The serious crises that are accumulating in Haiti – political, humanitarian, health and security – reached a new peak when thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, to protest against a government request for help from abroad.
The demonstration took place on Monday (10), days after Prime Minister Ariel Henry formally asked the international community for a “specialized armed force” to “stop, throughout the territory” the actions of gangs in the country.
The protesters took a stand against the prospect of a new foreign intervention and demanded the resignation of the prime minister – considered illegitimate by the population since he took office in the wake of the assassination of then President Jovenel Moïse.
In addition, a portion of Haitians consider the United Nations peacekeeping mission that worked in the country from 2004 to 2017 to be traumatic. cholera to the island, giving rise to an epidemic that claimed nearly 10,000 victims.
Monday’s protests ended in violent clashes between protesters and police – several people were shot and at least one woman died. Organizers of the acts blame security forces for the death. “This young woman posed no threat. She was killed expressing her desire to live with dignity,” one of the participants told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Haiti has been the scene of demonstrations marked by violence and looting for weeks. The trigger was a government decision to end subsidies for gasoline, diesel and kerosene, raising prices by around 50%. In response, a gang blocked the port of Varreux, the main gateway for imported goods from the country.
The lack of fuel caused transport chaos and forced businesses and hospitals to halt activities. The seizure of the port has also led to a shortage of bottled water at a time when the country is experiencing a new outbreak of cholera, which has been brought under control with intensified hygiene measures. A UN spokesperson said its envoys to the site had reported 16 deaths and 32 confirmed cases of the disease as of Tuesday.
The problems are accumulating over a nation that, more than a year ago, was shaken by an earthquake, the deadliest since 2010 – when there was an even more serious tremor, with more than 200 thousand deaths -, and whose ills also include the resurgence of violent conflicts between gangs, the passage of tropical cyclones, the Covid pandemic and a political crisis that culminated, at the same time that it gained new life, with the murder of Moïse, in a shooting attack in his own home.
Haiti’s ambassador to Washington, Bocchit Edmond, referred to the case on Monday, asking the US and Canada to lead a task force to confront the gangs that the government blames for the humanitarian crisis. He told Reuters there was “if nothing is done quickly, there is a risk of a new president [ser] killed in Haiti”.
Last Friday (7), the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reaffirmed the commitment of the member countries of the OAS (Organization of American States) to help Haitians overcome the complex challenges of the Caribbean island. A day later, on Saturday (8), the US declared that the prime minister’s request for help was under review.
On the same date, hundreds of activists gathered in front of the White House with posters emblazoned with the flag of Haiti with messages such as “let the Haitians decide their own future”. Part of the population believes that Washington is responsible for keeping Ariel Henry in power.
The prime minister took office in July 2021, shortly after the assassination of Moïse, who had appointed him to the post. Two months later, he was accused by the Attorney General’s Office of having participated in the crime. Henry fired the person responsible for the prosecution, deepening the internal political crisis, and indefinitely postponed the elections on grounds of instability.
His government has been acting on an interim basis since that time. Many claim that the violence of the gangs, which control vast swathes of the country’s territory, would make a lawsuit impossible today.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday proposed “a rapid action force” to help the Haitian police confront these armed groups, but did not indicate whether the multilateral body itself would lead this initiative.
The entity sent thousands of soldiers and police to the country in the so-called MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti). The mission had military command in Brazil for the 13 years it lasted, and is advertised by the national Armed Forces as one of its greatest achievements.
In practice, however, the balance of the action disappointed —in an interview with Sheetthe former commander of the mission, General Santos Cruz, said the UN cannot be blamed for the failure of the initiative because its objective was never to manage the nation and attributed the crises in Haiti to “structural instability”.
The performance of Brazilians on the island divides opinions among the local population. While some claim the military helped protect her, others say the use of force was excessive.
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