Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 17 mars 2021

4 DEAD AND 8 WOUNDED

HAITI STANDARD

The Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) reported on the police operation carried out during the day of March 12, in Village de Dieu, in Port-au-Prince. Four (4) dead and eight (8) wounded are recorded, this is the result of this operation that the security forces are not ready to forget.

During a press briefing, on Saturday, at the Information and Operations Centre (CRO), the head of the police institution reaffirmed the determination of the PNH to fight against insecurity, organized crime and kidnapping that prevent people from going about their business freely.

«The operation conducted in Village de Dieu, on March 12, was a decisive phase in the fight against the many cases of kidnapping recorded in Port-au-Prince»,” said the Commander-in-Chief of the Police.  

Of the eight wounded registered by the PNH, three of them have already been released from the hospital where they were admitted, said the police chief. He also expressed his sympathies to the parents of the police officers who were the victims of this operation, and promised to stand by them.

Russia Offers its Services to Haiti

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in a short message published on Twiter said that Haiti has entered a new period of political instability and is experiencing the biggest social and economic crisis ever seen.

This Ministry has informed that Russia is ready to help Haitians restore political stability, maintain internal security and train staff.

IN HAITI‘S POLITICAL CRISIS, US SHOULD SUPPORT DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

By Pierre Esperance and Rosy Auguste Ducena

Two weeks before being sworn in as U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken tweeted that the United States “will always support democracy, human rights, and the security and prosperity of Haiti.” But these promising words now ring hollow as the State Department doubles down on its support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who is attempting to cling to power beyond the legal end of his term last month.

Haitian judges, lawyers, and civil society leaders—including the two of us, who lead one of Haiti’s premier human rights organizations—agree that Moïse’s term legally concluded on Feb. 7. Regrettably, as Haiti’s constitutional crisis unfolds, the United States has thrown its weight behind Moïse, saying he has one more year in office and should use it to organize elections. That position is based on Moïse’s argument that a rerun of the 2015 election after fraud allegations delayed his taking office by a year. Tragically, the State Department has chosen to stand on the side of a dictator, not on the side of democracy and human rights, betraying Blinken’s promise.

In a letter to Blinken, Gregory Meeks (D-NY), chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and other committee members urged the secretary of state to “unambiguously reject” Moïse’s attempt to stay in power. Key U.S. senators also want to see the United States take a different approach. Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D-VT), for example, tweeted that Haiti is in “worse shape” now than when Moïse first took power, calling on the United States to support an “inclusive transition.”

Dismantling Democratic Institutions

Since taking office in 2017, Moïse has systematically dismantled key democratic institutions, including those charged with keeping him accountable, apparently with the goal of extending his authority and undermining the rule of law. For example, Moïse drastically weakened the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) and the Central Financial Intelligence Unit (UCREF), which were leading investigations into corruption and money laundering, illicit drug trafficking and other serious offences, including cases that implicated Moïse, among others. Moïse even weakened the Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA), which is responsible for reviewing all expenditures and financial commitments made by the Haitian government.

When pro-democracy activists challenged Moïse’s refusal to step down from the presidency last month, he arrested them and charged them with planning a coup. At the same time, he forced “retirement” on three Supreme Court justices and replaced them with his supporters in order to “protect” the court’s “independence.” Most worrisome of all, he is planning a constitutional referendum in June, during which he is expected to further consolidate and expand the powers of the executive, including potential changes to presidential term limits.

Gang Massacres

Crucially, Moïse also has created a security crisis for the people of Haiti by failing to hold egregious human rights abusers accountable during his tenure. We see this all around us. We have documented the massacres by gangs who operate with Moïse’s blessing, if not his full support: 10 massacres in the past two years, in which 343 people were killed, 98 disappeared, and 32 women were gang raped. The violence left 251 children orphaned.

It is time for the Biden administration to align its policies with its principles. The United States needs to reverse its policy of standing by Moïse, consult with Haitian civil society to help inform its approach going forward, and take the powerful step of placing democracy and human rights at the center of its foreign policy towards Haiti.

World Bank Approves $75 Million Grant to Strengthen Social Protection in Haiti

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2021 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a US$75 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Adaptive Social Protection for Increased Resilience Project (ASPIRE). This project will support Haiti’s efforts to establish an adaptive safety net system to respond to shocks, including COVID-19, and to reduce vulnerability to food insecurity and future disasters.  

“Social protection systems have the potential to enhance human capital, reduce inequality, build resilience, and end cycles of poverty,” said Javier Suarez, World Bank Acting Country Manager for Haiti. “This project provides immediate resources to help the most vulnerable households, while also supporting Haiti to establish the foundations of a social protection program to build resilience and develop human capital in the medium term.”

An adaptive social protection system is one that helps vulnerable households build resilience by investing in their capacity to prepare for, cope with, and adapt to shocks. The ASPIRE project will provide immediate support to poor and vulnerable households while increasing their resilience through regular unconditional cash transfers and measures to improve health, nutrition, and financial inclusion. The project is designed to enable the scale up of the cash transfer program in the case of emergencies, such as natural disasters or health crises. In addition, the project will help build the capacity of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST) to improve management and governance of social protection programs.

