Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 2 décembre 2015

 Presidential Candidate Jude Celestin Says He May Not Compete in Runoff

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NOV. 27, 2015

The second-place finisher in the first round of Haiti’s presidential voting, Jude Célestin, said Friday that “no decision has been made” about whether he will take part in the scheduled Dec. 27 runoff against Jovenel Moïse, the candidate backed by the government. Mr. Célestin and seven other presidential candidates formed a coalition after asserting that the October elections and ballot-counting process were too problematic to be credible.

Evidence of massive frauds

A team of U.S.-based lawyers who witnessed last month’s Haitian elections say there is mounting evidence showing a clear pattern of systemic fraud, voter confusion and intimidation, and in some areas disenfranchisement.

The report paints a grim picture of a flawed, chaotic electoral process on Oct. 25. Not only were voting procedures inconsistently applied at poorly designed polling stations, the report notes, but the widespread use of observer and political party accreditation led to people voting multiple times and potentially accounts for as much as 60 percent of the 1.5 million votes cast.

“Without major corrective measures, these elections will represent a significant setback in Haiti’s long-struggle to consolidate democracy,” said the report based on the observations of a delegation of election monitors from the National Lawyers Guild and International Association of Democratic Lawyers Delegation.

The report’s release comes nearly a month after the vote to elect President Michel Martelly’s successor, and as the international community attempts to salvage the process amid growing and violent protest over allegations of fraud. Those accusations —political party monitors voting multiple times, ballot box stuffing and the manipulation of results at the vote Tabulation Center — have undermined many Haitians’ confidence in the announced results, despite international observers deeming them as acceptable. (Miami Herald)

Policemen injured

At least two policemen have been injured after clashes erupted between opposition supporters and police forces during a protest against presidential election results in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

One of the policemen was wounded after a protester opened fire, while the other was injured by demonstrators throwing rocks during the gathering on Tuesday.

The violence came as supporters of different opposition groups gathered to protest the results of the first round of the country’s presidential elections, which were released on Monday by the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council.

On November 24, the electoral commission said that Jovenel Moise, who is backed by the ruling party, and opposition candidate, Jude Celestin, had come out as the two top winners of the first round of the presidential election held on October 25.

The commission added that Moise had won 32.8 percent of the votes, while Celestin gained 25.3 percent.

THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY ENJOYED A THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION AT THE CARIBBEAN MARKET PLACE

By: Elsie Etheart

Miami, November 26^th 2015 – Miami celebrated Thanksgiving, along with the rest of the county, which celebrates this day every year on the fourth Thursday of November, as a day set aside to thank God for all of the blessings he has granted.

The Haitian community also had its Thanksgiving meal.

On the menu was the traditional Turkey and all of the fixings, including: mashed potato, and sweet potatoes casseroles. However, the meal had a Haitian twist – the turkey was in a Créole sauce; there was a tasso of turkey, and let’s not forget the traditional "Rice and beans.”

This year, the event did not take place at the American Legion Park, as it had in the past. Instead, it was right in the heart of Little Haiti at the Caribbean Market Place. The magnificent Gingerbread construction is hardly used, due to a lack of vendors who are able to establish themselves there, given the difficult economic conditions in the Haitian community.

So the festivities this year were held at this pleasant location on Northeast Second Avenue, adjacent to the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

The creator, of this event, Emeline Alexis Shulz, and her family celebrated their ninth edition this year, with the food being prepared by renowned Haitian chef, Fifi, and presented by servers.

One month before Thanksgiving, Emeline Alexis went on Haitian radio to promote the event, which has a special theme every year. “Victory” was the theme adopted for this year. The musical animation was provided by the group Gospel Rèv La, which came from Haiti.

About 500 people were in attendance in the large room at the Market Place, where round tables were set with white tablecloth and chairs.

About sixty leaders from the Haitian community were present, along with local and state elected officials, as well as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other the community leaders all dressed in big white aprons inscribed with “Haitian Community Thanksgiving Brunch” and traditional chef’s hats.  

They took their place on one side of the buffet table, whereas the community members in a tight line, with their plates in hand, waited to be served. The organization of the event was impeccable. There was no pushing or shoving and no raised voices. For somebody just coming from Haiti such as myself, it was impressive!

A breakfast was also served with Soup Joumou, pâté, chocolate and orange juice earlier in the day. The first part of the program was spiritual, with a catholic priest and a Haitian Pastor speaking to the audience about the necessity to give grace and thank God for the blessings received.

