last several days of "a plot against the security of >the state," smuggling money and guns into the >country, and of being behind all the kidnappings. >All clearly false charges but widely reported by >unfriendly press. > People knew Fr. Jean-Juste was coming to the >funeral because that was printed on the front page of >a conservative paper the day before. > As the well-dressed people continued yelling at >Fr. Jean-Juste, the prayer service nearly turned into >a riot. The other priests turned to leave and a >well-dressed crowd of screaming people surrounded him. > I went out to be by his side. Some plainclothes >security people and a few priests surrounded us and >helped push us through the increasingly hostile crowd >back into the church sacristy. > The other priests then persuaded Fr. Jean-Juste >not to continue in the funeral service. So we stood >aside as the priests and the funeral crowd filed past >us into the main church. > Well-dressed men and women continued to scream >and threaten Fr. Gerry as they moved by us into the >church. Then a crowd of 15 or 20 or more young men, >not dressed at all for the funeral came into the >sacristy and the mood turned uglier and more menacing. > At that point, the security forces melted away. > The young men continued the screaming started by >the well-dressed people and then started pushing and >hitting Pere Jean-Juste. At that point a young woman >came out of the funeral crowd and embraced Fr. >Jean-Juste shielding him with her body from the blows >and the increasingly loud and angry young men. She >started praying loudly and saying "mon pere, mon >pere." > A man in a suit, who identified himself as head of >security for the funeral, rushed back in from the >church area - only a few feet away and in plain view >-and told Fr. Gerry these people were going to kill >him there in the sacristy unless he fled. Fr. >Jean-Juste knelt to pray and the woman and I knelt >with him in the middle of the growing crowd. > At that point people started slapping Fr. >Jean-Juste on the head and face and spitting on him >and the other two of us. Something then hit Fr. >Jean-Juste in the head. Someone punched him in the >eye. We stood up and a few UN CIVPOL officers showed >up to help us leave the sacristy of the church. As we >tried to get to the stairs people continued pushing >and screaming and shouting threats. They continued to >call out "assasin," "criminal," and "kill the rat."The >crowd now overwhelmed the police. More people spit on >us and hit Fr. Gerry, even in the face, while others >were grabbing his church vestments trying to drag him >off the church steps. > The CIVPOL were trying to hold back the crowd but >were still well outnumbered and were not able to halt >the mob. We moved up the steps into a narrow dark >corridor while the crowd pushed and shoved and spit >and hit. We then retreated into a smaller corridor >and finally to a dead end that contained two small >concrete toilet stalls. > The three of us were pushed into the stalls as the >crowd banged on the walls and doors of the stalls and >continued screaming. The woman held the door closed >and prayed loudly as the people outside roared and the >CIVPOL called for reinforcements. > After a few minutes, reinforcements arrived and >the hallway was finally cleared of all but us and the >authorities. > A man in a suit identifying himself as secretary >for security for Haiti told us that he was going to >have to arrest Fr. Jean-Juste because public clamor >had identified him as the assasin of journalist >Jacques Roche. The police would bring him to the >police station for his own safety. Fr. Jean-Juste >told the man that he was in Florida when the >journalist was killed and he wanted to return to St. >Claire's, his parish. The man left escorting out the >woman who helped us. > In a few minutes, CIVPOL police, including troops >from Jordan, surrounded Fr. Jean-Juste and I and ran >us out of the church to a police truck. The truck >with police with machine guns sped away from the >church and took us not to Fr. Gerry's parish but to >the police station in Petitionville. > For the next seven or eight hours we were kept in a >room while the UN forces and the Haitian forces >negotiated about what to do. Fr. Gerry read his >prayer book while we waited. We were told informally >that the UN wanted to escort Fr. Jean-Juste back to >his parish but the Haitian government was insisting >that he be arrested. > The attackers were allowed to go free and not >arrested, but they wanted to arrest the victim! > Fr. Gerry told me "This is all a part of the death >sentence called down upon me on the radio in Miami. >The searches at the airport, the visits to the police >stations, the mandate