(Ottawa) After the United States and France, it is Canada’s turn to launch an operation to repatriate its nationals to Haiti.
The assisted departure operation begins today [lundi], announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, at a press conference. Of the 30 Canadians who wanted to leave “immediately”, 18 who were more “vulnerable” – in need of medical assistance or with children – already left Haiti on Monday.
Transport to the Dominican Republic will be carried out by chartered helicopters “throughout the week”, indicated the head of Canadian diplomacy. She did not want to go into operational details for fear that criminal gangs would try to thwart rescue efforts.
The government plans to extend the operation to permanent residents and members of their families.
The reason it was decided to proceed in stages is that Santo Domingo has “strict admissibility requirements”, meaning that only Canadian citizens with a valid Canadian passport can enter Dominican territory, he said. she exposed.
A little over a week ago, the Canadian government had to resolve to redeploy part of its staff from the embassy in Port-au-Prince. These employees were transported to the Dominican Republic on chartered helicopters.
For almost two years now, Canada has recommended avoiding all travel to Haiti “due to the threat posed by kidnappings, gang-related violence and possible civil unrest throughout the country.”
For those already on Haitian territory, Ottawa recommends “sheltering in place, stocking up on basic necessities (food, water and medicine)” and “limiting their movements”.
According to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) records, 3,039 Canadians are currently in Haiti. Since March 3, 245 requests for information, including “on departure options,” have been sent, the ministry noted in a press release last Friday.
About a hundred of them were contacted by AMC for evacuation, said M.me Joly.
Paris and Washington
PHOTO RICHARD PIERRIN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
For almost two years now, Canada has recommended avoiding all travel to Haiti “due to the threat posed by kidnappings, gang-related violence and possible civil unrest throughout the country.”
France and the United States have evacuated some of their nationals in recent days, while the international airport of Port-au-Prince has been closed for some three weeks and the capital is in the grip of yet another surge of violence in the wake of the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
French nationals who wanted to leave with the help of the French government were able to join a national navy vessel which was then to transport them to Fort-de-France, in Martinique, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday.
France had chartered military helicopters to extricate them from the Haitian capital. Some 1,100 French people, including a large number of dual nationals, live on the Caribbean island, according to figures provided by the Quai d’Orsay.
The United States, for its part, has evacuated more than 200 nationals so far.
Transition: already some hiccups
PHOTO RICARDO HERNANDEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
France and the United States have evacuated some of their nationals in recent days, while the international airport of Port-au-Prince has been closed for some three weeks and the capital is in the grip of yet another surge of violence in the wake of the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The governance transition period promises to be perilous in Haiti.
We knew it, but we had a first demonstration of it over the weekend, when the creation of the presidential transitional council came up against disagreements between the personalities who should compose it.
Diplomats and observers agree that “it is not realistic to think about elections before 18 months,” Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, André François Giroux, recently said in an interview.
With Agence France-Presse