The second part included liturgical dances, theatrical skits, songs, and let’s not forget the traditional jokes which made the audience roar.

Then the meal was served to the audience, while about 60 public servants hurried to deliver the brunch to home-bound citizens at hospitals or at their homes.

The headliner of the day was her majesty the turkey, “KODIN.” Sadly, she was in a big iron cage, as she waited to be raffled off and eventually beheaded by her new owner. The winner of the raffle, a joyful lady, happily left with her turkey in arms. 

This year there was no wild turkey chase by the audience, the space did not allow it. Instead, there was a competition for the best turkey imitation. There was also a potato sack race, where participants had to jump over huge pumpkins, causing many falls. Those racing had to quickly get back up and continue to race, but the audience was in stiches from laughter.

Organizing such an event, has become a tradition for Emeline Alexis Schulz who is assisted by her husband Klaus, his brothers and sisters, along with numerous friends and acquaintances who all donate for the celebration. The City of Miami also contributes by providing the facility, the cleaning crew, which must put back the place to its original state prior to the party, as well as the security.

The organizers would like to express their gratitude to all those who made this year’s Thanksgiving Brunch a huge success including:

• City of Miami District 5: Keon HardemonI
• Paola Pierre (HACOF)
• Sandy Dorsainvile: Executive Director Little Haiti Cultural Center
• Publix (Aventual)
• Pasteur Joanen Floreal AKA Pastor Fanfan: Shalom Community Church North Miami
• Radio 1580am
• Build A Better Tomorrow
• Radio 1700 am
• Nuriyo Island TV
• Gabrielle Hyacinth
• Marie Etienne, DNP
• Dr .Flore Lindor-Latortue
• Marie Paule Woodson AEDAP
• Yolaine Catering (Fifi)
• Christophe Simeon
• Jan Mapou

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 9 décembre 2015

 Growing link between global warming and extreme weather

A red-flag to negotiators from 195 countries trying to broker a global climate-saving pact in Paris, the Bonn-based advocacy group Germanwatch released the 2016 Global Climate Risk Index showing those nations most affected by the direct consequences of extreme weather events.

Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti were the most afflicted by such disasters between 1995 and 2014, said the latest edition of the annual index.

Next were the Philippines, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand and Guatemala.

Altogether, more than 525,000 people died as a direct result of about 15,000 extreme weather events, the report said.

Losses amounted to more than $2.97 trillion, it said.

The analysis only looked at the direct results of extreme weather, it stressed, whereas the indirect consequences of extreme weather such as drought and famine resulting from heatwaves can be much more deadly.

It shows only one piece of the puzzle and is not a comprehensive index of vulnerability to climate change, researchers stressed.

For example, the study does not take into account sea-level rise, glacier melting or more acidic and warmer seas.

A growing body of research connects global warming and extreme weather, Germanwatch said.

"The Climate Risk Index thus indicates a level of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events that countries should understand as a warning to be prepared for more frequent and/or more severe events in the future," the report said.

Germanwatch urged negotiators at the UN climate conference in Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris to reach a universal deal to avert a climate catastrophe.

"Paris needs to deliver a far-reaching and durable climate regime that safeguards affected populations," it warned.

Threats to destroy Little-Haiti, community leaders warn

New Time Thursday December 3rd 2011

As the art world descends on South Florida for Miami Art Week, there's no doubt that the glitterati are shifting their gaze to Little Haiti. Everyone from New Times to the New York Times has written this year about the Caribbean neighborhood's shift as galleries flee rising Wynwood rents.

This morning, a coalition of community activists, business owners and residents had a message for developers: Little Haiti won't be the next Wynwood if they can help it.

"In the midst of this beautiful international art bonanza, in Little Haiti a different story has emerged," said Marleine Bastien, executive director of Fanm Ayisyen nan Miyami, which organized the demonstration. "This is the story of business and homeowners being pressured and threatened one minute, sweet talked the next to sell their homes. They're being offered two, three times the property of their homes to get out. Gentrification is here, baby."

Under a beating December sun, Bastien and her allies issued a list of demands on behalf of the neighborhood, ranging from the creation of an official Little Haiti cultural district to putting curbs on developers with a sustainable growth plan.

The goal? Bringing investment and jobs to the neighborhood without booting out the Haitian community who made it famous.

