ARTICLE - BELIZAIRE - MARTELLY HAS CONVICTS

DEPUTY BELIZAIRE SAYS CONVICTS IN ENTOURAGE OF MARTELLY
(Defend Haiti) -

PARIS, France - Deputy of the Republic, Arnel Belizaire (Veye-Yo/Delmas & Tabarre), speaking from Paris, denounced the Haitian Head of State for using the state prosecutor for his "dirty work" and says he will bring light the "shady" elements in the president's entourage.

"The government commissioner (Félix Léger) is doing dirty jobs for President Martelly and should be ashamed to behave in this way, a professional of his caliber,"

According to RTVC , Deputy Belizaire added that he was surprised that the government attorney would launch an offensive against him, requesting his parliamentary immunity be lifted over matters cleared by the courts. Belizaire also said that he is prepared to provide details of convicts in the President of the Republic of Haiti's entourage.

"The convicts are in the entourage of Micky [President Michel Martelly]; no need to persecute the parliament..."

The Director of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), Pierre Esperance got hold of the charges being brought to the parliament against Belizaire. Esperance spoke about it on Monday:

"...at the level of RNDDH we have information on the conflict between Arnel Belizaire and the justice system... We know that he was arrested September 14, 1995 for breach of trust and was released September 18, 1995. He was again arrested on October 14, 2004 for possession of illegal automatic weapons and he escaped on February 19, 2005, on July 2, 2005, [while he was on the run] he was re-arrested in Dominican Republic in relation with a case of vehicle theft and possession of automatic weapons illegal, DR authorities had delivered him to the DCPJ on July 3, 2005 and on July 4, 2005 he was sent to the National Penitentiary."

"These elements show the biggest weaknesses there are at the courthouse level,... of the judicial system in the way they deliver the certificate of good conduct. It also shows that there are weaknesses at the DCPJ level in how they compile the files when they give the extract of the criminal record; so these things need to be corrected..."

"The RNDDH informs the deputies that immunity does not mean impunity. He is accountable to the justice system. It is necessary that the Chamber acts responsibly to allow justice to do its job. If the deputies do not act, they will not know who are the guilty and the innocent. They must respect the judiciary powers."

Martelly v. Belizaire

On Wednesday, 12 October, a heated exchange between President Michel Martelly and Deputy Arnel Belizaire broke out in the National Palace.

In the following days, the President of the Republic would go on record in the press threatening anyone who would disrespect the presidency. "Whoever comes to the palace and starts disrespecting the presidency may not be able to leave the palace, even if the person has immunity," said Martelly on that Saturday.

Belizaire provided a letter to the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Sorel Jacinthe, that evening during the policy hearing of the ratified-Prime Minister Garry Conille. Unable to speak, Belizaire provided the letter which explained the details of the exchange with the Head of State on the 12th. Many have said that the words exchanged were beyond the bounds of propriety.

President Michel Martelly has sinced employed the Haitian justice officials to look into the record of Arnel Belizaire, finding an extensive sheet of arrests in Haiti and outside its borders.

Belizaire had been arrested from crimes as far back as 1995 and as recent as 2005, when it was believed he escaped from the national penitentiary. Commissioner of the Government, Felix Leger, has requested that parliamentary immunity be lifted and that a case be made against the deputy.