to appear before a criminal >judge yesterday, and now this. It is all part of the >effort to silence my voice for democracy." > At about 6pm, several Haitian officers came into >our room and ordered Fr. Gerry and I and Haitian >attorney Mario Joseph to come with them. > The officers held out a piece of paper that they >said was an official complaint against Fr. Gerry >accusing him of being the assasin of Jacques Roche. >The complaint was based on "public clamor" at the >funeral identifying him as the murderer. They refused >to let Fr. Jean-Juste or the lawyers see this paper. >It was their obligation, they said, to investigate >this public clamor identifying him as the murderer. >If Fr. Jean-Juste chose not to talk with them, they >would put him in jail immediately. > Fr. Jean-Juste agreed to the interrogation and it >went on for over three hours. He was growing >increasingly sore and tired from the beating he took, >but was not bleeding externally. When the lawyers >argued with the police, Fr. Gerry read his prayer >book. > The police already knew that Fr. Jean-Juste was in >Florida at the time of the kidnapping and death of the >journalist, because the police had already interviewed >him several times in the last few days in connection >with the other false allegations against him, but >asked him many questions anyway. How many cell phones >did he have? What is his exact relation to Jacques >Roche? Why did he go to the funeral? Can he prove he >was in Florida? Since he was on the news in Florida >can he provide a copy of the newstape showing he was >in Florida? When Aristide was president was he >provided with armed security? What happened to the >pistols that his secutity had? Could he find out and >have any pistols returned to the government? Why did >he go to the funeral? Did Lavalas promise Aristide to >execute someone from the group of 184 in retaliation >for them taking power? When was the last time he was >in the US? Are the Catholic sisters in Bel-Air with >you when you got to demonstrations there? and on and >on. > After over three hours, the interrogation >finished. > With great solemnity the police told Fr. Jean-Juste >that he was being charged with participating in the >death of Jacques Roche and not returning state >property. The said the law orders that he will be >brought before a judge within 48 hours for further >decision. > At exactly 10pm, Fr. Gerry handed me his keys and >church vestments and was locked into the jail cell at >Petionville with many, many others. He was holding a >pink plastic rosary, his prayer book and a roll of >toilet paper. > He flashed a tired smile and told me: "Now you >see what we are up against in Haiti. If they treat me >like this, think how they treat the poor people. Tell >everyone that with the help of God and everyone else I >will keep up the good fight. Everyone else should >continue to fight for democracy as well. The truth >will come out. I am innocent of all charges. I will >be free soon. Freedom for Haiti is coming. The >struggle continues." > As I left him, a very tired Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste >was being greeted by all the prisoners in the very >crowded jail cell as "mon pere!" > > > > > Action: Write or fax UN Special Representative >Juan Gabriel Valdés, urging him to release MINUSTAH's >prison report immediately, and to resist pressure from >the Haitian police to minimize the number of >casualties. Mr. Valdés >speaks English, French and Spanish. His fax number is >(dial 011 first from the US for an international line) >509 244 3512. >__________ > >Mr Juan Gabriel Valdés >Special Representative of the Secretary-General >United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti >387, avenue John Brown >Port-au-Prince, Haïti > > > >Contact Information: > >U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, James B. Foley >United States Embassy >Port-au-Prince, Haiti >Telephones: 011-509-223-4711, or 222-0200 or 0354 >Fax: 011-509-223-1641 or 9038 >Email to Dana Banks, Human Rights Officer: >BanksD@state.gov >___________ >Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, Claude Boucher >Embassy of Canada >Port-au-Prince, Haiti >Telephone: 011-509- 249-9000 >Fax: 011-509-249-9920 >Email: prnce@international.gc.ca >________________________________________________ > >Ambassador of France in Haiti, M. Yves GAUDEUL >Embassy of France >51 place des Héros de l'Indépendance - BP 312 >Port-au-Prince, Haiti >Telephone: 011-509-222-0952 >Fax : 011-509-223 5675 > > >Haiti Authorities: >Fax. No. 011-509-245-0474 >Me. Henri Dorléans >Ministre de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique >Ministère de la Justice >19 Avenue Charles Sumner >Port-au-Prince, Haiti