"We believe the cultural identify of the Haitian people and the imprint they have made in this neighborhood should be preserved," said Joan Milord, executive director of the NE 2nd Avenue Partnership. "We welcome new people to the area, but they need to recognize that Little Haiti was built on the backs of all the Haitians who came here."

…

Bastien said the list of demands released by the coalition could make a difference and avoid the downsides of a rapid transformation like in Wynwood, where many longtime residents and businesses have been priced out.

The group calls for a new community land trust to preserve space for small businesses and housing; an officially designated area for the neighborhood and a cultural district to preserve its heritage; stricter zoning laws and requirements for developers to study how their plans would impact existing residents; and a "community benefits agreement" that would set living wages for local residents and steer business toward area Haitian-American firms; and creating a Little Haiti CRA, which could use city funds to fuel sustainable growth.

"Little Haiti is changing fast and families are being displaced," Bastien said. "While we welcome and admire the art and diversity, we are greatly concerned about losing the character, the cultural history and the legacy of Little Haiti."

Kenneth Merten waits in Haiti for discussions about the electoral process

Port-au-Prince, December 3rd, 2015 [AlterPresse] – Haiti Special Coordinator from the U.S. State Department, former ambassador Kenneth Merten, is scheduled to visit  Haiti this week.

Kenneth Merten has to do his utmost to persuade the Haitian leaders to bring transparency to the elections, beginning by getting the Temporary Electoral Council to postpone the December 27^th runoff. This should be followed by an independent investigation, led by Haitians, but with the support of the international community, on the assertions of electoral frauds.

The visit of the special envoy falls within a period when anti-government protests have been gaining the streets of Port-au-Prince, to denounce the results of the presidential election of October 25th, 2015, that were tainted by irregularities and by frauds.

Among other things, the protestors are requesting the departure of President Joseph Michel Martelly  and of Prime Minister Evans Paul, as well as the resignation of the members of the Temporary Electoral Council.

Numerous sectors, including the human rights sector, are taking more and more distance from the controversial electoral process, following the deterioration of the political climate since the publication on November 24th, 2015, of the definitive results of the presidential election of October 25th, 2015.

A group of eight presidential candidates and the Fusion Political Party of Haitian Social Democrats continues to recommend a transitional government to help end this crisis.

Laurent Lamothe’s New Company: LSL World Initiative

LSL World Initiative(“LSLWI”) is a leading global organization dedicated to the socio-economic empowerment of emerging countries. As a private social impact enterprise, LSLWI provides solutions to support governments in implementing their own funding mechanisms to achieve economic self-sufficiency and spur sustainable development.

Laurent Lamothe founded LSL World Initiative this year, 2015.

Laurent Lamothe is a former Prime Minister of Haiti. During his tenure as Prime Minister, he fostered a surge in direct foreign investment, tackled corruption, improved security and stability by expanding the police force by 30 percent, and implemented social programs that the World Bank study estimated raised 2 million Haitians out of extreme poverty. The 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti destroyed 1.5 million homes, Mr. Lamothe was able to reduce that number down to 85,000.

He spearheaded a free education program, which added a $1.50 surcharge to wire transfers, and generated $1 million in funding for education each month. Elementary school attendance rose from 55 to 90 percent as a result, transforming the lives of 1.4 million children.

He is now replicating this successful model on a global scale with his new company, LSL World Initiative. LSLWI has provided our partners’ capacity-building programs that have led to major improvements in the collection and management of data, reporting, accountability and usage of technology to closely monitor communities and stimulate positive change around the world. The company is currently working with the government of Rwanda to deliver programs designed to effect long-term positive change and increase the quality of life for its citizens.

LSLWI is committed to providing emerging and developing countries with innovative financing mechanisms based on the nation’s own resources that will enable them to reach their development goals while reducing reliance on foreign aid. The company ensures the timely mobilization and coordination of all human, material and financial resources required for any specific national program providing measurable impact. LSLWI works with multilateral institutions in developing countries to find the perfect match between their solutions and funding projects for development.

Carter: no sign of cancer

Carter says the scan showed no signs of the original cancer "spots" or any new ones.

The former president apparently shared the good news on Sunday with those filling the congregation of Maranatha Baptist Church for one of his regular Sunday school lessons. Jill Stuckey, a church member who helps organize Carter's popular lessons, said in a phone interview that Carter told the congregation a brain scan this week showed no cancer.