Unconditional cash transfers will be provided to an estimated 18,000 families (or 90,000 individuals), with a focus on families that are extremely poor, located in rural areas prone to natural disasters, and living with small children, pregnant women, or persons with disabilities. The project will initially focus on the Grande Anse department in Southern Haiti. The project will also establish the foundations to operationalize the National Social Protection and Promotion Policy and allow for an additional 200,000 households to be registered in the social registry of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

US EMBASSY UNDER ATTACK

« Good Evening Embassy Port au Prince,*

*It is with regret that RSO informs the Mission community of an attack on one of our LE Staff members which occurred earlier this afternoon, not far from the Embassy, on the road commonly referred to as the “Vivy Michele Shortcut”.  Most importantly, our colleague was unharmed during the altercation; the ability to quickly return to the safety of the Embassy may have saved this individual’s life.  The investigation into exactly what happened is ongoing; however, a timeline and summary of events is provided below for everyone’s situational awareness.  Thankfully this incident did not end in tragedy, but it is a stark reminder of the volatile and unpredictable nature of the security environment in Haiti, where any one of us may find ourselves in a similar situation, anywhere, at any time.*

*Shortly after 3:30 p.m. our colleague departed the Embassy in a CD-plated vehicle with dark tinted windows.  After making a right turn at the OAVTC office and continuing past the BLTS police station, our employee observed several motorcycles following the vehicle.  With no warning, the motorcycle riders blocked our employee’s path in the road, and dozens of other riders appeared, as if by pre-arranged signal.  Adopting a herd mentality, the riders began shouting encouragements to one another and the violence escalated, with numerous rocks thrown at the vehicle causing significant damage.  Seemingly in coordination with the motorcyclists, a car appeared, and one of the occupants brandished a pistol and fired several shots at our staff member’s vehicle; fortunately none connected.*

*Recognizing loss-of-life as a distinct possibility, our staff member was able to drive through the blockade of motorcycles and attempt to evade pursuit by continuing through Vivy Michele and ultimately into Delmas.  After realizing a return to the Embassy was likely the best course of action, our colleague encountered another roadblock on Blvd 15 Octobre, immediately adjacent to the OAVTC office.  The pursuing motorcycles again surrounded the vehicle and began throwing rocks, and it soon became evident that they would attempt to extract our staff member from the vehicle.  Again, by driving forcibly through the blockade, at shortly after 4:00 p.m. our colleague managed to reach the safety of the embassy, emotionally exhausted, but physically uninjured.*

*The incident reached its climax just before 5:00 p.m., right outside the Embassy, as the motorcyclists followed our employee until they saw the vehicle pull into the Embassy parking area.  After continuing past the Embassy for a short distance, the riders turned around, and numbering approximately 30-40, effectively blocked Blvd 15 Octobre between the Embassy Main CAC and our Consular entrance.  They remained in the middle of the road for several minutes, before the Haitian National Police arrived with approximately 50 officers and dispersed the crowd, in part by deploying tear gas.*

*While the reasons for this attack remain speculative at present, the possibility of tinted windows playing a role cannot be completely discounted.  Throughout Haiti there is an active and ongoing campaign to have window-tint removed from all vehicles, as darkened windows are frequently associated with vehicles used by kidnappers.  RSO cannot state categorically that this was the cause of today’s incident, but all employees driving vehicles with tinted windows are advised to exercise extreme caution over the next several days, as this issue appears to have generated significant interest among the local population.  RSO still believes the benefits of having tinted windows on your vehicle outweigh the risks, specifically by concealing the number and gender of occupants, which can play a role in a criminal’s target selection.  Alternatively, until the present focus on vehicles with tinted windows subsides, drivers in this category are assuming a higher-than-normal degree of risk.*

Family Action Network Movement (FANM) Applauds The Biden Administration’s Decision To Grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans and Strongly Urges Redesignation of TPS For Haitians 

March 11, 2021

MIAMI, FL- On March 8, 2021, the Biden Administration announced it would designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to eligible Venezuelans currently residing in the United States. This could allow over 320,000 Venezuelans to remain in the United States with legal standing. Eligible immigrants have 180 days to apply for TPS and must prove they entered the United States before March 8, 2021. Once granted, their TPS status would last for up to 18 months. FANM applauds this decision and stands ready to assist members with the application process.

Haitian immigrants in the U.S. are hoping for a redesignation of TPS for Haiti. TPS was granted to Haiti after Haiti's 2010 earthquake but protected only those otherwise-eligible Haitians in the U.S. by January 12, 2011. It has been ten years since TPS was redesignated for Haiti. A redesignation would benefit Haitians who came to the U.S. after the 2011 date. In recent months, Haitians have been the victims of violent killings, skyrocketing kidnappings, rape/gender-based violence, and heavy repression from state-aligned forces reminiscent of the Duvalier dictatorship. The Biden administration continues to support the Moise administration and since taking office, over 1,000 Haitian refugees/immigrants, including at least 270 children, have been deported on eighteen flights to Haiti since February 2021.

Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement (FANM), stated, "We applaud and commend the Biden Administration's decision to designate TPS for Venezuela. While we are relieved for the Venezuelan community, a TPS redesignation is desperately needed for Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, and others! The extraordinary conditions in Haiti warrant a TPS redesignation that covers Haitians living in the U.S. up to now. The Biden administration has the power to take action and, so far, has not articulated the same support for Haiti. They are fully aware of the harm the Haitian people face and yet continue to deport and expel non-violent/non-criminal immigrants! We urgently call upon the Biden Administration to stop these illegal deportations and to redesignate TPS for Haiti now!" 

Family Action Network Movement (FANM) formerly known as Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc)/ Haitian Women of Miami is a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the social, economic, financial and political empowerment of low to moderate-income families.

Contact: Victoria Villamil

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US Stimulus Plan

Here's what's in the Senate stimulus plan

(CNN) — The Senate on Saturday passed its version of the Democrats' massive coronavirus relief package, after the House passed its package last week.

