-CARICOM Chair discloses

NOT allowing Haiti to fall prey to belligerency, the current Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman and Guyanese President, Dr Irfaan Ali, has announced that there will be a meeting on Monday in Kingston, Jamaica, to address the ongoing state of affairs within the French-speaking island.

Dr Ali and other CARICOM leaders have been working around the clock to bring peace to the nation.

In a statement, on Friday evening, the Guyanese Head-of State said: “We’ve taken the decision as a community to write the Heads-of-State and Heads of Government of the key countries with whom Haiti is engaged as partners, inviting them to meet with our heads in CARICOM, in Kingston Jamaica, on Monday 11th of March, to urgently address this state of affairs and all other matters critical to the stabilisation of security and the provision of urgent humanitarian aid to people of Haiti.”

Dr Ali then said: “It is vital that this engagement be at the highest level as possible, to set a clear message of unity between CARICOM and international community as we work together to provide the critical support to the Haitian people at this time of crisis for them.

He added: “We’d like the Haitian people to know that we’ll continue to work with them on their behalf until there’s a satisfactory resolution that brings stability and relief…”

Furthermore, President Ali also said that CARICOM leaders are engaged in deep discussions with various stakeholders in Haiti and the island’s Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry.

While they are making considerable progress, he noted: “The stakeholders are not yet where they need to be. We’re acutely aware of the urgent need for consensus to be reached, we’ve impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing to the way forward.”

While analysing the current state of Haiti, the Guyanese President said that the situation on the ground has remained one of serious concern.

According to international news reports, heavily armed gangs attempted to take over Haiti’s main international airport on Monday, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers in the most recent attack on important government locations in a wave of violence that also included a mass escape from the nation’s two largest prisons.

They wanted to stop 74-year-old Henry from returning from his trip to Kenya, which he visited to sign an agreement on the deployment of a multinational police force to the Caribbean Island.

Henry travelled to Kenya after attending the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM which was held in Guyana from February 25-28.

Then, on Wednesday, it was reported that Jimmy Chérizier, also known as “Barbecue,” the leader of the “G9 Family and Allies” and a former police officer sanctioned by the United Nations (UN) for violating human rights, had threatened to start a civil war that would eventually turn into a genocide if the Prime Minister did not step down.

In 2018, protests began in communities throughout Haiti in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, those protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti, who was later assassinated on July 7, 2021 at his residence in the capital.

The CARICOM country is still experiencing an upsurge in violence.
Henry’s de-facto administration is being targetted for overthrow by Chérizier and his group.
Haiti’s de facto rulers have intensified their efforts to expedite the process of appointing a new presidential council to govern the nation.

CARICOM leaders have determined that the 15-nation regional bloc will take the lead in conducting a needs assessment to support the significant advancement in hosting elections in Haiti. Haiti is expected to host elections by mid-2025.

To combat gang violence in Haiti, the international community is pressing for funds to be raised for a foreign military force. Kenya’s High Court has declared that the plan to send a Kenyan police force to Haiti, which is supported by the United Nations, is unconstitutional.

According to the plan, a multinational force would have been led by 1,000 Kenyan ranks and deployed to Haiti. As the region looks for a political solution for Haiti, CARICOM will shortly gather in Jamaica with important Haitian players.

In the meantime, Chérizier recently informed reporters that killings that would occur if Henry was allowed to stay in power would only be the fault of western ambassadors. Haiti has more than 11 million inhabitants.