Haitians are still waiting Friday for the appointment of a presidential transition council after the resignation of disputed Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in cautious hopes that these new authorities will put the gang-ravaged country on the path to stability.
But after a few days of relative calm, violence was recorded in Port-au-Prince, which is 80% in the hands of armed gangs. On two main roads in the city center, residents erected barricades to try to protect themselves from gang attacks, but also as a sign of protest, according to an AFP correspondent.
Shooting targeted the capital’s airport on Thursday, near which a police officer was injured, and the residence of the director general of police himself was looted and burned, according to a police union.
The night curfew was extended until Sunday in the West department, encompassing Port-au-Prince, to try to “regain control of the situation”, according to the Prime Minister’s office, which is currently dispatching Current affairs. The region is under a state of emergency until April 3.
“There are lots of prison escapees on the streets. The situation is steadily getting worse. The decision to declare a state of emergency in Haiti with a one-month curfew is laudable […]but this is not how it should be,” lamented Edner Petit, a resident of Port-au-Prince.
The Haitian Medical Association expressed Thursday its “dismay” at “the forced closure of hospitals” and “acts of physical violence against healthcare personnel.”
Disagreements
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he was resigning. His mandate was marked by a rise in the power of gangs, he having been appointed a few days before the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
The news came during an emergency meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with Haitian representatives, the UN and several countries such as the United States. These groups tasked Haitian groups with setting up a presidential transition council.
Several of the chosen parties have submitted the name of their representative to CARICOM, several sources told AFP.
Initially, the members of the December 21 collective, the group which supported Ariel Henry, were unable to agree on a single representative and designated three. But they are in talks to find a consensus candidate, according to sources close to the negotiations.
The left-wing party Pitit Desalin, which should have been part of the council, gave up being represented. Steps are underway to replace him, AFP learned this week.
Humanitarian aid
The transitional presidential council must be composed of seven voting members representing the main political forces in Haiti and the private sector. He must choose an interim prime minister and appoint an “inclusive” government.
Excluded will be people charged or convicted by the courts, under UN sanctions, intending to run in the next elections in Haiti and/or opposing the UN resolution on the deployment of a multinational mission of security support.
Kenya, which must deploy a thousand police officers as part of this mission, announced on Tuesday that it was suspending the sending of its men, but then assured that it would intervene once a presidential council was installed.
The United Nations has indicated that it will set up an “air bridge” between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic to allow “the fluidity of humanitarian aid”.
The United States, for its part, announced additional humanitarian aid of $25 million on Friday, in addition to the $33 million announced by its head of diplomacy, Antony Blinken, at the start of the week.
These funds will notably support the UN and NGOs with food aid, emergency care and drinking water, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).