A new wave of aggressive protests has taken to the streets of the Haitian capital and other cities in the country since last Monday. The outbreak of social nonconformity takes place after Prime Minister Ariel Henry did not call elections or cede power to a new Administration, as planned in an agreement after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, recorded more than two years ago, and whose maximum deadline expired this week. While new armed groups emerge that deepen divisions and violence, there is no sign of a change of command from the de facto government.
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Chaos, fire in the streets and death. A new outbreak of violence, on top of a prolonged and deep crisis, takes over Haiti. This time, the anger exploded after the deadline for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to leave power expired.
According to an agreement signed in December 2022, Henry – who took office as premier after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which occurred in 2021 – would call elections and hand over the Government to the officials who were elected, on February 7, 2024. A symbolic date for Haitians, which marks the end of the dictatorship of François Duvalier in 1986 and on which the presidents of their country traditionally take the oath, but The so-called 'D-Day' arrived and the promised changes did not occur.
The country is being held hostage by gangs
The failure to comply infuriated residents of the poorest nation in the hemisphere, which has also been engulfed in a massive security crisis in recent years, with armed gangs imposing brutal violence to take control across the country. Haitian.
“The country is being held hostage by the gangs. We cannot eat. We cannot send our children to school (…) We cannot take it anymore,” said a protester to the AFP agency, who refused to give his name, adding that Henry “has not provided any solution to our problems.”
Mass protests rocked Haiti yesterday, igniting clashes with the police and, in some cases, street shootings. In Port-au-Prince, thousands of people have flooded the streets for days, demanding the removal of the US-backed Prime Minister Ariel Henry as the country grapples with… pic.twitter.com/opMrSpsq4K
– grid. (@redstreamnet) February 8, 2024
The uptick in violence, which has been recorded since last Monday in the capital and other cities, has claimed the lives of several people. At least six died, including five agents from the Protected Areas Surveillance Brigade (BSAP), during a shootout with police officers in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.
This is just one of the shock fronts that the country faces. The BSAP went from being an environmental agency to an armed body over which the Government has lost authority and is today one of the main actors at the center of the protests. In an attempt to weaken the brigade, last week Henry demanded that they hand over their weapons and ordered its members to register with the Ministry of the Environment. Far from deterring them, the provisions increased confrontations with public forces and have unleashed more violence.
“I hope he listens to reasons, otherwise the voice of the people will be heard”
Since signing the agreement, Henry has stressed that to hold free and fair elections, security conditions must first be restored, something difficult to achieve in Haiti.
And, furthermore, the prime minister intends to form a government of national unity, according to one of his assistants, which raises fury from different fronts.
“It's 'D-Day'. It's the day Ariel Henry must leave office (…) I hope he listens to reasons. Otherwise, the voice of the people will be heard,” said a motorcycle taxi driver who was protesting in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.
But Henry remains in power.
To the social fatigue of accumulated years of brutal violence and misery Added to this is strong opposition to the prime minister from powerful adversaries.
Former coup leader Guy Philippe, who was repatriated to Haiti at the end of 2023 after serving nearly six years in prison in the United States, has in recent weeks been rallying supporters for a “revolution” against Henry's government, reports highlight the local press.
According to a report by the Haitian newspaper 'AyiboPost', which cited the head of the BSAP, many of its members were soldiers who fought alongside Philippe in the overthrow of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.
In an interview with France 24, Haitian political analyst, Robenson Glesile, assured that there are increasingly new armed groups occupying Haitian territory and there is no trace of “a will on the part of the government to establish a climate of security in the country.” He has also not reached an agreement with the political parties to call elections, because, the expert alleges, Henry will not leave power to a transitional Administration.
However, “the de facto prime minister only has one support, which is the international community, and he lets time pass (…) The Haitian Constitution had not foreseen such a scenario. Since 2020, Haiti has not had any elected officials and there have been no elections since 2006.” Therefore, dialogue and consensus with the main political forces in the country are needed, Glesile stressed.
With no agreement in sight, violent actions spread. Police stations are attacked, while the main schools remain closed and roads blocked.
Given the worrying scenario, the neighboring Dominican Republic ordered the reinforcement of security on its border.
With Reuters and AFP
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