As Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, alias 'Barbeque', warns of a “civil war” if the country's Prime Minister Ariel Henry remains in power, the United States has begun to push for a transition and the United Nations calls for the establishment of a multinational peace corps, meanwhile, the Dominican Republic shields its borders to contain the chaos and Kenya seeks formulas to materialize the promised aid.
“If Ariel Henry does not resign, if the international community continues to support Ariel Henry, they will lead us directly to a civil war that will end in genocide,” said Cherizier, a former police officer who leads the 'Viv Ansanm' alliance of armed gangs, which has caused terror in Haiti in recent months.
The warning from Cherizier, who stated on Tuesday that the international community will be “responsible for all the people who die in Haiti,” does not seem to have fallen on deaf ears, because The United States has been quick to urge Henry to move toward a presidential transition.
“We have continued to ask stakeholders, including the prime minister, to make concessions in the interest of the Haitian people. Therefore, we are not asking or pressuring him to resign,” Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the Haitian Department, said at a press conference. US State, this Wednesday.
“We are urging you to accelerate the transition to a governance structure that moves forward with urgency to help the country prepare for a multinational security support mission, and pave the way for free and fair elections,” Miller added.
For her part, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, declared herself concerned about the situation in Haiti, which has been plunged into chaos since the mass escape of more than 4,000 prisoners from the country's main prison. and expressed confidence that a political transition would make it possible to provide security and respond to the most urgent needs of the population.
Thomas-Greenfield preferred not to respond directly to several media outlets' queries about whether Washington had specifically asked him to resign. Henry, who assumed the Presidency without having been elected, and has repeatedly delayed the call for electionsbut he did confirm that his country has asked him to aim towards a democratic transition in the shortest possible time.
The gangs have taken over the country's main airport, as a way to prevent the return of Henry, who remained missing for four days after his visit to Kenya, but finally appeared on Tuesday in Puerto Rico.
unviable solution
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the international community to act “swiftly and decisively” to avoid an even worse descent into chaos in Haiti.
#Haiti: Ahead of today's Security Council meeting, we again call for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.
There is no realistic alternative available to protect lives.
We are simply running out of time.
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 6, 2024
Türk's specific proposal is to deploy a multinational mission to control public order, as “the only realistic alternative to save lives”, but a Kenyan initiative to deploy some 1,000 police officers, which has the approval of the United Nations, was stopped. by a judicial decision that considered the sending of officers to Haiti unconstitutional.
The cooperation was agreed during Henry's recent trip to Nairobi, where he reached a binational security alliance with his counterpart William Ruto. He had promised that his police would arrive in Port-au-Prince in the next three days, but a ruling by a Kenyan high court ruled that the deployment violates local legislation.
Ekuro Aukot, the Kenyan opposition leader who originally instigated the court challenge, promises further action to continue blocking the initiative. “We are waiting for the Government to make its next move,” announced Aukot, who has repeatedly warned that the incompatibility between the police legislation of both countries makes a reciprocal agreement unfeasible.”
And while the proposed solutions are met with closed doors, Haiti's closest neighbor, the Dominican Republic, has begun to strengthen border control to prevent the situation from spilling over into its territory.
Dominican Defense Minister Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa confirmed that no alterations have been reported at the border crossings that remain open, beyond the decrease in the usual commercial flow, but he announced “strict security measures” in the bordering areas.
An unmanageable situation
According to UN figures, 1,192 people have been killed in Haiti and another 692 have suffered injuries so far this year, as a result of armed violence, while schools and businesses remain closed, causing serious consequences for the already constrained economy. national.
The recent upsurge in violence since the mass escape of prisoners has caused the internal displacement of 15,000 people, but a total of 313,000 have been displaced since the conflict began.
The figures are even more terrifying when looking at the spike in violence in 2023: 4,789 people killed (40.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the previous year, one of the highest rates in the world), 1,698 injured and 2,490 kidnapped.
It is believed that armed gangs control 80% of the territory of the capital, Port-au-Prince, hospitals no longer have the capacity to care for those wounded by gunshots, many businesses have been looted and vandalized in recent days, and the bodies have begun. to decompose in the middle of a public street near the prison where the mass escape occurred on Saturday.
The country has plunged into a spiral of violence and poverty that seems to have no end since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, whose death has not yet been clarified. Investigations have pointed to multiple figures, ranging from his widow, Martine Moïse, or former Prime Minister Claude Joseph, to President Ariel Henry himself.
Alliances to get out of chaos
In the midst of the tragedy, local politicians have begun to manage alliances, seeking to direct a transition that will allow the country to emerge from the collapse into which violence has plunged Haiti.
Guy Philippe, leader of the 2004 rebellion against Jean Bertrand Aristide, informed a local radio that he signed an agreement with former presidential candidate and senator Moïse Jean Charles to form a kind of triumvirate (government of three people) that would allow for an acceptable transition. for all factions.
Philippe returned to Haiti last November, after serving several years in prison in the United States, after pleading guilty to money laundering.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
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