Haïti-observateur 5 -12 decembre , 2012

Hopes raised by the election speech of candidate Michel Martelly on the subject of judicial reform that the Haitian society had longed for, began to disappear immediately after the inauguration of the president elect, May 14, 2011. Less than a week after having moved into the National Palace, he launched his first onslaught against the justice system. Following the initial action undertaken with arrogance, and absolute impunity, nothing can stop his unconstitutional impetus. In light of the cavalier attitude displayed by Mr. Martelly regarding several court cases, characterized by his arbitrary and direct interventions of the presidency in favor of close allies of Sweet Mickey, the independence of the judiciary remains and will remain entirely out of reach of the citizens for a long time to come. We knew Michel Martelly’s presidency was off to a bad start as soon as the new tenant of the National Palace had appropriated the case of the former Municipal Commissioner of Gonaives, Ernst BouqueT Dorfeuille. The latter was imprisoned at the National Penitentiary for more than two years on suspicion of being involved in the abduction and subsequent murder of his concubine, Monique Pierre. Haitian justice had determined that she was linked to the underworld, particularly including compromising links to the network of traffickers of illicit substances of which it was more than suspected that she was a participant.

Indeed, according to testimonies given by two members of the Martelly team, the release of Dorfeuille was planned since the transition by the future “legal experts” of the socalled pink power. Also, once he took the oath of office, Michel Martelly initiated the process of clearing the senior police officer of all charges. This responsibility was assigned to Judge Gabrielle Domingue, who gave her verdict without delay. In about a month after Martelly settled down at the National Palace, Bouquet Dorfeuille was exonerated thanks to a secret, if not an undisclosed procedure. Insofar as opacity characterizes Sweet Mickey’s style of government, the police commissioner was completely freed by flying the coop, then tiptoed back into his hotel room at Ibo Lélé.

In the name of the integrity and professional independence of the magistrate, it’s to be hoped that Judge Domingue’s decision on Mr. Dorfeuille`s case resulted from an objective analysis of the facts free from any manipulation. Obviously, a flawed judgment will not stand in honor of the judge in question. In the same vein, the beneficiary of her decision will have neither peace of mind nor the respect attached to the noble function to which he was recalled by President Martelly. With out a doubt, a judge who rendered a verdict in such condition would seriously undermine his/her career within a regenerated judicial system, completely restored to the prestige and high esteem which characterize this function.

Analyzing President Martelly’s rogue attitude in the Dorfeuille case, it’s clear that this was his first attempt. For, in the Calixte Valentin affair, the head of state confirmed only too well the arbitrariness of his behavior vis-à-vis the justice system. The former was sent for remand by the Government Prosecutor of Croix des Bouquet, after he had shot a merchant of Fonds Parisien in cold blood in May 2012.

Yet Mr. Valentine was released last month by magistrate Paul Fernaud Jude who had been designated for that purpose by the Minister of Justice. In the best tradition of the Martelly-Lamothe administration, the case was handled in the utmost secrecy; and the release of accused Mersidieu Calix te Valentin was carried out without the slightest notification or warning. And for good reason! Like the crime perpetrated on the person of Monique Pierre, the murder in broad daylight of Octanol Déris saint, in the presence of witnesses, had hit the headlines for several days, causing a wave of protests against the government and condemnation of President Martelly.

Indeed, the president tried to draw the curtain on this crime. It’s within this logic that soon after Valentin had been ordered incarcerated, the Minister of Justice, Jean Renel Sanon, dismissed Mario Beau voir from his post of Government Prosecutor of Croix des Bouquets, jurisdiction on which Fonds Parisien belongs, and wherein the crime was perpetrated. Minister Sanon was angry against Mr. Beauvoir, who, according to him, dared to ignore his suggestion; that’s more like an order, to dismiss all charges against the adviser of the president. The chief prosecutor of

Croix des Bouquets refused to give in to the idea suggested by his supervisor calling on him to give “special treatment“ to the status of the accused, without the slightest consideration for the parents and families of the victim of such a heinous capital crime.

If such crimes were commonplace under the Duvalier regimes (father and son), Aristide and Preval, Michel Martelly, in his speech during the presidential campaign, had vehemently denounced the kidnapping of justice by the Executive.

He then gained the support of large sectors of the country, which had put faith in his promises; already they thought they had seen looming at the horizon the reform of the judicial system and the end of the reign of impunity.

But the complacent attitude shown by President Martelly, in respect to crimes committed by his close allies, leaves no hope of seeing the clock reset to the correct time with regard to the judicial system.

This determination is made even clearer in light of the many crimes that have been recorded under Martelly’s young presidency. It may be pointed out at random, in addition to the Valentin case, that dozens of kidnappings have occurred under this administration. The most spectacular ones remained without solution, such as the abductions of the Chinese ambassador and Edouard Baussan.

However, the arrest of businessman Clifford Brand, accused of orchestrating the kidnapping for ransom of Robert Moscosso’s children, render the picture even more clouded. This event exposes the role played by people close to the president in criminal activities and strengthens the picture of President Martelly being an obstacle to a fair distribution of justice.

In light of the facts, the Chief Executive pretends to ignore to what degree his reprehensible behavior hinders development and investment. He doesn’t understand either that in the current crisis facing the nation, he should bring more focus upon actual judicial reform and public administration before investing millions in travels abroad, which are bound to lead to nowhere. Indeed, such trips that produce “agreements“ endlessly, but will certainly offer no chance of being translated into concrete benefits for the country until President Martelly decides to make justice reform an obligation and a reality. Mr. Martelly doesn’t need to wait for his international interlocutors to tell him that the slogan “Haiti is open for business“ is a meaningless joke, as long as the desired  judicial reforms advocated by so many are spoke like dogs yelling in the wind and not implemented. Clearly, it’s time to liberate the Haitian justice from the influence of Michel Martelly.