Charges Finally Dropped Against Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti : Miami IMC

After getting a vile of Jean-Juste's blood past Latortue's police, the well known doctor Paul Farmer (of Partners in Health) verified that the jailed priest suffered from a form of lymphocytic leukemia that needed immediate treatment.

Under intense international pressure the Latortue regime granted Jean-Juste “provisional freedom” in January of 2006 to to receive treatment for leukemia in the U.S. However, until the court's announcement of last week, Jean Juste continued to fend off charges of criminal association and illegal possession of firearms. No evidence had ever been produced to substantiate the allegations.

Father Jean-Juste spoke with HaitiAnalysis by telephone from his parish in Haiti - the Church of Saint Claire – where a boisterous celebration was well underway. “I thank my Lord Jesus” he said “I believed he would not abandon me. I forgive everybody who contributed in my two illegal arrests, which could have cost me my life. I could have died in jail. Now I can continue serving the poor.”

The Catholic Church hierarchy in Haiti suspended Jean-Juste for political activity rather than speak out in his support while he was imprisoned. Asked about the suspension, which has outraged his numerous supporters, Jean-Juste expressed confidence that it would be lifted.

“I am not guilty and they will reject their decision to allow me to do my job at the church as Jesus did until the last minute before he betrayed and arrested”.

Parish priest like Jean-Juste, and Jean Betrand Aristide formed part of the ti legliz (little church) movement. It distinguished itself by opposing the dictatorship of Jean Claude Duvalier. However the upper echelons of the Church have frequently collaborated with dictatorships in Haiti.

The Vatican recognized the military junta that deposed Aristide in 1991 at a time when world opinion was hostile to the junta. Francois Duvalier was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1959 because he had expelled clergymen from Haiti who had criticized his regime. However, in 1966, Pope Paul IV made an astounding capitulation to the dictator. After intense negotiations the Duvalier's expulsions remained in effect, Duvalier's excommunication was annulled, and the dictator was given considerable say over clerical appointments in Haiti.

The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), a branch of Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), run by lawyer Mario Joseph, took the lead in fighting for Jean Juste. Jean-juste has been receiving congratulatory emails and phone calls throughout the week from supporters and friends.

Haiti court drops charges against Jean-Juste
By JACQUELINE CHARLES

The Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste has been cleared of weapons charges, removing a legal hurdle to a possible presidential bid.

Haiti's highest court dropped charges that the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste conspired to illegally import weapons, saying there was a lack of evidence.

It's a typical afternoon in mid-April, and the children of St. Claire Catholic Church in Port-au-Prince have just eaten a hearty meal of rice and beans when the SUV rolls into the gigantic courtyard. No sooner does the passenger come into view when the screams begin.

''Mon Père! Mon Père!'' hundreds of greeting children yell while running alongside the vehicle carrying the populist Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste.

The kids' greeting is reminiscent of the reception received by former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who also climbed from the pulpit to the palace as a populist priest and is now exiled in South Africa.

The firebrand Jean-Juste, however, is back in Haiti.

He's beaten cancer, after spending the past two years in South Florida undergoing treatment for leukemia. And now he has also beaten Haitian government weapons charges, leaving open a lingering question of the politically influential priest.

A run for the Haitian presidency in 2011?

''If Fanmi Lavalas offers me an opportunity to become a candidate, in due time I shall consider it,'' said Jean--Juste, referring to Aristide's once-powerful political party, which has been quietly staging a comeback since Aristide's 2004 ouster.

Earlier this month, Haiti's Appellate Court removed any legal hurdle from a Jean-Juste candidacy by dropping the weapons charges, stemming from the priest's 2004 arrest in Port-au-Prince.

At the time, interim Haitian Prime Minister Gérard Latortue told The Miami Herald that a warrant had been issued for Jean-Juste after Haitian authorities received intelligence that the priest was among suspected Lavalas leaders who had been organizing against his U.S.-backed interim government.

On June 9, the court ruled there wasn't enough evidence to support the charges.

''The justice system has done it's job,'' Latortue said Tuesday. ``I'm happy for him.''

''I am happy and thank God because I have lived to find justice,'' Jean-Juste, 62, said in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince where he spends time when not in South Florida. ``I will continue to serve him as long as I can.''

CHURCH SUSPENSION

But serving God, and making a living while doing so, has not been easy, said Jean-Juste who in September 2005 was suspended from his priestly duties by Port-au-Prince Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot.

Miot accused Jean-Juste of engaging in political activities after speculation mounted then about a possible presidential bid. The speculation swirled again in April, following Haiti's deadly food riots, during which Jean-Juste staged a peaceful protest in the volatile Cité Soleil slum.

Then, like now, Aristide opponents declined public comment about a Jean-Juste presidency. Privately, they cringed at the thought.

Despite his suspension from the church, Jean-Juste is still celebrating Mass, at 6:30 every morning at St. Claire, in Petite Place Cazeau, a dusty slum that lies next to the Port-au-Prince airport at the crossroads of two of the capital's busiest motor-ways.

''The sanction [the archbishop] applied to me makes no sense,'' Jean-Juste said.

Like his feeding program, Jean-Juste justifies his defiance by pointing to the poor parishioners of St. Claire.

''`I am the one who provides the bulk of the social services to the people,'' he said noting that through California-based What If Foundation, he helps support more than 200 students in school and spends $4,500 a week on food for his meals program.

``I told President Préval and I told former Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis when they came to Miami, first thing, I begged, was for them to allow President Aristide to return. Second, feed the people while we are trying to create jobs.''

''We disagreed on the first demand,'' said Jean-Juste, who is still demanding the return of Aristide to Haiti. ``On the second, they said yes. Nothing has been done.''

NO PRIME MINISTER

As Haiti approaches its third month without a prime minister, and many on the ground quietly wonder about a possible presidential bid by him -- as well as a comeback by Lavalas -- Jean-Juste says the government must understand that ``it is far better for you to have peace in the belly. It means peace in society.''

''It's not amazing so many people are standing up against the government now . . . the people are hungry, they are in need of so many things, but they are patient,'' he said.

Préval, ''is playing with fire,'' Jean-Juste said. ``We advise him but he won't pay attention.''