Stuckey said people filling the sanctuary applauded after Carter's announcement, while she went into the church's back hallways to spread the word to members. "Our prayers have been answered," Stuckey, also a close friend of the Carters, said. "I can't think of a better Christmas present."

Carter, 91, announced in August that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain. Doctors removed a portion of his liver and found four small tumors on his brain.

He received a round of radiation targeted at those tumors and regular doses of Keytruda. Carter has remained active during treatment, continuing his humanitarian work and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

How to transform climate change from crisis to opportunity

Jude Dessources has problems. One of tens of thousands of smallholder Haitian farmers living on the Cul-de-Sac Plain near Port-au-Prince, his everyday reality is months of drought punctuated by torrential storms or hurricanes that flood his fields and home. The result? Lost crops and economic uncertainty for Jude and his family.

Unfortunately, Jude and his fellow Haitians are not alone in this plight. According to theWorld Resources Institute, 1 billion people live in water-scarce regions and an estimated 3.5 billion people could join them within 10 years.

This trend will put extreme pressure on smallholder farming systems, which currently produce about 80 percent of the global food supply, at a time when population projections estimate 9.6 billion people by 2050.

Build resilient and prosperous economies through CSA

To help smallholder farmers like Jude break the cycle of poverty and climate shocks,Chemonics’ agriculture and food security practice is integrating climate-smart agriculture — or CSA — with inclusive market systems to build competitive industries and use social marketing to encourage increased consumption of nutritious and high quality foods.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization defines CSA as an integrated approach to address interlinked challenges of food security and climate change, along three objectives:

1. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity;
2. Adapting and building resilience of agricultural and food security systems; and
3. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

The new challenge is to integrate CSA objectives into a development approach that will protect the planet and improve the lives of farmers like Jude. Over the past 40 years, nongovernmental organizations, international donors, private sector companies and local organizations have collaborated to promote sustainable agricultural growth.

Over the past several years, for instance, Chemonics and the U.S. Agency for International Development have worked closely with local agricultural cooperatives and associations. Through this experience, we’ve developed an integrated CSA approach along the following components: to empower smallholders through technology; stabilize to re-energize degraded land; and build carbon capture ecosystems.

Empower smallholders through technology

Technology, science, and modern agricultural practices are the key to increasing smallholder farmer productivity and incomes. Drip irrigation is one constantly-developing technology thatiDE, a leader in smallholder technology solutions, has embraced. In Cambodia, iDE developed a package of support, including drip irrigation and fertigation, that doubled farmer productivity.

In Haiti, Chemonics promotes a new integrated system of hillside greenhouses, vertical farming, and drip irrigation systems that is allowing farmers to make the most out of poor water infrastructure and triple their productive seasons. Catchment systems are excellent ways to improve water infrastructure in order to collect water more efficiently during the rainy season so it can be used year-round, extending and multiplying growing seasons for many farmers.

Technological packages like the combination of greenhouses, catchments, and drip irrigation — when developed appropriately with respect to the local context — allow farmers like Jude to more efficiently harness water to get “more crop per drop.”

Stabilize to re-energize degraded land

Denuded hillsides have created an environmental disaster in Haiti, but new approaches and technologies are providing solutions. USAID funding helped Haitians rehabilitate 71 miles of ravines, plant 5.6 million trees, and build a state-of-the-art water diversion dam that has helped harness water and protect Jude and 50,000 other farmers against flooding in the Cul-de-Sac plain.

Above the plain, farmers are combating deforestation by planting trees and grasses that prevent erosion and allow more productive agriculture on the hillsides. Additionally, promoting greenhouse technology improves potential productivity, reducing pressure on land.

Build carbon capture ecosystems

According to the FAO, agriculture and land use is responsible for 24 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture therefore has the potential to play an important role in mitigating global emissions. According to France’s Ministry of Agriculture, a 4 percent annual increase in global soil carbon stock would stop the current increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

We have to look to no further than Iowa, a U.S. state where more than 99 percent of the native prairies have been modified, to see this principle at work.

On Nov. 20, aNew York Times op-ed reported on the dramatic steps Iowa’s farmers and leaders are taking to both enhance carbon sequestration through agroforestry and investing in renewable energy to directly reduce carbon emissions. Grant Schultz, the “mad scientist of permaculture” and owner of Versaland, an Iowan agroforestry farm, has transformed a degraded industrial corn farm into a model to revitalize agricultural ecosystems for farmers around the world to emulate.

Climate change: The shock we need to build resiliency and prosperity?

