Haiti PM out
Transitional presidential council set up, during talks in Jamaica, to guide nation in crisis to election of new leader
Published:Tuesday | March 12, 2024 | 12:08 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
Embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has resigned as leader of the violence-torn nation.
The announcement was made by CARICOM Chairman Mohamed Irfaan Ali during a press conference held at the end of a lengthy day of high level talks at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in the island’s capital yesterday.
Ali, the president of Guyana, told journalists and others gathered for the press conference that a transitional presidential council had been established which will be responsible for naming an interim prime minister ahead of a national election to determine a new head of government
He said the transitional presidential council would be comprised of seven voting members and two non-voting observers. The seven voting members will comprise representatives of Haitian political parties as well as the private sector, while the non-voting members will be represented by one member of civil society and one member of the interfaith community.
He stressed, however, that, excluded from the council would be anyone currently on a charge, indictment or who has been convicted in any jurisdiction, as well as anyone under United Nations (UN) sanction or who intends to run in the next election in Haiti. Also excluded is anyone who opposes UN Security Council Resolution 2699.
“The transitional presidential council will, together, with the interim prime minister, appoint an inclusive council of ministers. The transitional presidential council will hold the relevant and possible powers of the Haitian presidency during the transition period until the elected government is established,” Ali said.
The agreement on the way forward for Haiti came hours after France yesterday declared that it would not support any negotiations with gangs that have paralysed the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, with violence, amid regional support for a presidential council to facilitate the holding of a national election.
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, the French minister of development and international partnerships, said the European country would not support any system that facilitates those against the rule of law.
“Let’s be clear, any compromise with gangs and their supporters is [antithetical]. It is a redline for us,” Zacharopoulou told CARICOM heads of government and other regional leaders during Monday’s high-level meeting on Haiti at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
She said compromised actors who lack integrity must not form part of efforts to curtail the turmoil mounting in the French-speaking country.
Regional leaders spent hours locked in several “intense and extensive” meetings with Haitian stakeholders, including faith-based organisations, civil society and the business community, hard-pressed to get consensus on possible solutions to the conflict-battered country.
BRINK OF DISASTER
Calling the “drastically deteriorating” situation in the former French colony a “polycrisis”, Ali said during the earlier hours of yesterday’s talks that Haiti was on the brink of disaster, asserting that failure to act now could be detrimental to the region.
Henry was not at the meeting which was attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Gangsters had called for Henry’s resignation, shuttering the Toussaint Louverture International Airport and freeing thousands of prisoners in the process, bringing Haiti’s capital to its knees.
Ali said the meeting, which facilitated deep and honest discussions, is an attempt by regional leaders and Haitian stakeholders to arrive at a consensus around an effective and inclusive transitional governance structure “to take the country to general elections in the shortest possible time”.
Blinken asserted the United States’ support for the decision to expedite a political transition, noting the North American country’s support for the creation of a broad-based inclusive, independent presidential college.
The US diplomat said this would first take concrete steps to meet the immediate needs of Haitian people, enable the swift deployment of the multinational security support mission and, through that deployment, create the security conditions necessary to hold free and fair elections, allow humanitarian assistance and help put Haiti back on a path to economic opportunity and growth.
Blinken announced that the US will double its contribution to Haiti, announcing an additional US$100 million for the multinational security force yet to be deployed to the French-speaking country.
This brings the latest contribution from the US Department of Defense to US$200 million, with an overall contribution of US$300 million so far.
Additionally, he said Haitians are to receive US$33 million in humanitarian support for health and food security.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted that the Haitian National Police is under-resourced and outmanned, noting that the United Nations Multinational Security Mission “is, therefore, a critical and necessary first step to restore basic law and order and provide an environment of stability to allow the distribution of assistance and the crafting of medium- and long-term solutions”.
He said Haitian voices must be central to any deliberation towards a resolution of the situation.
“The Haitian people must feel that they are a vital part of the process, having ownership in its planning and implementation,” said Holness.
However, he said regional leaders will do an injustice to Haitians if the region becomes paralysed, unable to move forward with urgency and resolve.
Holness said Monday’s meeting, which continued beyond 10 p.m., must lead to closer action.
“With each passing day, the situation becomes more dire for the majority of the people of Haiti, and indeed the region. We must resolve to end this state of play, and by our actions, provide hope for Haitians, that this time, there will be a positive outcome and things will indeed get better,” Holness said.