READ: Senate Democrats' Covid relief bill

Lawmakers made several changes throughout the legislation, but three were particularly notable -- narrowing eligibility for the stimulus checks, trimming the federal boost to unemployment benefits and nixing an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Much of the Senate legislation, however, largely mirrors the $1.9 trillion package approved by the House and laid out by President Joe Biden in January.

Senate Democratic leaders have faced more hurdles to advancing the legislation since the party can't afford to lose a single member thanks to the 50-50 split in the chamber. Plus, they must adhere to the strict rules of reconciliation, which they are using to approve the bill without any Republican support.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed Thursday to stay in session to finish the bill this week, though Republicans are trying to drag out the process. 

Once the chamber passes its version of the bill, it goes back to the House for a vote and then onto the White House for Biden's signature.

Time is of the essence. An estimated 11.4 million workers will lose their unemployment benefits between mid-March and mid-April unless Congress passes its next coronavirus relief package quickly, a recent study by The Century Foundation found.

Here's what's in the Senate bill:

Stimulus checks

The Senate bill amends the House bill on the $1,400-per-person stimulus payments to tighten eligibility.

Individuals earning less than $75,000 a year and married couples earning less than $150,000 will receive $1,400 per person, including children. That will get money to about 90% of households.

The checks will phase out faster than previous rounds, completely cutting off individuals who earn more than $80,000 a year and married couples earning more than $160,000 -- regardless of how many children they have.

The bill passed by the House set the income caps at $200,000 for couples and $100,000 for individuals. The Senate change leaves out about 7 million families, according to an estimate from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Unlike the previous two rounds, adult dependents -- including college students -- are expected to be eligible for the payments.

Unemployment assistance

Unlike the House bill, the Senate version calls for providing a $300 federal boost to weekly jobless payments and extending two key pandemic unemployment benefits programs through September 6, an arrangement hammered out after hours of negotiation on Friday.

The agreement would also make the first $10,200 worth of benefits payments tax-free for households with annual incomes less than $150,000.

This is a significant change from the House bill, which would provide a $400 weekly enhancement through August 29 and continue two pandemic programs for the same period. The House bill does not contain the tax provision.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program provides benefits to freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors and certain people affected by the pandemic, while the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program increases the duration of payments for those in the traditional state unemployment system.

The President's plan had called for providing a $400 boost and continuing the benefits through the end of September.

Out-of-work Americans will start running out of benefits in the two programs in mid-March, when provisions in December's $900 billion relief package begin phasing out. The $300 enhancement that was part of the December deal also ends in mid-March.

Minimum wage

The Senate bill will not include an increase in the federal minimum wage, which House Democrats proposed raising to $15 an hour.

The parliamentarian ruled in late February that increasing the hourly threshold does not meet a strict set of guidelines needed to move forward in the reconciliation process, which would allow Senate Democrats to pass the relief bill with a simple majority and no Republican votes.

The House legislation would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 in stages. It would also guarantee that tipped workers, youth workers and workers with disabilities are paid the full federal minimum wage.

Aid to states and municipalities

The Senate and House differ on how much aid they would provide to counties and cities, but both chambers contain the same infusion of funding for states, tribes and territories.

The bills would provide states and the District of Columbia with $195.3 billion, but counties and cities would share $120 billion in aid in the Senate bill, $10 billion less than in the House version.

Tribes would get $20 billion and territories $4.5 billion under both bills.

The Senate version of the bill also slightly revises the formula to help states with smaller populations and boost the minimum they will receive. And it contains a $10 billion Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund for states, territories and tribes.

Overall, both bills would funnel a total of $350 billion to states and municipalities.

Additional assistance to states has been among the most controversial elements of the congressional rescue packages, with Democrats looking to add to the $150 billion in the March legislation and Republicans resisting such efforts. The December package ultimately dropped an initial call to include $160 billion.

Nutrition assistance

The Senate and House plans both extend the 15% increase in food stamp benefits through September, instead of having it expire at the end of June.

They also contain $880 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, to help increase participation and temporarily improve benefits, among other measures. Biden called for investing $3 billion in the program.

And they would allow states to continue the Pandemic-EBT, which provides families whose children's schools are closed with funding to replace free- and reduced-price meals the kids would have received, through the summer.

Housing aid

Both bills would send roughly $20 billion to state and local governments to help low-income households cover back rent, rent assistance and utility bills.

About $10 billion would be authorized to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages, utilities and property taxes.

The bills would provide $5 billion to help states and localities assist those at risk of experiencing homelessness and another $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers for those who are homeless.

Tax credits for families and workers

Both the House and Senate legislation beef up tax credits for families and certain low-income workers for 2021.

In an effort to combat poverty, lawmakers would expand the child tax credit to $3,600 for each child under 6 and $3,000 for each child under age 18. Currently, qualifying families can receive a credit of up to $2,000 per child under age 17.

The credit would also become fully refundable so more low-income parents could take advantage of it. Plus, families could receive payments monthly, rather than a lump sum once a year, which would make it easier for them to pay the bills.

The bills also enhance the earned income tax credit for workers without children by nearly tripling the maximum credit and extending eligibility to more people. The minimum age to claim the childless credit would be reduced to 19, from 25, and the upper age limit would be eliminated.

This would be the largest expansion to earned income tax credit since 2009.

Optional paid sick and family leave

Unlike Biden's initial proposal, neither bill would reinstate mandatory paid family and sick leave approved in a previous Covid relief package. But they continue to provide tax credits to employers who voluntarily choose to offer the benefit through October 1.

Last year, Congress guaranteed many workers two weeks pay if they contracted Covid or were quarantining. It also provided an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave to those who were staying home with kids whose schools were closed. Those benefits expired in December.