Many “climate-smart” techniques are not new, and in fact have been promoted as sound agricultural production strategies for decades. However, increases in average global temperatures, and increasing climate uncertainty, are reducing farmers’ ability to predict and to cope with changing rainfall, droughts and floods.

Perversely, this increased pressure on traditional resilience may be the shock needed to spur farmers to adopt new coping techniques and strategies that they may not have previously needed. The contemporary smallholder farmer like Jude will have to break with longstanding traditional risk-averse methods and practices, not only to survive, but permanently break the survival cycle in which millions are trapped and preserve the planet for future generations.

Planet Worth is a global conversation in partnership with Abt Associates, Chemonics,HELVETAS, Tetra Tech, the U.N. Development Program and Zurich, exploring leading solutions in the fight against climate change, while highlighting the champions of climate adaptation amid emerging global challenges. Visit the campaign site and join the conversation using #PlanetWorth.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 16 décembre 2015

 Haiti Deserves a Legitimate Election

NEW YORK TIMES

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD, DEC. 12, 2015

There is an electoral crisis in Haiti. An election in October to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly was so marred by reports of ballot tampering, illegal voting and other abuses that the result has been widely denounced as illegitimate.

Not just by the dozens of losing candidates — there were 54 people on the presidential ballot — but by independent election observers, human-rights groups, Haitian religious leaders, organizations of the Haitian diaspora and ordinary citizens who have taken to the streets in angry, sometimes violent, demonstrations.

The country is supposed to hold a runoff election on Dec. 27 between the first-place finisher, Jovenel Moïse, and the first runner-up, Jude Célestin. But Mr. Célestin has called the October results a “ridiculous farce” and threatened to withdraw from the runoff. He has formed a coalition of eight presidential candidates who are demanding an independent investigation of the first election and reforms to assure the integrity of the second.

About all that can be said in favor of the October balloting — for president, but also for Parliament and local mayors — is that it was less violent than usual. But by other measures of credibility, skeptical observers said, it was a colossal failure. Turnout was low, at 26 percent. Observers told of altered ballots, and of supposedly indelible ink that rapidly faded from voters’ thumbs. The government body managing the election, the Provisional Electoral Council, distributed more than 900,000 accreditation cards to representatives of political parties. The cards were meant to be a brake on fraud, but they may have spurred it: Those who carried them could enter polling places and vote even if their names were not listed. Observers said a black market in the cards arose, potentially allowing many buyers to vote early and often.

Mr. Moïse, President Martelly’s chosen successor, has declared himself satisfied with the October results. So has the Organization of American States and the State Department, which sent the special coordinator for Haiti, Kenneth Merten, to try to persuade Mr. Célestin to enter the runoff as planned, with promises of a better Round 2.

But the United States should know that it’s impossible to build a legitimate government on a rotten foundation. It should instead be pressing for an independent, Haitian-led inquiry to examine the October vote. The runoff should be postponed, so the October ballots can be openly counted and the results legitimized — if that is even possible, given the irregularities. And any effort at staging a credible election should include reform of the electoral council, which has been accused of partisanship and incompetence.

Since it was stricken by an earthquake nearly six years ago, Haiti has been on a slow path of righting itself, a path complicated by the struggle to rebuild the nearly obliterated Haitian government and to establish strong and sustainable Haitian-led institutions.

Voters in Haiti are distrustful and disheartened, with good reason. The country has no functioning Parliament; it disbanded in January when members’ terms ran out. Mr. Martelly has been ruling by decree. Haiti faces serious problems — a dysfunctional government, voter apathy, joblessness, poverty and cholera — even without a crisis of presidential legitimacy. Its current emergency may lie far from the center of global attention. But anyone who cares about democracy in a country whose fate is so closely tied to the wandering and sometimes malign attentions of the United States and the rest of the world should pay attention. Haitians deserve better than this.

Haiti Special Coordinator, Kenneth Merten,

Meeting Leaders in Port-au-Prince

and Engaging Stakeholders in Anse-à-Pitres

December 9, 2015

                                                                                                                        No. 2015/63

Haiti Special Coordinator Kenneth Merten arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, December 3, for consultations with a range of political, business, civil society, and international community leaders.  In his meetings, Special Coordinator Merten emphasized the United States’ support for fair and inclusive elections. Special Coordinator Merten urged all parties to work together to ensure that elections being organized are peaceful and credible. 

