U.S. gov't vs. Haitian People: Macoute killer freed

By G. Dunkel, Workers World, 27 June 1996

Big landlords and their allies in northern Haiti are trying to push back the people's movement for justice, land reform, jobs and a higher standard of living by reviving the terrorist Macoutes.

The U.S. government gave the nod to right-wing terror on June 14 when it freed Emmanuel Constant, head of the paramilitary death-squad organization FRAPH and a self- confessed employee of the CIA. He had been held pending deportation to Haiti, where he is wanted for murder.

Constant's release demonstrates the ongoing complicity of a part of the U.S. government and the FRAPH, the part that supported a corps of killers, said Jean-Claude Bajeux, director of the Haitian Ecumenical Center for Human Rights.

The attacks in Haiti are taking place in small, remote towns where Macoute repression has been strong, but so is popular anger and resistance.

The house of Nelsius Philippe, a peasant rescued from a Macoute justice of the peace near Auborgne, was burned down in mid-June. Two members of the National Popular Assembly (APN) in Auborgne were severely wounded in a Macoute attack. About 50 APN members have fled the area because they fear for their lives.

In Twou di No and in Wanament, both near Cap Haitien, the Macoutes and the new National Police are arbitrarily and brutally arresting members of the APN-affiliated Rasanbleman Polile Wanament and other progressive peasant groups.

The Haiti Support Network of New York is raising emergency funds for the APN. It can be contacted at 39 W. 14 St., N.Y., N.Y. 10011; (212) 633-6646.