Former Police Division Superintendent Mario Andresol has accused figures close to the current government of being involved in the murder of Jean Dominique, the owner and general manager of Radio Haiti Inter.
In a report on a recorded interview with Andresol by Kenol Dorvil broadcast by Haitian Signal Radio on 27 December, which was broadcast in full during the Haiti Today programme on 26 December, Andresol criticized the Lavalas government for dragging out the investigation into the case. He reiterated his view that the 3 April 2000 murder was sponsored and carried out by elements linked to the government and said that as long as the Lavalas regime is in power, justice will not be possible in the Dominique case. He described Judge Bernard Saint-Vil’s investigation of the murder as demagoguery, adding: “I repeat what I said: Under the current government in Haiti, there will be no progress in the Dominique’s case.”
Andresol, who is currently in exile, also denounced recent statements by Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide which imply that Dominique was killed for reasons linked to electoral cards. “I repeat that none of Haiti’s current examining judges has the moral authority to hear me,” he said, before adding that the president’s statements indicate that he has explanations to give to the court about Dominique’s murder. Andresol said that when Aristide made these remarks, the examining judge should have called on the president to explain his statements.
Andresol also denounced the corruption which he says prevails in the government. He mentioned the millions of dollars which he seized and handed over to the General Directorate of Taxes, DGI, adding that this money has disappeared and “nobody has ever asked any questions”. “At least they could have done something by saying that I stole the money but they cannot even say that, because I shall prove that they are lying,” he said.
“The current member of the government who was the director-general of the DGI at the time [reference to Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert, who was previously DGI director-general] should provide an explanation about what happened to that money,” he went on
Returning to the subject of Dominique’s death, Andresol was then asked about Senator Dany Toussaint’s alleged involvement in the murder. Andresol replied that three examining judges have worked on this case so far and commented on the confusion being sown in the country by the authorities.
“In 1999,” he recalled, “the person you mention, that is, the senator, who was speaking on the radio, said that if civil war occurs in the country, it will be the responsibility of Andresol and Robert Manuel [former secretary of state for public security under former President Rene Preval]. Why did he say so? Because on the previous evening, the anti-narcotics police went to a ball which was being organized by a friend of his with the purpose of arresting somebody. The ball failed [as a result of the police intervention]. But in his opinion, this is what will provoke the civil war.”
Andresol then commented on several other cases which are not favourable to Toussaint. He explained that in May 2002, Toussaint said on the radio that Andresol and Rene Preval should be asked about the case of Jean Lamy, who was murdered a few months before Dominique.
“One month later,” he said, “the senator was involved in demagoguery by [words indistinct] another putschist [as heard] in jail. The latter was arrested for being involved in Dominique’s murder. He said that I was involved in a plot to accuse him, whereas the person he was defending [as heard] is someone who was wanted by the police for car theft and crimes. I do not know, but, as if by chance, the same person was involved in the Dominique murder, because the police were then executing the orders of the examining judge and the public prosecutor, who asked them to arrest a number of people. That is why the first individuals who were arrested in this case were arrested by the Judicial Police.” (At the time, Andresol was the director of the Central Management of the Judicial Police.)