By: Wadner Pierre - HaitiAnalysis.com

The head of BAI (Office of International Lawyers), attorney Mario Joseph, met with victims of violence in Petit Goâve on Friday April 20, 2007. Joseph in the past represented victims of violence in the infamous Raboteau Massacre trial. Two other lawyers, Aliénor Saint Paul, who recently returned from training in France, and Rouse Celestin, also visited Petit Goâve.

Discussion was held with dozens that were victimized following the coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on the 29th of February 2004. The victims are numerous in Haiti. Driving across Haiti and tuning into the local radio stations, one often hears the voices of people in Haitian cities (Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Gonaïves, etc) who relentlessly call for justice for the crimes perpetrated during and following the 2004 coup d'état.

“We, the partisans of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, we are the main victims. Our brothers and sisters are always illegally imprisoned - to say nothing of those murdered and tortured. We want justice to be served," said a 43 years old victim speaking with Attorney Saint Paul. There are many people who still live here and carry the after-effects of this hard period according to the many who spoke. The attorneys interviewed five parents of people killed by bullets and stones of the partisans of the Convergence Démocratique (CD).

One young man described how a number of parents were murdered in front of their children and how many houses were burned down. He described a campaign of arson launched by government opponents.

One former political prisoner, Adeline Joseph, stated, “I thank all the people who had helped me to leave the prison, special thanks to: Bureau des Avocats Internatinaux (BAI) directed by Mario Joseph and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) with the lawyer Brian Concannon Jr”.

The main objective of the meeting was to put together a complaint by the poor citizens of Petit Goâve against the anti-government individuals and groups involved in killings and arson. Many in the crowd spoke of how they, the poor, have no means to seek representation other than with the help of the lawyers of BAI. One victim illustrating their plight, describied how the days pass, but God alone knows when justice will be served.