Education and child care

Both the Senate and House bills would provide nearly $130 billion to K-12 schools to help students return to the classroom. Schools would be allowed to use the money to update their ventilation systems, reduce class sizes to help implement social distancing, buy personal protective equipment and hire support staff. Both bills would require that schools use at least 20% of the money to address learning loss by providing extended days or summer school, for example.

While the money provided by the House bill would go to both public and private schools, based on the number of low-income students enrolled, the Senate bill specifically carves out about $2.75 billion for private schools.

The bills are in line with what Biden proposed, but call for more than six times the amount of funding for K-12 schools than a compromise plan offered by a small group of Republican senators.

The Senate and House plans both include nearly $40 billion for colleges.

Altogether, $170 billion would be authorized for K-12 schools and higher education. Last year, Congress approved a total of $112 billion between two relief packages that went to K-12 schools and colleges.

The bills would also provide about $39 billion to child care providers. The amount a provider receives would be based on operating expenses and is available to pay employees and rent, help families struggling to pay the cost, and purchase personal protective equipment and other supplies.

Health insurance subsidies and Medicaid

Both the Senate and House bills would make federal premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act policies more generous and would eliminate the maximum income cap for two years.

Enrollees would pay no more than 8.5% of their income towards coverage, down from nearly 10% now. Also, those earning more than the current cap of 400% of the federal poverty level -- about $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four in 2021 -- would become eligible for help.

In addition, the bills would bolster subsidies for lower-income enrollees, eliminating their premiums completely, and would do the same for those collecting unemployment benefits in 2021.

But the Senate bill provides more assistance than the House version to those who were laid off but want to remain on their employer health insurance plans through COBRA. The Senate calls for picking up the full amount of the premium, while the House would only cover 85%, leaving the former employee to pay 15%.

Both chambers would extend these subsidies through September.

Also, the Senate retains the House provision that seeks to entice states that have yet to expand Medicaid to low-income adults to do so by boosting their federal Medicaid matching funds by 5 percentage points for two years.

More money for small businesses

Both bills would provide $15 billion to the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program, which provides long-term, low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration. Severely impacted small businesses with fewer than 10 workers will be given priority for some of the money.

They also provide $25 billion for a new grant program specifically for bars and restaurants. Eligible businesses may receive up to $10 million and can use the money for a variety of expenses, including payroll, mortgage and rent, utilities and food and beverages.

The Paycheck Protection Program, which is currently taking applications for second-round loans, would get an additional $7 billion and the bills would make more non-profit organizations eligible.

Another $175 million would be used for outreach and promotion, creating a Community Navigator Program to help target eligible businesses.

Vaccines and testing

The Senate and House bills provide $14 billion to research, develop, distribute, administer and strengthen confidence in vaccines. They would also put $47.8 billion toward testing, contact tracing and mitigation, including investing in laboratory capacity, community-based testing sites and mobile testing units, particularly in medically underserved areas.

Both chambers would also allocate $7.7 billion to hire 100,000 public health workers to support coronavirus response.

The Senate and House legislation also provide $50 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with some of the funds going toward expanding vaccination efforts.

The President's plan called for investing $20 billion in a national vaccination program.

Rural hospital assistance

The Senate bill allocates $8.5 billion to help struggling rural hospitals and health care providers.

The House bill did not provide any additional funding for hospitals or nursing homes, which received assistance in previous relief packages.

This story has been updated with passage of the Senate bill.

Senate passes Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-relief plan

https://cnn.it/3qrfopk

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 11 mars 2021

 Dominican Republic to Build Wall on Haiti Border

March 6, 2021

The president of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader has announced plans to build a fence along its border with Haiti which extends for about 380kms or 236 miles.

According to Abinader, the barrier will help curb illegal immigration, drugs and the flow of stolen vehicles between the two countries, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. He also said work on the barrier would start later this year.

“In a period of two years, we want to put an end to the serious problems of illegal immigration, drug trafficking and the movement of stolen vehicles,” Abinader said in an address to Congress.

The cost of the project has not been disclosed.

Abinader said the barrier in some “conflictive” sections would include a double fence along with motion sensors, infrared systems and facial recognition cameras.

Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere and relations between the two neighbors have been historically difficult.

The Dominican Republic, which has a population of about 11 million, has already constructed some stretches of fencing along the border.

It is estimated that about 500,000 Haitian migrants are living in the country—many of them there illegally.

In January, the government agreed to help Haiti provide identity papers to its citizens living in the neighboring territory.

CMC

Dominican Republic plans wall to keep out Haitian migrants

Santo Domingo (AFP)

Experts have hit out at a plan by the Dominican Republic government to build a wall on its border with Haiti to reduce illegal immigration, claiming it won't work unless accompanied by development.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the island of Hispaniola, which was the site of the first European colony in the Americas. They are separated by a 380-kilometer (240-mile) border.

Dominican President Luis Abinador announced on Saturday that work on a border wall would begin in the second half of the year.

"Within two years we want to end the serious problems of illegal immigration, drug-trafficking and the transport of stolen vehicles that we've suffered from for two years," said Abinader.

The relationship between the neighboring countries has historically been difficult and every time there is a new government in Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic, it makes tackling illegal migration from French-speaking Haiti a priority.

Almost half a million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, which has a population of 10.5 million.

On January 14, Abinader and his Haitian counterpart Jovenel Moise signed an agreement that included a commitment to take measures against "the wave of illegal migration" and "to reinforce border security and vigilance."

But for Juan Del Rosario, a professor at the Autonomous University in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, "there should not be a wall ... while there remains extreme poverty and political instability in Haiti, which exerts migratory pressure."

