Man accused of Haitian abuses can stay in New York
U.S. decision outrages human rights advocates
August 8, 1997
Web posted at: 10:35 p.m. EDT (0235 GMT)From Correspondent Jonathan Karl
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Few people in Haiti were more feared than Emmanuel Constant, who headed the Haitian paramilitary group Fraph during the bloody period following the overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991.
"[He] was the one who directed the slaughter by the paramilitary thugs, who worked hand and glove with the Haitian military throughout military rule in Haiti," said Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch. "This is a man who, through his position of command responsibility, has much blood on his hands."
But Constant has never been brought to justice for his alleged crimes. In 1994, after Aristide returned to power, he escaped from Haiti to the United States on a tourist visa, and, today, he is living in the New York City borough of Queens.
However, far from trying to get him out of the country, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service decided Friday to let him stay in the United States for at least another six months.
Haiti has been trying to extradite Constant to bring him to trial for human rights abuses. But in a statement, the INS said returning Constant to Haiti would place an undue burden on the Haitian judicial system.
An official with the Haitian mission to the United Nations called that explanation ridiculous. And human rights groups expressed outrage and puzzlement at the U.S. government's decision to let Constant stay.
"We have allowed this man to slip into the country and to be living comfortably in Queens, sashaying about at nightclubs," said Ron Daniels of The Center for Constitutional Rights. "It is an outrage, it is an abomination, it is a contradiction to everything we believe in."
"No one knows for sure why a murderer like Constant, somebody who at least presided over murder by its thugs, is allowed to take refuge in the United States," Roth said. "But the clear implication is that the U.S. government has made a deal with Constant."
The INS would not comment on that allegation. But whatever the real reason for its decision, the result is that a man who headed a group blamed for torturing, murdering and burning the homes of Aristide supporters lives with impunity in a white house on a suburban American street.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Sound off on our message boards
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.