a1461: Impunity and Toto Constant: A Long Legacy of Injustice (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Impunity and Toto Constant: A Long Legacy of Injustice
by
Haiti Reborn - A Project of the Quixote Center

I have never met Emmanuel "Toto" Constant; I hope I never do. I have met his
victims, though. I have met them in air conditioned offices in
Port-au-Prince, in an open school room in Raboteau, in the garbage littered
alleys of Cite Soleil, in the rice fields of the Artibonite and along the
river in Gros Morne. They are a diverse group - rich, poor, young, old, male,
female, professional, peasant. They hold my eyes and seize the opportunity to
share their pain. Carry our voices where they cannot be heard, they say.
Don't forget us - we've been forgotten already but we still exist. They share
a bond that overcomes their differences, and this is what you can't walk away
without understanding. They are all victims. As long as there is impunity,
victims remain victims.

Toto Constant is one of hundreds of Haitian former soldiers, attaches and
paramilitary who walk free today. During the bloody coup d'etat of 1991-94,
these men held absolute power in Haiti. They tortured, maimed, raped and
killed more people than can be counted. Conservative estimates put the number
dead at 5,000, with 60,000 trying to escape by sea and 300,000 internally
displaced.

It is important to understand that these men are only the latest in a long
line of military and paramilitary oppressors in Haiti. They took their cue
from the organizations that had come before them, and from nearly two hundred
years of coup d'etats and rule of force. Haiti's democracy, which would only
be ten years old now if there hadn't been a coup d'etat in 1991, is just
beginning to tackle issues of justice. Impunity has been the rule, not the
exception, and because of this the criminals of the last fifty years walk
free in the streets of Haiti. The high command of both military and
paramilitary operations have an even sweeter fate - Toto Constant walks free
in the streets of New York.

Clearly, the roots were planted long ago for a system where violence reigns
supreme, impunity is the norm and justice is not possible in Haiti. This
system, which began even before Haiti gained its independence from France,
has embedded itself in the fabric of Haitian society. It is a long-term
process to turn it around, to build a democratic Haitian state where justice
is accessible and possible. The establishment of democratic government was
the first step in this direction, and the Raboteau trial, Haiti's first trial
for human rights violations, was the second step. Securing the extradition
from the United States of Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, convicted in absentia
during the Raboteau trial, is the next critical step in this process for many
reasons. The most important of these reasons is demonstrating that both the
Haitian and American governments are committed to justice in Haiti, and are
committed to ending the suffering of its victims.

By engaging Haiti Reborn constituents in the fight to bring Constant back to
Haiti during Haiti Solidarity Week we believe we can make a real difference -
we can convince our Congressional representatives to join us in pressuring
the State Department, and we can even find success in the struggle. As
Americans focus on our global war on terrorism, it is an opportune time to
direct attention back to the terrorist in our own house. Let's send a message
to our government that paying lip service to ending terrorism isn't enough
when someone like Constant lives free in New York.

Haiti Solidarity Week 2002: Seeking Justice and Freedom from Fear
Haiti Reborn - A Project of the Quixote Center
P.O. Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782
tel: 301-699-0042
fax: (301) 864-2182
www.quixote.org/haiti