"You could build a 100-meter high wall and people will try to get around it," Del Rosario told AFP.

For William Charpentier, the coordinator of an independent migrant and refugee body, the wall would be an "unnecessary expenditure" that could be better spent elsewhere.

"They need to increase development projects" that benefit both Dominicans and Haitians in border areas, he said.

But many in the country support the idea of a wall.

"I think it's good because here in the Dominican Republic there are already many Haitians, it's full. You can't even get a doctor's appointment because it's full of Haitians everywhere," Lucia, a 23-year-old student, told AFP.

"I think it would be good because then you can control migration from one country to another, there won't be as many problems as there could be," said unemployed Antonio Mejia, 62.

"All this will benefit both countries."

Charpentier says that the idea of building walls between peoples awakens "resentment, xenophobia and racism."

- 'Permanent persecution' -

Del Rosario points to the barrier former US president Donald Trump vowed to build on the southern border with Mexico as an example for why walls don't work.00000

"With greater resources and technology, it was impossible" to build it, he said.

The Trump administration claimed to have built more than 650 kilometers of wall but according to the BBC, only 130-kilometers of that was a new wall, the rest replaced existing structures.

The border itself is more than 3,000-kilometers long.

Charpentier says migrants face "permanent persecution" due to the mass deportations of those that are undocumented, while even legal migrants face difficulties in renewing documents and renting homes.

Yet border areas are dynamic with people crossing regularly for work or to sell goods.

"Contrary to what you might think, the money is on the Haitian side and the goods are on the Dominican side," said Del Rosario.

"There's an informal exchange which cannot be considered contraband ... if that's blocked, there will be internal migration flows" from border regions to the big cities.

Agriculture and construction both rely on foreign laborers, adds Josue Gastelbondo, the head of the International Organization For Migration office in Santo Domingo.

"Ideally, measures to increase border controls should complement measures to promote regular and orderly migration," he said.

© 2021 AFP

Célimène Daudet - Biography:

"The French #pianist, Célimène Daudet, was born in the south of France to a Haitian mother and a French father. She began her music studies in piano with Michel Bourdoncle at the Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence. There, she awarded two gold medals and, at a young age, gave her first recitals and performed with an orchestra. Then, she studied under Olivier Gardon and Denis Pascal. In 1999, after winning two awards in piano at the CNR (Conservatoire National de Région) in Paris and Rueil-Malmaison, she was laureate in the Jean Françaix International piano Competition in #Paris. That same year, she was admitted to the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon (CNSMD) under the direction of Géry Moutier. She received her DNESM (diplôme national d études supérieures musicales) in 2003 and the certificate for teaching in 2005. Her passion for chamber music drove her to enroll at the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (CNSMD) in Paris to study with violonist Jean Mouillère, in order to increase the repertoire of piano and violin pieces.

A mayday call led to Coast Guard rescue, and repatriation, of 25 Haitians off Palm Beach

BY HOWARD COHEN        

The mayday call may have saved the lives of 25 people aboard an overloaded 30-foot boat about 30 miles northeast of Jupiter.

“Mayday, mayday ... we are about 15 miles from, from Palm Beach ... on board a boat ... we need assistance ... including women and children.”

Caribbean bloc calls for more equity in COVID vaccine distribution

By Jacqueine Charles

The 15-member Caribbean Community Friday called for fair, transparent and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, noting that some wealthy countries have an abundance of supply while many poorer nations have not received a single dose.

“So far, all that we have received are 170,000 doses gifted to a couple nations from the government of India,” said Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley, chairman of the regional bloc known as CARICOM. “Barbados and Dominica, who received these gifts, graciously shared them around to many of us. This was done by them even as others with millions of doses that they can’t use immediately are refusing to make way for others at the manufacturers’ shipping line.”    

Rowley made the call on behalf of the bloc during a virtual appearance sponsored by the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. His plea comes as most Caribbean and Latin American nations continue to wait on deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines from a slow-moving United Nations-backed facility known as COVAX, and as worldwide vaccine shortages and quickly spreading variants of the coronavirus increase the urgency for relief.

The Biden administration is deporting hundreds of Haitians to a country mired in political chaos

Marcela García, Globe columnist

February 22, 2021

We may have a new president, but the machinery of government sometimes churns with heartbreaking inertia — as if Joe Biden weren’t in the White House.

Case in point: the deportation of hundreds of Haitians this month, a move straight out of former president Donald Trump’s playbook. For these Haitians, fleeing a country suffering in deep poverty, Trump might as well be in charge. As would-be asylum seekers, the Haitian migrants, most of whom came to the United States recently through Mexico, have been denied the opportunity for due process in an asylum system that’s broken and thatthe Biden administration is working to fix.

According to immigration advocates who track flights leaving the United States with deportees, since the beginning of February — Black History Month, no less — roughly 900 Haitians have been expelled. It’s a Trump-inspired chaos and cruelty that has its own momentum. President Biden inherited a mess at our borders, and one of his first humane acts was to hit the pause button, including issuing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. Most, but apparently not all.

  The conditions in Haiti are no better than the worst in Honduras and Guatemala. There’s been a wave of brutal kidnappings for ransom by violent gangs as unemployment takes hold of the country, where 60 percent of Haitians live in poverty. Haiti has been experiencing chronic suffering, a condition that natural disasters — the 2010 earthquake andHurricane Matthew, in 2016 — have only exacerbated. And there’s the small irony of its would-be dictator president, Jovenel Moïse, who was supposed to leave power in early February, when his five-year term ended,but instead refused to leave. He has systematically engaged in antidemocratic efforts, such as dismissing most of Congress — and every mayor in the country — and instead has ruled by presidential decree.