Haiti Special Coordinator Kenneth Merten also visited Anse-à-Pitres on Monday, December 7 and Tuesday, December 8, to engage with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Non-Governmental Organizations working on migration issues with the Dominican Republic.  He departed the country on Wednesday morning, December 9.

“There will be no elections on December 27^th, (2015),” according to the Senator and presidential candidate for the political party Konviksyon, Steven Benoit, during a demonstration in the streets of Port-au-Prince, on the occasion of the international day of human rights, on Thursday, December 10, 2015.

"What we are experiencing is beyond imagination. We will continue the struggle in favor of publication of real election results," requires Benoit, in statements during a demonstration convened by different organizations of human rights in Haiti and to claim respect for the civil and political rights of the Haitian people.

Published fraudulent results would allow the candidates of the Party Haitian Tèt Kale (PHTK) to power and to invade the Parliament, denounced the candidate to the Presidency, placed in 8th position in the final results of the presidential election of October 25, 2015.

"As engaged citizens, we are here to tell the Government that the rights of Haitians are not respected: the right to food, to education, the right to vote and security," says Benoit, indicating that the Group of the eight (G8) protest candidates, he is part, remains always consistent in its position.

The G8 continues to demand the formation of an independent investigative commission to evaluate the elections of October 25, 2015; the cancellation of the second round of the presidential election - 27 December 2015 - announced by the stubborn provisional electoral council (Cep) despite the challenges that are growing in magnitude since the publication of the preliminary results, November 5, 2015; and the departure of Joseph Michel Martelly.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Evans Paul has begun a series of meetings for the establishment of a commission of election security.

For its part, the official candidate for the Phtk, Jovenel Moise, who came ahead in the presidential election results, is always campaigning, while rival Jude Célestin of Alternative for progress and emancipation League Haitian (Lapeh), placed in the second position, rejects any idea of going to the second round, on 27 December 2015.

 “The Washington Post”

EDITORIAL

Haiti on the brink as newly elected president of Haiti in 2011, Michel Martelly, a former pop star, said high-mindedly that it was his dream to unify the Caribbean nation, whose chronic instability rivals its profound poverty as a source of suffering. Now, four years later, Haiti is as politically polarized as ever, and Mr. Martelly deserves a large share of the blame.

Amid repeated standoffs and squabbling over electoral rules between the president and his opponents, it took more than four years for the country to organize legislative elections. In the meantime, in January, the national parliament was dissolved after its term expired, and many local offices went unfilled.

Under Haitian law, Mr. Martelly cannot serve a second consecutive term, and a first round of presidential elections to choose his successor went forward in October. However, the balloting, which featured 54 candidates, was marked by fraud, vote-buying and repeat voting.

Whether the fraud was massive or simply extensive is a matter of debate. Either way, it took weeks to announce the final first-round tally, and confidence in the results was not helped by the fact that the top finisher was Mr. Martelly’s hand-picked successor — a previously obscure businessman named Jovenel Moise, who is known as “Banana Man.” (Mr. Moise has been active in promoting banana exports.) Protests and street violence have ensued.

With the runoff to elect a president set for Dec. 27, significant parts of Haitian civil society, including human rights organizations and the clergy, have called for a postponement to recount and verify the first-round results. So has the second-place finisher, Jude Celestin, who says he will not take part in the runoff without an independent review of the first-round results.

Mr. Celestin and others are at least partly justified in doubting the integrity of the process so far, as well as the independence of the nine-member provisional electoral council. However, starting from scratch or postponing the second round indefinitely is a recipe for ongoing upheaval and more violence.

A recount is fine in principle, but it has been blocked by the electoral council; in any event, there is no guarantee that it would be seen as accurate and impartial. A better way out of the impasse is to proceed with the runoff with guarantees of enhanced scrutiny by international election observers from the Organization of American States and elsewhere, including the United States. Organizing that may require a brief postponement, but it should not be drawn out over many weeks.

As Mr. Martelly noted shortly after taking office, Haitians are desperate for national reconciliation. He has failed to deliver it, despite the advantage of having been the only democratically elected Haitian president to take power from a democratically elected predecessor.

Going forward with fair and transparent elections to choose Mr. Martelly’s successor is critical if Haiti is to have any hope of achieving national consensus, let alone surmounting the lingering effects of the country’s cataclysmic 2010 earthquake and a cholera epidemic that continues to claim lives.

Two truck drivers killed at the border by customs officers...

