Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, in questionable propriety, sent two government officials and an agent of the administration to threaten on three occasions in the past 48 hours a lawsuit against Defend Haiti over articles published in The Haiti Sentinel; articles regarding Digicel’s block of VoIP applications which, less than a month later, forced it to reverse.
The articles highlighted Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe's spokesman's inability to answer direct questions from interviewer, Valery Numa, regarding the Haitian government's role in Digicel's blocking of applications, such as magicJack, Skype, Vonage, used by many Haitians to connect with loved ones abroad.
The articles also pointed to the fact that Digicel Haiti CEO said it was to fund the government's tax on education, which remains an illegal tax and a fund of which collection and use is of insufficient transparency, with millions, according to Senate investigations, lost in uses other than education.
The articles also resurfaced previous accusations of taxes on international calls, corruption and bribery in African countries, accusations, unresolved, that trailed the Haitian Prime Minister in his previous occupation at the head of Global Voice Group. Due to the threats of litigation, which insofar in their nature appear as intimidation, the content of the text messages, voice calls (recorded) and other mediums used in contacting Defend Haiti will not be revealed at this time but CEO, Samuel Maxime, issued an official statement to their regard:
This is the second time that the Martelly administration has threatened lawsuit against Defend Haiti and I hope this time it would not remain idle. General elections are a year away and the record of the Prime Minister, as a businessman in Africa and elsewhere, the allegations of bribery, corruption and other lawlessness that have raised questions about his record even as to a public servant at the Head of the Haitian Government, are fair conversations that the Haitian people want to have and will have, so be it, even if it takes place in the great tribunals that these United States and their justice system have to offer.
But, If the Martelly administration intends to fail, once again, to bring these threats to the courts, there will not be an opportunity for a third strike. We here at Defend Haiti will take all legal dispositions to ensure that this form, and the countless others, that have marked a pattern of intimidation, harassment and physical assault of journalists never happens again.
The tragedy of the January 12, 2010 earthquake was not isolated to the millions killed, maimed and left homeless, it was a world phenomenon and for weeks images of death and despair were transmitted globally. For a young generation of Haitians, born in the 80s and 90s, and raised in the United States, the earthquake was an exposure that we each, in some way were questioned and expected to answer for. The initial dream of Defend Haiti as an urban cultural lifestyle and entertainment magazine was destroyed in that earthquake, we promised to our subscribers that we would serve boldly and relentlessly the cause of the Haitian people by holding its government accountable to the highest levels, levels that the Haitian people as well as any human being on this earth deserves.