Haiti's political parties are struggling to agree on the composition of the transitional presidential council that will replace the government of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry, which will try to impose some stability in the Caribbean country, devastated by criminal gang violence.. This council will be made up of seven members from political parties and the private sector.. Once formed, its first task will be to elect an interim prime minister and appoint an inclusive government.
The majority of the parties elected to form the council have already presented the name of their representative to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which is accompanying this transition process. At first, the members of the December 21 Collective, Henry's group, could not agree on a single representative and appointed three. At the close of this edition, talks were underway to elect a consensus candidate.
“We are talking about political parties that have not been able to reach an agreement in recent years,” Ivan Briscoe, director of the International Crisis Group's Program for Latin America and the Caribbean, explained to AFP. Now that Henry is on his way out, “maybe they'll look at the national interest and put aside their partisan interests for a while, until the election. But it is clear that there are doubts about his ability to reach an agreement,” he added.
The success or not of these new authorities will depend largely on the ability to restore security in a country subjected to powerful armed gangs, who allied themselves to challenge Henry, whose resignation they demanded, warning that, otherwise, a “genocide” would break out.
“The gangs have become very powerful. They have penetrated deeply into communities. “They are not going away, and they have adopted increasingly belligerent political rhetoric.”
“The gangs have become very powerful. They have penetrated deeply into communities. They are not going away, and they have adopted increasingly belligerent political rhetoric,” Briscoe warns. Their leader, Former police officer Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed 'Barbecue', has already made it clear that he would not accept a government proposed by Caricom.
On Monday, that regional bloc announced the establishment of the transitional presidential council in Haiti, after a meeting in Jamaica with representatives of the UN and the US and France. Henry indicated shortly after that he was resigning, after remaining in power since the assassination of President Moïse.
While the council is being formed, commercial activities resumed in Port-au-Prince this Wednesday. However, gang violence reignited Thursday. On two main roads in the center of the capital, residents set up barricades to protect themselves from gang attacks, but also as a sign of protest.
Shots were also reported at the airport.in the vicinity of which a police officer was injured, and the residence of the director general of the police was looted and burned, according to a police union.
Due to the situationthe authorities extended the night curfew until Sunday in the department of Oeste, in which Port-au-Prince is located, in an attempt to “regain control.”
The region is under a state of emergency until April 3, but both measures have barely managed to stop the powerful gangs that control 80% of the capital.. “There are many prison escapees on the streets. The situation continues to worsen. The decision to declare a state of emergency and a month-long curfew is laudable, but it should not be like this,” lamented Edner Petit, a resident of Port-au-Prince.
Some public administration offices have reopened, after being closed for more than two weeks. Schools and the international airport remain closed. “Taking children to school, going to the supermarket or to work is extremely risky”said Jean-Martin Bauer, head of the UN World Food Program (WFP). According to him, there are 1.14 million Haitians on the brink of starvation. Port-au-Prince, largely controlled by gangs, “is a bubble. There is no way in or out and at the moment we cannot bring food,” added Bauer. “At least 362,000 people have been displaced, and 5.5 million need immediate humanitarian assistance,” said Samantha Powers, head of USAID.
Many residents of the capital are happy to see the prime minister leaving, but some question the role that the gangs, who control large areas of the country, will play. “Henry was the biggest obstacle we had. But we should have a quick mechanism to replace it,” declared Emmanuel, who did not want to give his last name. Fritz Fils Aimé believes that “Now you can't do anything if you don't agree with the gangs.”
In a sign that the situation is far from stabilizing, Kenya decided to suspend the planned deployment of police officers to Haiti as part of a UN-backed international mission. It will do so as soon as the presidential transition commission is formed.
AFP
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