Several thousand people demonstrated on Feb.14 to denounce a new dictatorship in Haiti and the international community's support for President Jovenel Moïse. The protesters were accusing Moïse of illegally extending his term.

Without question, Haiti’s long-term, deep-rooted problems call for long-term solutions. But the Biden administration is only adding to the country’s woes by sending hundreds of Haitians back. “This is no time to deport or expel anyone to Haiti, given the crisis there,” said Steve Forester, immigration policy coordinator for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti and a longtime advocate for the Haitian diaspora.

And yet families, including pregnant women, were sent home, said Dieufort Fleurissaint, a pastor and the chair of Haitian Americans United, a Boston-based advocacy organization. “These Haitians were not given an opportunity to present their case as part of their due process to apply for asylum. That’s wrong,” he said. These deportations have happened largely throughwhat is called Title 42, after the public health law invoked by Trump last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic that allows the expulsion of recently arrived migrants.

“These Haitian expulsions seem to be intentional policy from the Biden administration,” said Forester. “It’s deterrence on steroids: ‘If you cross the border, you will be put on an airplane to Haiti,’ while the Biden team crafts new protocols for dealing with the border.” But deterrence makes no sense when people are desperate.

It gets worse: Other immigrants have been caught in the mess. Even a Black immigrant who’s not Haitian was allegedly deported there recently. Representative Ayanna Pressley cosigned a letter — along with other US representatives — to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers on what they call “a recent string of mass deportation flights of Black people to Haiti.” The Congressional Hispanic Caucusis also calling for Mayorkas to review the deportations.

“That ICE would carry out the cruel and callous mass deportations of our Haitian neighbors and specifically target Black immigrants — during Black History Month and in the midst of a national reckoning on racial injustice — is further evidence that it is a rogue agency that is beyond reform and will stop at nothing to continue terrorizing our communities,” said Pressley via e-mail.

Pressley is right. Biden should make it a priority to find an intermediate solution while his administration works to fix our asylum system — and make it one that doesn’t include the expedited removals of Black immigrants without any asylum processing at all.

Marcela García can be reached at Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.. Follow her on Twitter @marcela_elisa.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 1 mars 2021

 Prison Director and Gang Leader Among 25 Killed in Haitian Jailbreak

The Guardian

Notorious gangster Arnel Joseph shot dead at Police checkpoint after more than 400 inmates escape in country’s biggest breakout or 10 years.

More than 400 inmates have escaped, and 25 people have died in a prison breakout in Haiti, authorities say, making it the country’s largest and deadliest one in a decade. A prison director and a powerful gang leader were among those killed.

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON HAITI POLITICAL CRISIS

On Monday, February 22nd, a number of foreign diplomats participating in a virtual United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Haiti mentioned the film crew’s attack and abduction. The country’s worsening crime amid its deepening political turmoil was a concern for everyone. More than one ambassador expressed frustration over the government’s inability to dismantle the armed gangs and criminal organizations behind the growing wave of kidnappings, homicides and rampant criminality.

“The authorities must do more,” France’s Deputy Permanent Representative Nathalie Broadhurst said, before asking a pointed question about one of Haiti’s most notorious and wanted gang leaders, implicated with two other former officials in President Jovenel Moïse’s government in a massacre. “I ask the question bluntly: How is it possible today that Jimmy Cherizier is still free?”

Cherizier, known as “Barbecue,” is an ex-cop wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2018 La Saline massacre that left scores dead, homes torched and families in the low-income Port-au-Prince neighborhood displaced. He is also suspected of being involved in other massacres in working class neighborhoods and currently heads a gang federation whose members have been linked to the kidnapping surge.

Gédéon Jean, a human rights lawyer and founder of the Center for Human Rights Analysis and Research, said his organization has documented 102 kidnappings between January and February 23. Last year, he said, they documented 51 kidnappings between January and March.

STATEMENT BY THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY ON HAITI

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Heads of Government expressed their deep concern over the deteriorating political situation and the deepening public anxiety over citizen security in Haiti.

They took note of the Report of the United Nations Secretary General of 11 February 2021 and of the comments therein on the political and governance issues.

Heads of Government underlined the importance of respect for the rule of law and constitutional processes as laid out in the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society, and the primary responsibility of the government to this end.

They called on the political actors to engage in dialogue to reach consensus on the way forward and establish an enabling environment for the conduct, as quickly as possible, of the elections to renew the lapsed Legislative and Local Government Institutions.

Heads of Government look forward to the conduct of free and fair Presidential Elections, in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti.

HOW IS LIFE TODAY IN HAITI

Today, even the most menial of tasks, like going to the supermarket, heading out to eat, or taking a two- to three-hour drive to a city like Jacmel require planning and thought.

“It’s not my responsibility as a citizen to make sure that the country is running well. It’s their responsibility,” said Mirambeau, 37, a filmmaker who in 2018 inadvertently helped launched an anti-corruption campaign on social media after he posted a photo of himself holding a cardboard sign asking in Creole what happened to $2 billion in PetroCaribe money Haiti received from Venezuela.

“We are putting pressure on the government to make sure that we can function as normal citizens, we can go in the streets, we can go to the supermarkets,” he said. “These are normal stuff that people do and I cannot do that in the country.”

In a country with no functioning movie theaters, Mirambeau and his fellow filmmakers have been trying to grow an industry. Saturday’s kidnapping is not making it easy. On Monday, they shut down production of their latest film and he spent most of the morning trying to reassure the crew, while also trying to secure the three men’s release.

