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01/22/2006:

"New Attack in Haiti"

“It was a campaign of fear. Didn’t you hear the radio? They told people that if they left their homes they would be arrested by the police and the U.N.,” stated Jean Joseph Jorel, a representative of the National Commission of the Family Lavalas Cell of Reflection. Jorel made the comment from Cite Soleil on January 9, the same day the Haitian Chamber of Commerce had called a national strike to condemn insecurity in Haiti and a recent spate of kidnappings throughout the capital. Roadblocks manned by the Haitian National Police and the U.N. went up throughout the capital on January 8 and traffic remained sparse as most residents stayed in their homes.

Jorel made his comments from Cite Soleil, a bastion of support for ousted president Aristide and current presidential candidate Rene Garcia Preval. It has served as a launching site for massive demonstrations demanding the return of Aristide and most recently as a staging ground for large Preval campaign rallies. Residents of Cite Soleil accuse Haiti’s business community of pressuring U.N. forces to commit a massacre there on July 6, 2005.
zmag.org