He survived years of threats and beatings at the hands of Duvalier's Tonton Macoutes and was twice forced into exile, the last time when President Aristide was overthrown in 1991, only to die in a hail of gunfire yesterday as he arrived at his office for the morning news program. His death is a great loss at a critical time for the country. Dominique was slain at a moment of rising tension and violence over the postponement of long-delayed parliamentary elections viewed as the way out of a constitutional crisis that has frozen political and economic development in Haiti over the last three years. We are heartened by the Preval government's vow to spare no expense in hunting down Dominique's killers. Today, NCHR called for calm in Haiti, urged the Haitian National Police to quickly identify and arrest the killers, and reaffirmed the critical importance of holding elections soon.
More delay can only fuel despair and political chaos.
NCHR also extended its condolences to the family of Jean-Claude Louissaint, a security guard who was also killed in the attack. Findings of the International Peace Academy regarding challenges to peacebuilding in Haiti.