…says Region in talks with PM Henry, Haitian stakeholders & int’l partners
Following a massive jailbreak in Haiti that has resulted in thousands of inmates flooding the already-troubled streets of Port-au-Prince and a State of Emergency being declared, Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chairman, President Dr Irfaan Ali has assured that the regional bloc is bringing all its attention to resolving Haiti’s dilemma.
Last week, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Guyana, drumming up support for a Caricom-backed multinational force to help him restore order in his country. Since then, armed gangs, which had already been wreaking havoc on the country, stormed two prisons and released thousands of prisoners.
The gangs are demanding that PM Henry, who was last seen in Kenya on a State visit, resign. Further, they have said they will block his re-entry into the country. In a video broadcast on Tuesday, President Ali assured that the Region was paying keen attention to these events and was in talks with stakeholders in Haiti.
“As Chairman of Caricom, I wish to make the following statement on behalf of the Community in relation to the developments in Haiti. Caricom has been singularly focused on the events unfolding in Haiti over the last few days.
“The expanded bureau has been meeting separately with Prime Minister Henry, with stakeholders in Haiti, and our international partners, to bring resolution to this highly-complex matter, where persons’ lives and livelihoods are at stake,” President Ali further said.
He emphasised that the solution to Haiti’s problems, whenever it’s arrived at, must be owned by the Haitians themselves. According to the Guyanese Head of State, an update on the Region’s efforts to broker a solution will be made public as soon as practicable.
“The complexity requires us in these consultations to ensure that a Haitian-led and Haitian-owned solution may be achieved as soon as possible. We remain deeply engaged and will update on the outcome of our deliberations, as soon as practicable,” the President added.
Haiti has been engulfed in turmoil since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Since then, the streets have been overrun by gangs, and there has been a continuous cycle of violence.
During the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Guyana last week, support for Haiti was one of the priority issues on the agenda. In fact, President Ali was vocal throughout the meeting in rallying other regional Heads of Government to provide much-needed assistance to Haiti, in order to restore the beleaguered nation to some semblance of normalcy.
“Of course, this requires all stakeholders in Haiti especially to give a bit, compromise a bit, and to express a collective willingness to achieve the outcomes that we’re setting ourselves to achieve. It speaks to one important subject and that is when we trust each other in the Region and find solutions among ourselves,” President Ali had said during the business session of the meeting.
At the time, US Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield had also revealed that during extensive discussions with Haitian PM Henry (who was in Guyana for the Caricom Heads of Government Meeting), discussions centred on the needs of the Haitian people and the political process to restore democracy and free and fair elections to Haiti.
The Ambassador had also related that Benin, a West African country that shares commonalities with Haiti such as language and religion, has offered to join the coalition looking to help restore order in Haiti, with the contribution of up to 2000 troops.
She had also reiterated US support for the multinational force, particularly when it comes to providing money and logistical support. However, the Ambassador emphasized that Haiti did not need to feel as though it was being occupied by foreigners, hence the need for the Region and African countries to be engaged.
