Agence Haitïenne de Presse

The former head of the FRAPH criminal gang, Emmanuel (Toto) Constant, said Tuesday during a hearing in New York that he would like to return to Haiti where he is accused of murder and torture, after having successfully remained in the United States for more than a decade.

Accused of involvement in numerous cases of murder, abduction and rape during the period of the coup d'état against President Aristide (September 1991 to October 1994), declared that he has no fear of being sent back to Haiti. He made that statement at the New York state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, where he had been brought to hear the verdict in his trial on charges of mortgage fraud.

Attorneys in the office of the state attorney-general as well as federal prosecutors asked Judge Abraham Gerge to go ahead with issuing the sentence against Toto after the judge declared a postponement in the sentencing following a request for postponement by the Center for Constitutional Rights, which argued that the Haitian judicial system is too weak and unstable to try the dangerous Constant, who is the son of a former officer of the Haitian Armed Forces (FAD'H ).

The Haitian authorities in turn argues that they are up to putting Toto Constant on trial, a déclaré Ajay Bhatt, an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security.

The attorney proposed that Toto Constant plead guilty of the charges of having defrauded individual lenders out of $1.7 million. He could receive from five to 15 years in prison.

Emmanuel Constant asked to speak at the hearing, declaring that the charges against him in Haiti are of a political nature and that he should thus not be prosecuted in the United States. Human rights organizations report that thousands of supporters of President Aristide were tortured or killed by the thugs of Emmanuel Constant, who took refuge in the United States in 1994 after President Aristide returned from exile.

The records of FRAPH were seized by the United States military. The names of foreigners who collaborated with Mr. Constant's paramilitary group were blacked out. The uncensored version of the documents has never been returned to the Haitian authorities.

Despite an order issued in the U.S. for his deportation, Emmanuel Constant was permitted to remain in the United States because, U.S. authorities said, there was political instability in Haiti. He had been keeping a low profile in the U.S. living with relatives in New York until he was arrested last year for mortgage fraud.

In the mean time, the second highest official of FRAPH, Louis Jodel Chamblin, who fled to the Dominican Republic, returned to Haiti in January 2004 to take part in the armed movement against President Aristide, alongside former Haitian soldiers and convicted criminals such as Jean Tatoune.

Having been sentenced in absentia by a Haitian court for his role in a massacre during the coup d'état that began in 1991, Chamblin turned himself in to justice officials after the interim regime took power (March 2004) as part of what many have described as a huge masquerade.

Shortly before he turned himself in, Mr. Chamblin had a private meeting with the interim Justice Minister Bernard Gousse. And one month later he was set free by the interim government.

The disarmament process is on the right track, according to the head of the national disarmament commission

Port-au-Prince, May 16, 2007 (AHP)- The president of Haiti's national disarmament commission, Alix Fils Aimé, indicated Wednesday that the disarmament process, begun more than two years ago, is on the right track, but that much remains to be done before Haiti will be truly pacified.

The program, known as DDR (Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration) has seen progress in several cities in recent weeks, including Petit Goâve, Cap Haïtien and some towns in the Central Plateau, said Mr. Alix Fils Aimé, who also announced that firearms were recovered in the Martissant district of the capital.

Alix Fils Aimé appealed to the population to remain vigilant and continue their collaboration with the security forces because, he said, there are still armed and dangerous elements circulating around the country who can strike at the lives of peaceful citizens.

Alix Fils-Aimé announced that about 200 individuals will soon enter the reintegration program.

He also declared that meetings between the private sector and the Commission have led to considerable progress. These meetings are organized, he said, with the objective not only of recovering firearms but also with the goal of greater stability and security throughout the country, he said.

The talks have focused on three essential points: the legalization of weapons that are permissible, the hand-over of weapons that are part of Haiti's national patrimony such as weapons of war, and finally the possibility for members of the business community to return to some districts where it has been impossible for them to carry on their business due to insecurity.

In this regard, Alix Fils-Aimé said that a branch of a New York commercial bank and a cell phone company will resume selling their services in Cité Soleil.