“The government is saying, “No, there’s no problem in Haiti, there is no kidnapping,’” Mirambeau said, referring to a recent statement by the country’s president to the U.N. Security Council that kidnappings had dropped considerably. “Everyday they are kidnapping us and killing Haitian citizens. It doesn’t make any sense anymore.

“There is a serious problem in Haiti,” he added. “You have the media talking about [this case]. But what about the people who are kidnapped everyday? They have no names, they are the little merchants selling peanuts on the street. They are kidnapping them and sometimes, they are killing them.”

Other than having to cease filming last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of funding, Mirambeau said they had never had any issue with their location shoots even amid the recent anti-government protests and mounting insecurity.

It was on the advice of their security team, he said, that they chose to leave Jacmel after dark and make the trek back to the capital after having wrapped up five days of filming for their second film, a political thriller titled “Malatchong,” a Creole word used to describe when something is fraudulent. Though Haitians often travel late at night or early in the morning to avoid traffic jams and abductions, Mirambeau is convinced the time of travel would not have made a difference.

“Whether it was at 2 p.m. or 2 o’clock in the morning, it would have been the same thing,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense that as a citizen, I have to ask for police [escorts] because I am going to Jacmel.”

Haiti: Attacks on Judicial Independence

UN Security Council Should Call for Restoring Supreme Court at Upcoming Meeting

February 22, 2021

(New York) – UN Security Council members should press the government of Haiti to uphold judicial independence, respect due process, and repeal its recent arbitrary changes to the Supreme Court’s composition, Human Rights Watch said today. They should also ensure that when extending the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), set to expire in October 2021, they take steps to strengthen an independent judiciary.

On February 22, the United Nations Security Council will discuss the ongoing political crisis in Haiti after a briefing from Helen La Lime, the head of BINUH, which was created in 2019 and mandated to advise the government of Haiti to promote and strengthen political stability and good governance. In early February, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse arbitrarily removed three Supreme Court justices, including one who was arrested for a few days in circumstances that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has said “may amount to an unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention.” The president also appointed three new justices without following procedures established in the Constitution. 

“Getting rid of Supreme Court justices you dislike and appointing new ones without following regular processes will not solve a political crisis,” said Tamara Taraciuk Broner, deputy Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Security Council members have an opportunity to put this affront to judicial independence at the top of their agenda, and they should seize it. There is no possible resolution to Haiti’s crisis without rule of law and an independent judiciary.”

The president and his supporters have an ongoing dispute with the political opposition regarding when Moïse’s term as president ends or has ended. Under Haiti’s Constitution, the presidential term begins on February 7, after elections that take place every five years. Haiti’s Superior Council of the Judiciary ruled on February 6 that Moïse’s term had ended that day. It based its conclusion on the fact that the president’s five-year term began in 2016, after the initial elections he won in October 2015.

The 2015 elections were contested due to allegations of electoral fraud, leading to a second election in November 2016, which Moïse also won. Moïse has stated that his term ends on February 7, 2022, counting five years since February 2017, when he took office following the November 2016 election.

The Organization of American States and the US government have accepted this interpretation.

On February 7, Haiti’s justice minister, the interim director of Haiti’s National Police, and several security agents working at the General Security Unit of the National Palace, the presidential residence, arrested 18 people accused of conspiring against the government. Moïse claimed the arrests were based on information provided by intelligence services about an alleged attempt to overthrow his government.

Haiti’s criminal code provides for a prison sentence of up to 15 years for anyone who participates in “attempts or plots to destroy political institutions or change the government, incite citizens to take up arms against the head of state.” It defines conspiracy as the decision to “act between two conspirators, even if there has been no attempt [to act].”

The detainees included Judge Yvickel Dieujuste Dabrésil, a Supreme Court justice, and several of his family members and security team. Judge Dabrésil was allegedly going to be nominated by the political opposition and civil society groups to be provisional president. He disputed that in a recent Miami Herald interview. The police claim they found the speech he was going to give when taking office, four rifles, three handguns, and one machete when searching his home. The 18 people were transferred to the Croix-des-Bouquets prison in Port-au-Prince. A court released Dabrésil on February 11. The others remain in detention.

On February 8, the opposition and civil society groups appointed Supreme Court Justice Joseph Mécènes Jean-Louis as interim president. He accepted the appointment to become Haiti’s “transitional provisional president.”

On that same day, Moïse issued a decree ordering the “retirement” of three Supreme Court justices – Dabrésil, Jean-Louis, and Wendelle Coq Thelot. He accused them of “trying to reach the presidency without elections.”

Coq Thelot had received death threats after opposing Moïse’s appointment by decree of all members for the Provisional Electoral Council in September 2020. Under Haiti’s Constitution, these appointments should be made after consulting with civil society actors, but the president made appointments without civil society recommendations. The council is charged with carrying out presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, but the president decreed on January 5 that it should also plan, organize, and carry out a constitutional referendum, despite an explicit constitutional prohibition on modifying the Constitution through a referendum.

Anyone who is accused of committing a crime should be subject to a proper investigation, respecting due process guarantees, Human Rights Watch said.

The removal of the three justices violates the Haitian Constitution, which states that Supreme Court justices can only be subject to removal proceedings after a two-thirds majority of members of the chamber of deputies has voted to accuse them of abuse of authority. They may be suspended if there are formal criminal charges against them. The justices can also be brought before a court if they have committed a crime or may be subject to civil liability. They remain in office until the end of their term or can retire after turning 55 if they have worked in the judiciary for 25 years.

