UN Guns Down One, Opens Fire on Crowd at Funeral of Revered Haitian Priest

June 19, 2009

UN Guns Down One, Opens Fire on Crowd at Funeral of Revered Haitian Priest

From the Haiti Information Project
Photos: UN arrests unidentified protestor minutes before opening fire on crowd during funeral for Father Gerard Jean-Juste

HIP - Port au Prince, Haiti -One protestor was killed as UN forces opened fire during a funeral for Catholic priest Father Gerard Jean-Juste. A human rights advocate and well-known supporter of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Lavalas movement, Jean-Juste died on May 27 in a Miami hospital from complications following a stroke and long respiratory illness.

Eyewitnesses report today's shooting incident involving the UN began after mourners began chanting slogans for the return of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide outside of Haiti's national cathedral.

One of the protestors was seen inadvertently passing through a security barrier erected by UN forces and was detained. As the UN arrested him hundreds more rushed past the barrier and resumed chants for Lavalas and Aristide.

According to witnesses, UN troops on the scene began shooting indiscriminately at the crowd killing a young man identified only as "Junior" from the neighborhood of Solino.

Hundreds more protestors then took the body of the victim to the front of Haiti's National Palace where they began chanting, "Down with Preval" and "Long live Aristide."

Widespread disillusionment with Haitian president Rene Preval and the UN occupation force has grown discernibly over the past year. Members of Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti's largest political party were barred from participating in the last Senate election and organized a successful boycott called "Operation Closed Door." Today's shooting comes days before a second round of elections scheduled for Sunday. Fanmi Lavalas has announced a second boycott to protest their exclusion from the electoral process.

The incident involving the UN was captured live and streamed over the Internet by Tele-Ginen, a Haitian television station located in Port au Prince.