Haiti is “on the brink of an irreparable humanitarian catastrophe”. Both the opposition to the government and members of the diaspora are calling for “concrete” and “urgent” action from Ottawa. Not necessarily to intervene, but above all to dislodge the power in place.
“People cannot live in peace. We rape them, we kidnap them,” says Évelyne. Haitian, she demonstrated Sunday alongside hundreds of other members of the diaspora, who were all shouting ” nou bouke ” (” we are tired “).
“If nothing is done, we risk seeing the situation get worse, and there, Haiti will become a pariah state,” warns the president-elect of the Montana Accord, Fritz Jean, who recently visited Montreal after being “invited by the diaspora”, and met by The duty.
On Monday, the UN reported that “insecurity in the capital” was comparable to situations of “armed conflict”. Since January 2023, more than 600 people have been abducted, according to the United Nations.
The diaspora “suffers [elle aussi] psychologically” and financially from this crisis. In the event of a kidnapping, it is the family members abroad who must pay the ransom, which can amount to up to $200,000, explains Fritz Jean. “As soon as you live here, you’re afraid that someone will call you at any time to tell you that one of your people has been kidnapped,” says Évelyne.
Mr. Jean is also “concerned” about the rapes of young girls committed by armed gangs. “Everyone around this table knows women, cousins… I don’t even want to talk about them,” he said, moved.
An economist by training, the former governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti has no power under the Constitution. The Montana Accord was created after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 to establish a transitional government. But it is not recognized by the Prime Minister in place, Ariel Henry.
Suspected of being linked to armed gangs and the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, Ariel Henry remains supported by the Core Group – made up of ambassadors from Canada, the United States, Germany, Brazil, Spain , France, the European Union and representatives of the UN. Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, however, met with Fritz Jean in December 2022.
Sanctions welcomed, but insufficient
Briefly Prime Minister in 2016, Mr. Jean accuses the Henry government of being responsible for this “chaos”, which “did not fall from the sky”.
“Ariel, he’s a criminal, an assassin. It was not the people who elected him, ”claims Fifi Fabiola, met during the demonstration at the end of the week. “He shouldn’t stay in power,” adds Paul.
Fritz Jean believes that this government will not be able to bring about “change”. He “does not understand [donc] not” the “tolerance”, or even the “complicity” shown by Ottawa with regard to the Henry government. “Somewhere, this State [Ottawa] is also responsible. »
Since November 2022, the Canadian government has sanctioned 19 people considered accomplices of armed gangs, including former politicians. A measure applauded by Mr. Jean, but which will not be enough as long as Ottawa continues to “combine with this government”.
“When Canada penalizes, it has no impact,” says Chalmers Larose, professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), explaining that few Haitians have bank accounts in Canada. .
“We will continue to put direct pressure on those who foment gang violence,” Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Jason Kung said in an email. Other sanctions are to come. »
Ottawa provided $100 million to Haiti in March 2023, notably for the training of the country’s police forces. An action that should be the priority of the Haitian government, says Fritz Jean, who believes that Haiti lacks manpower, and “must rebuild this police institution”. For this, Haiti needs “technical support”, he said, specifying that he is “not at all” against international aid. “It’s to make a qualitative leap”, to allow Haiti to “fly with its own wings”.
“No legitimate power”
According to Mr. Jean, a “change” of power is necessary. “We have arrived at a state of institutional disrepair, a social tearing apart such that we need a broad consensus […], and this is exactly the origin of Montana. »
Since the scheduled end of Jovenel Moïse’s mandate in February 2022, Ariel Henry, who succeeded him under the aegis of the Core Group, has refused to leave power, saying, in defense of himself, that he wants to organize new elections. A position in line with that of Ottawa, which wishes that “free and credible elections can take place”.
Fritz Jean, meanwhile, “finds it strange that foreign governments say that we need elections now in Haiti. […] This security situation must be corrected to allow candidates to campaign, but also citizens to go and vote”.
So, without an election, Montana Accord members have three options for gaining power, Larose said. Either by “the general uprising”, or by “a coup d’etat”, or by finding a “source of acceptance of power” with foreign powers. During his visit to Canada, Fritz Jean notably met the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet.
“There is no legitimate power right now in Haiti,” said Mr. Larose. The power is in the groups that […] resort to violence, or […] who materially occupy the spaces of power. »
Along with the appointment of Ariel Henry, “500 organizations, civil figures and political parties” signed an agreement in August 2021 at the Hotel Montana, in Port-au-Prince, with the mission of finding a consensus. After elections held internally in January 2022, Fritz Jean became its president.
Ottawa is calling for “a consensus to arrive at a transitional government, whereas we, at the level of the Montana Accord, we already have a fairly broad consensus,” denounces Mr. Jean.
However, if this coalition has an “interest in democracy”, its capacity for action is limited, argues Chalmers Larose, also co-director of the Observatory of the Americas at UQAM. “This agreement has reached a phase of obsolescence,” he says, citing “tactical” differences between the members. “The basic unit has been broken. »
The Montana Accord is not recognized either, neither by the Constitution, nor by the people, nor by the diaspora. The elections that led to the appointment of Fritz Jean have “nothing to do with popular elections”, specifies the political scientist.
“The Montana Accord doesn’t exist for the rest of us,” says Paul. “It’s not recognized by Haitians. It’s not going anywhere, ”says Max Adolph. “I don’t even know what the Montana Accord is,” adds Évelyne.