Several thousand people demonstrated peacefully on Tuesday in the Haitian capital in the face of the resurgence of heinous kidnappings and against the Prime Minister, whom they denounce as incompetent to ensure the safety of the population against gangs.
“Many people in the Haitian community are victims of the irresponsibility of the state,” laments Robens Dorvil, participant in the citizen’s march.
“We are tired of taking bullets, of being kidnapped: we are asking Mr. Ariel Henry, as he has proven that he was incapable, to leave power”, asserts the demonstrator, who is calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister.
Haiti has been exposed for months to gangs, whose influence has extended far beyond the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
Kidnappings and ransoms
“According to the alerts we receive, we say that between five and ten people are abducted every day, with peaks sometimes going up to 20 a day”, indicates Marie-Rosy Auguste Ducéna, activist of the National Network for the Defense of Rights humans. “The West Department [où se situe la capitale] has become a maze of crime, ”laments the lawyer.
Demanding ransoms of several thousand, if not several hundred thousand US dollars from the relatives of their victims, even the poorest, the armed gangs have imposed a climate of terror in the main city of Haiti, whose streets have been deserted since nightfall.
“We don’t lead a normal life in Port-au-Prince. It is a totally paralyzed people: it is the reign of fear”, testifies Jean-Robert Argant, the coordinator of the Collective 4 December, one of the organizations having launched the call to demonstrate.
Citizens feel left to fend for themselves, as kidnappings are committed by people wearing Haitian National Police uniforms.
“Imagine the anguish that this creates, challenges Jean-Robert Argant. When the healthy side of the police wants, for example, to carry out searches or checks, the citizen tends to flee or distance himself from this checkpoint, because he does not know if he is dealing with a real policeman or kidnappers disguised as policemen. »
We don’t lead a normal life in Port-au-Prince. It is a totally paralyzed people: it is the reign of fear.
In Les Cayes, the third city of Haiti, a group of protesters against insecurity invaded the runway of the airport on Tuesday noon, whose attendance has increased sharply since June, when gangs took control of the airport. single road linking the southern half of Haiti to the capital, Port-au-Prince.
According to local media, at least two people were shot and injured during the police intervention against the group which had taken possession of a small private plane.