Agence Haitïenne de Presse

Port-au-Prince- FRN (National Reconstruction Front ) Deputy Ronald Etienne indicated Tuesday that the leader of the party, former police commissioner Guy Philippe, was not arrested during Monday's raid at his residence by DEA agents.

"Guy Philippe is for the moment in hiding", said Mr. Etienne, asserting that it is a very serious matter that foreign agents intervened in such a brutal manner at the home of a former presidential candidate.

After having taken up arms in January 2004 to support the GNB opposition in its efforts to overthrow the Aristide government, Guy Philippe filed as a presidential candidate in the February 2006 elections.

The Deputy appealed to President Préval to denounce the DEA operation against the former rebel leader.

"There are people", he said, "who would like to see Guy Philippe reduced to silence because he still has things to say following the revelations that political leaders and members of the business community had financed the armed operations of early 2004"

When asked why the head of his party was being sought by the authorities, Ronald Etienne indicated that Mr. Philippe has always denied accusations that he has been involved in drug trafficking. "Things could have been handled differently because Guy is an open individual, he could have responded to any judicial summons. There was no need to intervene with so much brutality at his residence", said the Deputy from Pestel, the home town of Guy Philippe.

For his part, Wilner Content, former Deputy from Jacmel, criticized the intervention of the DEA.

Why all this activity at the home of Guy Philipppe, since it was known that he wasn't at home, asked Mr. Content.

He said that drug traffickers are dangerous people who impose their laws with the force of money.

"Some way should be worked out to arrest Guy Philippe who, during the anti-Aristide GNB campaign, was guilty of killing many civilians and police officers, and set fire to public and private institutions in the North, the Artibonite and the Centre Departments", said Mr. Content. He added that he hopes that all whose names have been mentioned by Guy Philippe as his accomplices will also be arrested and prosecuted according to the law.

More than 24 hours after the raid at the residence of Guy Philippe in Bergeau (Les Cayes), and the operation that led to the arrest of Lavaud François in Gonaïves, neither the Haitian authorities nor the US Embassy have provided any explanations or information, and have allowed the rumors to flow.

Rumors coming from sources close to the government even suggested Tuesday morning that Guy Philipe had been taken away on Florida the night before (around 9:00 PM). And the same sources were the ones who denied these very rumors as they had very little real information as to what actually happened.