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CARICOM ‘deeply concerned’ about Haiti’s unrest

Published:Friday | October 11, 2019 | 12:10 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
Protesters seeking the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse are joined by market vendors as they march and dance through the streets in Petionville, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Wednesday. Moïse still has more than two years left in his term and says he will not step down despite violent protests that have shuttered businesses and kept two million children from going to school for nearly a month.
AP
Protesters seeking the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse are joined by market vendors as they march and dance through the streets in Petionville, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Wednesday. Moïse still has more than two years left in his term and says he will not step down despite violent protests that have shuttered businesses and kept two million children from going to school for nearly a month.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) says it is deeply concerned about the protracted political crisis in Haiti and that it is also paying close attention to the increasing size and intensity of the protests with outbreaks of looting, vandalism, and violence, which have led to casualties.

The protests have been accompanied by a series of demonstrations throughout the country, calling for President Jovenel Moïse to step down. The demonstrations have paralysed the country for days and have led to a deteriorating social, economic, and humanitarian situation there.

It noted that despite the Community’s principled position of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, member states, or third states, the heads of government received a report on the situation from the head of the Haitian delegation during their conference in Saint Lucia in July of this year.

The secretariat told The Gleaner that a decision was made by the conference to have a prime ministerial delegation visit the country.

“No doubt because of the increasing unsettled nature of the situation and of security concerns, Haiti has not yet given its imprimatur for the visit. Contact has, however, been maintained by the secretariat with the country’s foreign minister and it continues to monitor the situation,” the secretariat said.

The CARICOM Secretariat, located in Georgetown, Guyana, made it clear that it was incorrect to say that the Community pays little attention to what is taking place in Haiti.

In addition, it mentioned that the chairman of the conference also expressed the Community’s concerns during a meeting with the United Nations secretary general during the UN General Assembly two weeks ago.

SUPPLY CHAINS

CARICOM said that the UN humanitarian agency OCHA has pointed out the difficulties in the distribution of supplies in Haiti.

Additionally, CARICOM said that a recent report on Haiti’s humanitarian situation showed that the protests had interrupted the flow of aid to the vulnerable, and supply chains have been severely disrupted throughout the country by the demonstrations, barricades, the blocking of main roads, and the occasional ensuing paralysis of government and private-sector activities.

“The situation has been exacerbated by the unwillingness of truckers to transport goods because of the attendant security risks. This has led to widespread shortages of basic necessities in markets and supermarkets,” the secretariat said.

paul.clarke@gleanerjm.com