Haiti Libre - Sunday evening at border customs post of Thomassique (Central Department, 18 km of Hinche), according to preliminary information from the local police, customs officers opened fire on two trucks trying to enter the territory of Haiti avoiding control of their cargo. The two Haitian drivers : Nelson Déribert (53) hit by a bullet in the head died instantly and the other driver, Jean François Pierre, succumbed to his injuries during transport to hospital. Both were family men. Also according to police sources, the two drivers were known to the police for having previously been involved in acts of smuggling.

On Monday, the population under the shock of this news and very angry, took to the streets to protest against the violence of the customs officers, accusing them of being responsible for these two deaths. Barricades of burning tires were erected in the city center, and unidentified individuals set fire to the customs post, causing no casualties among customs officers, who were able to escape before.

Francisco Delacruz, parliamentary candidate for that constituency, criticized the excessive use of firearms by customs agents, against unarmed civilians.

The Unit for Maintaining Order (UDMO) was there in the middle of the day, but not intervene except by their deterrent presence, to avoid confrontation with the population and cause casualties...

According to our latest information warrants were issued against X against those responsible for the deaths of two drivers as well as against individuals involved in the fire at the customs office.

TB/ HaitiLibre 

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 24 décembre 2015

 New Haiti commission to evaluate elections

The commission, created by order of the president, will assess Haiti's electoral process ahead of Dec. 27 runoffs

December 17, 2015 

President Michel Martelly on Thursday ordered the creation of a special commission to assess Haiti's electoral process ahead of Dec. 27 presidential and legislative runoffs that opposition factions have threatened to derail because of suspicions of widespread fraud.

Martelly, who has been ruling by decree since January, named five members to assess the electoral process over the next three days and then make recommendations to the Provisional Electoral Council and his government. He said they would have assistance from experts from the European Union and observers from the Organization of American States.

A broad array of rights groups, local election monitors and political factions has alleged that the Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections in Haiti were so badly marred by ballot tampering, multiple voting and other irregularities that their validity was in question.

The No. 2 presidential finisher, Jude Celestin, has called the officially announced results a "ridiculous farce" and suggested he would boycott a runoff with the government-backed candidate who finished first unless a proper review of the elections was done and changes were made to the electoral council and police.

Celestin, a former state construction chief, has not been campaigning in recent weeks, but hasn't withdrawn from the runoff with Martelly's pick, political newcomer Jovenel Moise.

The council that oversees the electoral process has rejected insisted it lacks authority to authorize any review of the results and said the Dec. 27 date was firm.

Martelly was prohibited by Haiti's constitution from seeking a second consecutive term.

At a Thursday evening news conference, Prime Minister Evans Paul acknowledged that it would be "difficult" for elections to be held next weekend. But he also noted that the constitution mandates that new legislators take office Jan. 11 and the president give up his office Feb. 7.

It was not clear how the members of the new evaluation commission were chosen or what the precise scope of their review would be. Martelly said his "commission of evaluation" would be tasked with recommending measures to "ensure transparency and credibility of the electoral process."

The panel includes Patrick Aris of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, which has been sharply critical of this year's elections, as well as Rosny Desroches, director of a Haitian observer group, and former Port-au-Prince Mayor Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne.

The two presidential candidates expected to compete in the runoff could have a representative monitor the commission's work, according to the presidential decree.

The Associated Press

teleSurtv.net Latin America

Haitians Claim Fraud Ahead Presidential Runoff  

The country’s electoral authority is believed to be highly influenced by the U.S., who poured US$31 million into the electoral process. Thousands of people took to the streets of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Wednesday to denounce fraud in the first round of the presidential and parliamentary elections that were held on Oct. 25.   According to results posted by the Provisional Electoral Council, Jovenel Moise, obtained 32.81 percent of the preferences, and Jude Celestin won 25.27 percent.  The electoral authority CEP is believed to be largely influenced by the United States that has paid US$31 million to support the electoral process, while protesters have largely demanded an independent commission to review the election outcome.   The massive march passed peacefully however there was an incident when some protesters began throwing stones to the U.N. peacekeepers that were helping authorities to safeguard the area.  ANALYSIS: Meet Haiti's Presidential Candidates  This is just another demonstration ahead of the runoff election scheduled for Dec. 27. The second round of voting will be between Moise, backed by the outgoing president and the ruling party, and Celestin, one of the more than 57 opposition candidates.  Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and still struggles with the legacy of the devastating 2010 earthquake and Western colonialism.   This electoral process was expected to end the political instability that has reigned in the Caribbean nation for the past three decades, particularly after the end of the Duvalier regime.  

