Newspaper

June 29, 2016 - Swearing in of the elected bishop of Hinche , Mgr . Desinord Jean , before the President of the Republic, Jocelerme Privert , at the National Palace.

On June 29, 2016, the swearing in of the Monsignor Desinord Jean as the new Bishop of Hinche took place before the President of the Republic Jocelerme Privert at the National Palace. Désinord Jean (born in 1967) was ordained priest in 1994. He was well known to the Haitian community for his radio programs on Radio Télé soleil. On April 4, 2016, the Vatican nominated him as the new Bishop of Hinche, succeeding Mgr Simon-Pierre Saint-Hillien, who died in July 2015. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hinche was founded on 20 April 1972; it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cap-Haïtien. On Saturday, July 2, 2016, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Hinche, the ceremony of Episcopal ordination and enthronement of the new bishop took place in the presence of Catholic clergies, including Cardinal Chibly Langlois and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Eugène Martin Nugent, many representatives of the Church in Haiti and abroad, Christian community of Hinche and many other government representatives.

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Here is a picture on Le Nouveliste about the Massacre of April 26, 1986 by Francois Duvalier.

Massacre of April 26, 1986 by Francois Duvalier is also known by the name of "massacre of Fort-Dimanche" or Fort Death. On that date, the soldiers opened fire on a peaceful procession that started from the Sacre Coeur church for Fort Dimanche in commemoration of the events of April 26, 1963. Twenty years before, on the same day, Tontons Macoutes, carried out a series of assassination of the families who were alleged opponents to Papa Doc Duvalier, after a failed attempt to kidnap his son Jean-Claude (Baby Doc). On April 26, 1963, over a hundred people were killed and several dozens of people were taken to the Fort-Dimanche prison and later they all disappeared, never came back. Twenty years later, when the crowd assembled in front of Fort Dimanche, the army fired upon them. As per collective memory, number of victims was 'fifteen' and according to Human Rights Watch Report, the number was 'eight'.

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Le Petit Samedi Soir newspaper say its glory days during the reign of Jean Claude Duvalier.

Le Petit Samedi Soir (Small Saturday Night) is a weekly newspaper in French language published from Port-au-Prince that began in 1975 during the reign of Baby Doc. The journal came in to light following the relaxation of press censorship in a policy popularly known as 'Jeanclaudisme'. 'Jeanclaudisme' was developed in Haiti as a result of external pressure from the U.S President Jimmy Carter's administration. When Ady Jean-Gardy joined the company as its Cultural Affairs Director, he along with a team of twenty-year-old dynamic, courageous and curious journalists, transformed the weekly journal into one of the important intellectual, cultural and political Haitian newspaper. During the rule of papa Duvalier, the printing shops of four major Haitian newspapers-- Haiti Miroir, Le Patriote, Le Matin and Independence were bombed and destroyed. Another conservative newspaper la Phalange, controlled by the Roman Catholic Church was closed down in 1961. The press was muzzled. For hard news, Haitians had to rely on the radio stations like Voice of America and Radio Havana or a New York based paper Haiti- Observateur. However, since 1972, the U.S President Jimmy Carter's human right policy, to some extent, made the Haitian government's repression policy restrained.

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It is an open fact that Haitian people have paid too dearly for the autocratic ruler Michel Martelly's inept administration. For last one year, he has ruled the country by Presidential decree. He never tried to understand the importance of compromise or the necessity of a national political consensus. Jude Celestin, the most popular presidential candidate, described the last election under his rule as a 'total farce' which does not reflect the desire of the common people. Ultimately, he has announced his scheduled departure on February 7. However, on February 6, before leaving his office, he installed Me Jules Cantave, the President of the Court of Cassation and the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), as the new Provisional President of Haiti through an agreement. However, as per G8, this agreement attempts to validate the 2015 election disregarding the general consensus and protests of the common people. It seeks to postpone a crisis that needs an immediate solution.

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Finally a major American Newspaper has called for legitimate election in Haiti, following the October 2015 election in Haiti. New York Times has spoken on Haiti Election, calling it a failure and that Haitians deserve better.

The New York Times (NYT), the New York City based U.S newspaper is of opinion that the October election in Haiti, to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly, has been marred by so much ballot tampering, illegal voting and other abuses that it could be denounced as 'illegitimate'. The sentiments of the 53 of the 54 contesting candidates together with the reactions of the independent election observers, human-rights groups, ordinary citizens, Haitian diaspora organizations and the religious leaders were demonstrated through the continued angry, often violent protests on the Haitian streets. As per the report, the second place winner Jude Celestin has said, the October election and its consequential results were "ridiculous farce". The country is again scheduled to go for a final runoff election on December 27th, 2015.

A credible election, as per internationally agreed normative base is an election, which would give every citizen an equal opportunity to vote, compete and be elected , without any discrimination with the participation of all qualified political parties. It must reflect the will of the people. The entire process should be transparent and each step should be open to security and trusted by the citizens. The principle of transparency is linked to the fundamental right of citizens.

As per the NYT news report, the Provisional Electoral Council, issued 900,000 accreditation cards to the representatives of political parties to oversee and ensure transparency in the electoral process, but in reality, those cards gave access to enter the polling centers and cast false votes.

On December 17, 2015, a signed petition of over 100,000 protesters has been posted on the website of the White House requesting President Obama to stop supporting Martelly and issue a statement in support of the petitioners demanding the formation of an inquiry committee to inquire about the alleged frauds affecting the integrity of the October 25, 2015 election.

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launches inquiry into 'no Haitian' nurses ad.

As per the Daily News dated October 19, 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, has launched an inquiry into the nature of an advertisement published by Interim Healthcare Inc. of Nanuet on the October 15, 2015, issue of 'New City Pennysaver'. The Interim Healthcare Inc., had published a help-wanted advertisement on the above mentioned issue for a nurse that goes like: "Laid back nurse, no haitians, must have strong respiratory mngt,... The Attorney General believes, the advertisement has violated federal and state civil rights laws, because the law clearly prohibits discrimination in hiring on the basis of national origin. If the Attorney General is satisfied with the gravity of charges, would frame the said home care, hospice and medical staffing company in charges of discriminatory practices.

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Here is a picture of Agence France-Presse (AFP). On November, 2013, the French Newspaper was found guilty and obligated to pay $1.22 million in damages for using a total of seven pictures from Haiti photographer Morel without his permission.

AFP and Getty Images had infringed Morel's copyright

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Le Matin, one of the oldest newspapers in Haiti, has shuttered its business, due to mounting operational costs, cutting profits drastically.

Le Matin was known as a newspaper that engaged different perspectives on the issues of the day. It had a faithful audience in the capital of Port-au-Prince and in some rural areas.

It is not known the duration of the shutdown, whether it is temporary until funds can be raised to start printing again, or will the shutdown be a permanent situation.

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