Friday, July 22, 2005
Christian persecution you'll never hear about
Catholic priest assaulted by probable paramilitary squads in church
As the well-dressed people continued yelling at Fr. Jean-Juste, the prayer service nearly turned into a riot....Well-dressed men and women continued to scream and threaten Fr. Gerry as they moved by us into the church. Then a crowd of 15 or 20 or more young men, not dressed at all for the funeral came into the sacristy and the mood turned uglier and more menacing. At that point, the security forces melted away [a likely signal that the young men were from paramilitary forces].
The young men continued the screaming started by the well-dressed people and then started pushing and hitting Pere Jean-Juste. At that point a young woman came out of the funeral crowd and embraced Fr. Jean-Juste shielding him with her body from the blows and the increasingly loud and angry young men. She started praying loudly and saying "mon pere, mon pere."
After days of harassment, questioned over laughable accusations that he had been running guns and otherwise participating in a plot to overthrow the "government", Father Jean-Juste was arrested, charged with a murder he could not possibly have committed.
Action: Write or fax UN Special Representative Juan Gabriel Valdés, urging him to release MINUSTAH's prison report immediately, and to resist pressure from the Haitian police to minimize the number of casualties. ... Mr. Valdés speaks English, French and Spanish. His fax number is (dial 011 first from the US for an international line) 509 244 3512.
Mr Juan Gabriel Valdés Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
387, avenue John Brown Port-au-Prince, Haïti
Or pick American, French, or Canadian officials to write to.
Comments:
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Tried the Haitian embassy -- couldn't get through. Just sent an e-mail, and will go post this over at dKos.
Thanks, PW.
I heard Father Jean Juste speak on the radio. He was still shaken and tired from the ordeal of being grilled about gun running at the airport (based entirely on some black Miami radio Oxycontin-wannabe making wild allegations). But he was calm and clearly at peace with himself.
I have no doubt that he will do even more damage to the "government" in jail than he would if he were free.
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I heard Father Jean Juste speak on the radio. He was still shaken and tired from the ordeal of being grilled about gun running at the airport (based entirely on some black Miami radio Oxycontin-wannabe making wild allegations). But he was calm and clearly at peace with himself.
I have no doubt that he will do even more damage to the "government" in jail than he would if he were free.
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