The Senate rejects the government commission

In a note Thursday, the Senate deplored and denounced the establishment of a "Commission of Electoral Evaluation" and the unilateral character of the approach of the Executive.http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16089-haiti-flash-president-martelly-announced-the-creation-of-a-commission.html

"The Senate of the Republic deplores the decision of the Executive, which not only does not meet the demands of various sectors of the Nation but also does in no way contributes to resolving the crisis in the country."

Andris Riché, Senate President regrets that the position of the upper house has not been taken into account in the formation of the Commission, noting that the Senate had recommended the establishment of an independent Commission for the Evaluation and/or verification, to decide on the multiple allegations of fraud, irregularities surrounding the electoral process.

His colleague, Senator Jean-Baptiste Bien-Aimé rejects the formation of this Commission, that he described as diversionary tactic, arguing that election stakeholders should have participated in the formation of any commission. Moreover, he argues that the 5 members appointed by the Government, at one level or another, have links with the ruling party.

Haitians tell their embassy in Dominican capital to cut the red tape

Dominican TodaySaturday 19th December, 2015

Santo Domingo.- To the beat of a gaga rhythm and waving banners with their demands, dozens of Haitians protested outside the Haitian embassy in the Dominican Republic, alleging that they've already paid for all the documents needed to request Dominican residency but have yet to receive any.

Group spokesman Christophe Leonard said around 98,000 applications were submitted for the Dominican government program to regularize foreigners,

but have yet to receive any response not even from 5% of the requests.

For all of the three documents: birth certificate, ID card ...

Open our hearts to refugees

Consider refugees as persons, not problems.

MIAMI HERALD

Much of our Christmas observance has been sanitized to consist of warm fuzzy feelings. So it is not surprising that we forget that while Christmas celebrates the coming among us of the Prince of Peace, his coming was indeed “a sign of contradiction.”

We underplay the fact that the pregnant Mary and her husband, Joseph, were turned away from the inn. We forget the slaughter of the Holy Innocents — and that the infant Jesus was spared their fate only through the hurried flight into Egypt where the Holy Family lived for years as what today we would call “political refugees.”

WENSKI

Yet this is the Christmas reality experienced today by the ever growing numbers of migrants and refugees throughout the world. Indeed, today there are more than 60 million refugees and internally displaced persons living in our world — the greatest number since the end of World War II. Close to one-third of these people are from Syria and Iraq. And most are surviving in desperate circumstances. And, truth be told, many fail to survive at all.

Yet, in spite of this profound human suffering, many here in our country would shut our doors in the faces of those looking for a safe haven.

The United States has in the past 30-40 years generously resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and its aftermath — Vietnamese from Southeast Asia, Kosovars from the Balkan region, and many African nationalities such as Congolese, Somalis and Sudanese, among others.

In the 1990s, nearly 90,000 refugees were admitted yearly. Given the immensity of the overall refugee population then, even 90,000 was a relatively low number. Yet it was more representative of the American people’s humanitarian traditions than the numbers admitted in the aftermath of our national tragedy of September 11, 2001.

We cannot give into our fear and retreat into the mindset of a “fortress America.” Certainly, given the enormity of what happened on 9/11 or what happened last month in Paris, one should not easily dismiss a certain anxiety about national security. But, in fact, refugees coming to the U.S. do pass security checks and multiple interviews. Sometimes the vetting process can take up to two years.

Certainly we can and should look at strengthening the already stringent screening program; yet we can do that while still continuing to welcome those in desperate need. Security fears should not be used as a smoke screen to justify heartless and senseless policies that would close our doors to victims of terrorism as the Bethlehem innkeepers closed their doors to the Holy Family that first Christmas.

The plight of the Syrians as well as the refugees from Iraq is desperate. These refugees — both Muslim and Christian — are extremely vulnerable families, women and children who are fleeing from brutal violence of the Syrian conflict, including the brutality of ISIS, which was responsible for the Paris attacks.

As Pope Francis said to the U.S. Congress this past September: We should “respond in a way which is always human, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ (Mt 7: 12).”

If we see the refugees as “persons” and not as “problems,” our great nation can continue to be a haven to those who, like Mary, Joseph and Jesus of yore, still flee from modern day Herods.

THOMAS G. WENSKI IS ARCHBISHOP OF MIAMI.