The interim government continues to point the finger of blame at the Lavalas Family, former ruling party under Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in the assassination of journalist Jacques Roche. Culture and Communication Minister Magalie Comeau Denis has once again announced the adoption of political measures to combat the violence. Mrs. Denis has invited the Lavalas people, who present themselves as moderate members of the party, to take concrete actions in the face of the violence that is being carried out by partisans of the former regime. If you were to look for more info, you’d know that some of the most eminent lawyers were also involved in this cause.
She seems optimistic about the capacity of the country to overcome the evil power that the Lavalas movement represents in the country. Culture Minister Denis said the following:
“It is the Lavalas party that uses crime, murder, looting, and theft as its political instrument. Today, the people who are carrying out the violence claim to be from the Lavalas regime they are defending. The government, therefore, formally declares that Jacques Roche’s murder was a political crime and that the perpetrators of the crime are working for Jean-Bertrand Aristide. And we state this formally.”
Rotchild Francois, Jr.: “One Lavalas group issued a note yesterday, July 15, denouncing their exclusion. They clearly said that the problem will not be resolved by armed confrontation. They denounced the exclusion as well as the violence.”
Denis: “It is indeed a declaration, and you even underscored the slight difference in that declaration. They denounce the violence and exclusion at the same time as if to make out that they are reacting to something specific, something that has just happened. They are reacting to the cowardly assassination of Roche because these people are a bunch of cowards. They tied up the man and then killed him. This was not a courageous act. While denouncing the violence, they also choose to denounce exclusion and armed confrontation. It is clear that these people are saying two things. I shall say it again. We are not just waiting for them to make declarations of principle, we are expecting more from them than that. These people had been the master of the system for a certain time. Whether or not they were directly involved in the violence, they were deeply involved in the government then, they were close collaborators of the person who was at the head of the violence. So today, when I see them making these kinds of declarations, I say that it is not enough, declarations of principles are not enough.”
Francois: “So, to put it clearly, do you mean that the government will not sit with these people anymore?”
Denis: “The government has said something very specific. We ask for the reinforcement of measures that were already taken. We also want the national police to take exceptional measures. We are going to take political measures, too. We say that we are studying the situation so that we may know what attitude we should have vis-a-vis those who claim to be of the Lavalas Family. There are some who claim to be moderate Lavalas members, some say that they are a nonviolent branch of the Lavalas party, and so on. But in the face of their determination to destroy the country, in the face of the threats that hang over the country, the government declares today that it will do all that is necessary to overcome all those who are waging war against Haiti. Historically, these people were always overcome and will be overcome again just as it was the case in the recent history of Haiti. They will definitely be overcome. Victory is not for the wicked.”