[R-G] Green Party press release on Haiti

[Anthony Fenton]

Media Release
For Immediate Release
November 1, 2007

Green Party says Canada should intervene in Haiti kidnapping
OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May said today that the federal  
government should offer to mediate in an attempt to secure the  
release of kidnapped Haitian opposition leader Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.
"Through its previous involvement in Haiti, the Canadian government  
has gained access to a range of political actors," said Ms. May. "It  
could play a mediating role in securing the release of Mr. Pierre- 
Antoine. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has an opportunity  
to help. The question is, does he care and will he even try?"
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a human rights campaigner and high profile  
member of ousted President Jean-Baptiste Aristide's Lavalas Party,  
was kidnapped in August while touring the country with a human rights  
delegation that included representatives from the Canadian Haiti  
Action Network and Toronto Haiti Action Committee. Both have since  
returned safely to Canada.
Another Lavalas Party official, Dr. Maryse Narcisse, was abducted at  
gunpoint late last week, but was released unharmed this week after a  
ransom was paid.
"There is real concern among human rights activists in Haiti and  
elsewhere that these abductions are part of a renewed effort to  
intimidate members of the Lavalas Party in Haiti," said Stephen  
LaFrenie, special advisor on Haiti to Green Party international  
affairs critic Eric Walton. "Lavalas is a legitimate political party  
which holds seats in the Haitian parliament."
Pierre-Antoine had recently announced his intention to run as a  
Lavalas candidate in the next round of elections in Haiti and the  
party is gearing up for a convention in Port au Prince on December  
16, the 17-year anniversary of Aristide's election.
The Canadian government has been silent on human rights violations in  
Haiti since the overthrow of democratically elected President  
Aristide in February 2004.  It has also apparently taken no action on  
reports of misuse of Canadian aid by the interim government of Gérard  
Latortue. The Canadian Rights Delegation is currently on a cross- 
country tour to investigate serious questions about the effectiveness  
of Canadian foreign aid and how and where it is being used.
Green Party human rights critic Joe Foster said that the government  
should be looking into these concerns and using its diplomatic  
influence to improve the human rights situation in Haiti. "Canada  
must promote the rule of law and respect for human rights as laid out  
in the UN Charter," Mr. Foster said.
Contact:
Camille Labchuk
Press Secretary
613-882-4761
clabchuk at greenparty.ca