Press Release - Letter on behalf of Liliane Pierre-Paul
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
For more information: |
Letter on behalf of Liliane Pierre-Paul
May 12, 2003
His Excellency Mr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide
President of the Republic of Haiti
Palais el National
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to express our concern over continuing threats to press freedom in Haiti. In recent years, we have watched as Haitian journalists have been threatened with death for their reporting, to the point that many have had to flee for their lives.
Recently, we became alarmed about reports of death threats against prominent journalist Liliane Pierre-Paul, programming director and news anchor of Radio Kiskeya. According to reports from several sources, on April 30 Ms. Pierre-Paul received a letter demanding that she read a statement on the air each day demanding that France pay Haiti $21.7 billion to compensate for the sum that Haiti paid France in 1838 in exchange for its recognition of Haiti’s independence. The 12 mm cartridge that came with the letter clearly put Ms. Pierre-Paul on notice about the consequences of not following orders.
This is not the first time that Ms. Pierre-Paul has been the target of threats from political activists because she refuses to tailor her reporting to their will. In 2001, she received a death threat during a news conference organized by a popular political organization, and in 2002 her radio station was forced to suspend broadcasting when it received information that unidentified persons were going to burn it down.
Ms. Pierre-Paul, a prominent journalist in Haiti, is also well known throughout the world among supporters of a free press. In 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation awarded her its Courage in Journalism Award in recognition of her longtime fight for liberty and justice for all Haitians. She is an honored and credible journalist. Her ability – indeed, the ability of all Haitian journalists − to continue reporting the news without fear of threat is crucial to your nation’s standing in the world.
The International Women’s Media Foundation was established in 1990 to strengthen the role of women in the news media worldwide, based on the belief that no press is truly free unless women share an equal voice. The IWMF network includes respected journalists committed to a free press in more than 120 countries. We are dedicated to working for truth, accuracy and objectivity in journalism.
We urge you to personally intervene to make sure that all Haitian journalists, including Liliane Pierre-Paul, are free to broadcast the news without regard to the desires of – and free from the threats of – political factions.
Sincerely,
Marcy McGinnis
Co-Chair
Lynn Povich
Co-Chair
###