Yesterday?s Copa Air Lines flight took Guy Phillipe, Melsior Lemais and Noe Godwork to refuge in Ecuador, and brought an end to a diplomatically sensitive dilemma for the Mejia Administration. The trio were the last of the seven Haitian police officers, who sought refuge in the DR, after being accused of playing roles in a failed coup d?etat against President Rene Preval. Earlier in the week, their four compatriots had likewise been granted asylum in Ecuador. The Dominican government set aside the repatriation request of Port-au-Prince and negotiated an asylum in Ecuador on ?humanitarian? grounds. Phillipe appealed to the United Nations and Amnesty International to intervene to protect family members left behind in Haiti. ?The chimers (assassins) of Jean Bertrande Aristide have not been content to sack and destroy our homes, they are threatening our families with death.? According to Phillipe, family members back home have been told that if the seven continue to denounce the government, their families will pay with their lives. Phillipe, who until three weeks ago was chief of police in Cape Haitien, expressed the group?s thanks to President Hipolito Mejia and the Armed Forces Ministry. ?Our treatment has been excellent and we never expected it,? he said.
