Churchmen want Macoutes disarmed

Press, 27 September 1988, Page 9

Churchmen want Macoutes disarmed

NZPA-Reuter Port-au-Prince Haitian bishops called yesterday for the disarming of all Tontons Macoutes and for an economic and social recovery plan for the Caribbean nation where young soldiers staged a coup a week earlier.

The Macoutes, set up by the former dictator, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, as a private counterweight to the Army, have terrorised the island home of voodoo for over 25 years. The bishop’s statement was issued as several hundred worshippers marched five kilometres uphill in the midday sun in the first public demonstration in the steamy capital since the September 17 coup. The bishops called for the “disarming of all Macoutes, and excluding, from public administration all those who, in one way or another, have ac- , tively contributed to consolidating and perpetuat- , ing the dictatorial system - during the last 30 years.” The soldiers’ coup, in which they named General Prosper Avril as I President, has triggered ■ military rebellions in Haiti, aimed mainly at base commanders and 1 civilian officials accused • of mistreating their subordinates and who were - thought to have links with ; the feared Macoutes. ' The bishops appealed to ‘ coup supporters to consolidate the achievements of liberation with discip-

line, disinterest and wisdom, to try to promote the common good. More than 20 people, many accused of Macoutes connections, have died in a wave of revenge killings since the coup. Some of the bodies have been burned before cheering crowds, and the houses of Macoutes-linked officials have been sacked. “We cannot be satified with disarming Macoutes. The necessary judicial structures must be put in place, because, to avoid violence, people must be given the chance to present their appeals for justice,” the bishops said. The bishops said a national recovery plan for Haiti, the poorest country' in the Americas, should be urgently put into effect. “Because the country’s economy is at its lowest level, the state of the roads are lamentable. Health is threatened. The country is deteriorating at an extraordinary speed,” they said. The bishops appealed to international organisations to increase aid to Haiti because of the country’s stalled economy.