Party Leader Murdered at Rally : Violence Halts Haiti’s Political Campaigning

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Unpredictable violence, including the machete murder of a prominent politician, has virtually halted political activity in Haiti less than four months before a scheduled presidential election.

Despite the unrest and danger, many among Haiti’s numerous candidates for the presidency say that unless the election takes place on time the situation could get worse.

“I would even say that perhaps the date should be moved forward,” Marc Bazin, one of the leading candidates, said the other day. “It is important that a legitimate government be put in place.”

Leslie Manigat, another announced candidate, put it more forcefully: “We must have the election. Otherwise there will be chaos, anarchy and civil war.”

Neither Bazin nor Manigat is campaigning, nor is any other announced or potential candidate. Several months after it began, the campaign has simply stopped.

Too Dangerous a Place

Ten candidates and political activists interviewed by The Times agreed that, for the moment, Haiti is too dangerous a place for public rallies. They said fear makes it virtually impossible to crank up the necessary electoral machinery that would enable Haiti’s 3 million voters even to register, much less cast ballots.

“I would have to think twice before going out in public,” said Francois Latortue, who is often mentioned as a candidate but has announced no plan to run. “Anything can happen.”

Another candidate, Gregoire Eugene, said he intends to send cassette recordings of his speeches to remote areas rather than go in person.

“We know now that campaigns will have to be run cautiously,” Eugene said.

Halting preparations for the election has raised the question of whether there is any longer a possibility that the voting can be held on schedule. Haiti is the hemisphere’s poorest country, and its tenuous stability seems on the verge of disintegrating at any moment. The vote is scheduled for Nov. 29, but as yet no regulations have been issued. Municipal elections that were to have taken place in June have been postponed indefinitely.

Part of the turbulence stems from public opposition to the caretaker National Council of Government, which has ruled Haiti since the flight of President Jean-Claude Duvalier 19 months ago. Duvalier’s departure ended 28 years of dictatorial rule by the Duvalier family.

Opponents of the council suggest it is trying to control the presidential election to favor some candidate of its own, or perhaps attempting to stay in power by putting off the election.

Demonstrations against the council in recent weeks have been put down brutally by government troops. There is widespread concern that extralegal security forces are being set loose on the population to inhibit dissent, although this has not been confirmed.

Essentially, Haiti is now ruled by the armed forces. The three-member council is headed by Gen. Henri Namphy, and it includes another military man, Gen. Williams Regala, and a civilian, former Supreme Court President Luc Honore. Namphy has promised repeatedly that there will be elections--fair elections and on time.

But violent incidents are casting doubt on this. Last Sunday, Louis Athis, who headed a party called the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti, was killed at a political rally. Athis, 46, had gone out to the village of Aux Parques, about 30 miles west of Port-au-Prince, to organize support for his group.

Although not a candidate for president, Athis was an active member of the self-styled Ten Moderate Politicians who had banded together to speak out in favor of democratic reform.

Since returning last year from exile in the Dominican Republic, Athis had spoken at dozens of such small organizational meetings in an effort to build grass-roots support for his party. But when he arrived at Aux Parques, listeners interrupted his talk in a church courtyard with shouts of “Let’s get him!” and “Communist!” before attacking him.

Party member Dominique Macena, 30, who was present when Athis was killed, gave an interviewer the following account of the incident:

“They began to throw rocks and stab us with machetes and knives. We did not know where to go because we were surrounded. Men and women alike struck us. I fell, and Athis lifted me and said, ‘My comrade, we are going to die.’ Someone hit him on the head with a machete and he fell down.”

Macena survived because someone pulled him into a clump of bushes, where he hid until nightfall. He lost four front teeth and suffered multiple cuts and bruises. He said he heard the attackers burn Athis’ body, along with those of two aides who were killed in the attack.

No one knows why the mob attacked Athis. He was not known as a Communist, and although some Haitians have a strong if vague distaste for communism, it is not clear that this would cause such a brutal attack. The local police had told the crowd before the meeting began that Athis, despite rumors, was not a Communist.

The government has announced four arrests in the Athis case but has said nothing further. There may never be a full explanation. Haiti has long been susceptible to unexplained episodes of violence.

When Duvalier fled into exile, mobs attacked voodoo priests who they thought had worked black magic on behalf of the Duvalier government. Later, “werewolves” were said to be stalking the countryside.

No one thinks that elections themselves can suddenly calm a society given to such violence. However, politicians here reason that elections might eliminate some sources of tension.

For example, the unpopular military would presumably retire to the barracks following an election, and this would remove one source of popular discontent. Further, the cry for democracy, of which elections are seen as a centerpiece, would be satisfied. Third, the government could concentrate on trying to get Haiti’s impoverished economy moving.

“Are we in a constitutional era or not?” asked Louis Dejoie, a candidate for president. “Elections can help tell us.”

Almost as he spoke, another announced candidate, Bernard Sansaricq, was reported to have begun an armed rebellion. An official military statement said that Sansaricq had gathered a small group of followers in the western town of Jeremie and was planning to take over the region and then march on Port-au-Prince.

The military said the plot was discovered by soldiers who raided a hotel where Sansaricq was hiding. After an exchange of gunfire, the military said, Sansaricq fled.

Nothing has been heard directly from Sansaricq, a one-time gas station operator who in 1982 tried to invade Haiti from his Florida exile in an attempt to overthrow the Duvalier dictatorship.

The U.S. government views elections here as a step toward tranquilizing the country. The United States helped to remove Jean-Claude Duvalier from power and has consistently supported the interim rule of the Council of Government. Military participation in the council, U.S. officials say, is necessary to maintain peace and make elections possible.

Still, harsh measures taken by the army against street demonstrations prompted U.S. criticism of the council. The U.S. Embassy sent three private protests to the council because of incidents in which soldiers fired on reporters covering the demonstrations.