Press Interpreter

02/15/06 -- “I was scared to death�, says Johan van Hecke, who leads the team of EU election observers in Haiti.

The protesting mass in the streets of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince are becoming everyday more aggressive. “They are all armed with pole-axes and machetes�, says member of the European Parliament Johan van Hecke on the phone from Haiti. Van Hecke leads in Haiti the team of European observers that has monitored this past Tuesday’s presidential elections. The atmosphere is getting grimmer, because one week after the elections it is still not clear if René Préval, the big favourite of the poor Haitians, has won the first round with more than fifty percent of the votes.

“This morning (yesterday, red.), I had called all observers together, when our security agents suddenly urged us to go back to the hotel immediately.�, says Van Hecke. Nearly immediately, he arrived at a blockade. “Il faut tuer les blancs!, shouted the furious mob. My security agent has guided us through twenty blockades. Small groups of twenty to thirty men, grew spontaneously and started to shake the car. I was scared to death and slipped them some dollars in order to get through.�

The troops of the UN stabilisation force Minustah do not show themselves on the streets anymore. “All blue helmets sit in their barracks�, says Van Hecke. “They are afraid that when they try to force the blockades, there will be casualties.� Although he had the EU labels removed from the car and pretended to be a journalist, Van Hecke does not think he faced added danger by being an observer. “Withal, we still received applause last Monday because we had solved logistical problems.�

Furthermore, Van Hecke says that Préval gave an ambiguous message last Monday. “He claims victory and talks about massive fraud. In addition, Préval calls the people to further protest, though ‘with respect to freedom and in a different way’. Strange. He also wants an international commission to investigate one by one the 147,500 votes that have been declared invalid. By doing so, Préval would like to still achieve more than fifty percent of the votes, which would make a second round unnecessary.�

The EU observers have been approached with regards to that commission. “It is our duty to accept this task�, says Van Hecke, who realises he’s not home yet. “Evacuation by road is impossible. The airport is closed. Will I ever get away from here?�

[Full article]

By Ine Roox

--Translated By Serge Claes

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