On February 11, Moïse appointed by decree three new justices to the Supreme Court – Octélus Dorvilien, Louiselmé Joseph and Pierre Harry Alexis – without following the procedures provided for in law. The Constitution requires the president to select Supreme Court justices from a list prepared by the Senate of three candidates per vacancy. Moïse saidthey were selected from a list that came from the Senate. However, since the Electoral Council indefinitely postponedlegislative elections in October 2019, the mandate of all legislators in the Chamber of Deputies and of two-thirds of the Senate ended in January 2020. Since then, there have been only 10 Senators in office. Moïse has been ruling by decree.

Haiti is party to several human rights treaties – including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the American Convention on Human Rights – that require it to safeguard the independence and impartiality of its judiciary. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the ICCPR by state parties, has held that for a tribunal to be “independent and impartial,” the executive must not be able to control or direct the judiciary.

A range of authoritative principles – including the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Universal Charter of the Judge, and the Statute of the Ibero-American Judge – set forth key components of an independent and impartial judiciary. These standards include that judges should be free from constraints, pressures, or orders imposed by other branches of government, and they should have security of tenure, so they do not have to fear being removed from their posts for their decisions. In addition, judges should be appointed based on objective and transparent criteria based on proper professional qualifications, and they may only be suspended or removed “for reasons of incapacity or behaviour that renders them unfit to discharge their duties.”

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 18 février 2021

 Thousands march in Haiti to say ‘No to dictatorship’ as peaceful protest turned violent

MIAMI HERALD, February 14, 2021 08:12 PM

Demonstrators march in Port-au-Prince on February 14, 2021, to protest against the government of President Jovenel Moise. - Several thousand people demonstrated on February 14, 2021 to denounce a new dictatorship in Haiti and the international community’s support for President Jovenel Moise. The protesters were accusing Moise of illegally extending his term. He says it lasts until February 2022 -- but the opposition argues it should have ended last weekend, in a standoff over disputed elections. 

A peaceful march to protest against the reinstatement of a dictatorship in Haiti and demand the ouster of President Jovenel Moïse ended in violence Sunday with at least one dead, several journalists injured and police firing tear gas and rubber bullets onto crowds in the country’s capital. 

Billows of black smoke from burning vehicle and tires, used to barricade streets, were observed in the hills above Port-au-Prince, in the latest clashes marking Haiti’s political crisis over the disputed term of Moïse. Protesters have accused the leader of illegally remaining in office because his term, according to the constitution, ended Feb. 7. Moïse disagrees and said he still has until February 2022. The U.S., United Nations and the Organization of American States’ secretary general support his claim.

In Port-au-Prince, the demonstration began shortly after 11 a.m. at Constitutional Place near the National Palace, and initially moved peacefully through the capital. But three hours later, protesters were forced to seek cover in nearby businesses and street corridors to avoid the toxic fumes of police tear gas and rubber bullets as they tried to deliver their message in front of the office of the U.N. and OAS. 

Local radio journalists on the scene reported in some instances, police were unprovoked when they opened fire, and in other instances, they were responding to rock-throwing militants. At least two journalists were injured after being hit with rubber bullets, Radio Zenith said.

The radio’s hosts also reported the death of an unidentified individual in the Delmas 95 neighborhood after his corpse was set on fire with a motorcycle on top by unidentified individuals. 

“None of it was necessary,” said Gédéon Jean, a human rights activist who was among the organizers of the protest. “There were a lot, a lot of people who took to the streets.”

The protest is part of an ongoing standoff between Moïse and his detractors who say his use of executive powers is igniting fears that he wants to return Haiti to a dictatorship. Moïse has been ruling by decree for more than a year after dismissing most of Parliament in January of last year and all of the country’s elected mayors. He has also issued a slew of decrees strengthening the power of his presidency. 

Last weekend, after the opposition failed to get him to step down, Moïse announced the arrest of 23 people including a Supreme Court judge in an alleged coup and assassination plot. The arrests, followed by several other worrying moves that experts say are unconstitutional, led to thousands of Haitians taking to the streets Sunday in Port-au-Prince and other cities.

Jean, who put the crowd in the tens of thousands, said everyone could see that people came out “ to the streets to say they do not agree with the dictatorship that Jovenel has put in place in the country; to say the country’s constitution needs to be respected and to tell the international community, they do not agree with them supporting Jovenel Moïse.”

This is why, he said, the protest’s route included stops in front of the OAS’s office in Pétion-Ville and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti in nearby Juvenat.

Jean, who traveled by motorcycle to meet protesters at the head of the march, to show them where to turn, said trouble started brewing early. Three Nissan Patrol vehicles with heavily armed police officers were planted inside the crowd and followed protesters as they moved throughout the capital, he said.

“No matter what they did, the population refused to be provoked, they didn’t throw rocks at them,” said Jean, 41. 

Once marchers arrived in Pétion-Ville, however, events turned. After meeting an initial group in front of the building where the OAS’ office is located, Jean said he headed back down Canape Vert to go greet protesters as they turn the demonstration around to come meet him in front of the the offices of the U.N. mission, which is known by its French acronym BINUH.

“There were a lot of police cars there, and a water truck,” Jean said. Soon, he was joined by the Nissan Patrols, which, he said, began firing tear gas and shots. “I had two people with me who grabbed me and ran with me,” he said.

“It was a march where you had tens of thousands of people who responded to the call to say, ‘We are not interested in a dictatorship,’ to denounce BINUH and the OAS, which are supporting Jovenel Moise,” Jean said. “They put a Nissan Patrol and [another vehicle] in the crowd.”

Further up the hill in Pétion-Ville, police also were firing tear gas, this time at the crowds near the OAS office.

Sunday’s protest was billed as a peaceful demonstration for democracy by civil society and opposition groups, and everyday Haitians as well as notable personalities in the field of human rights and journalism. 

They decided to come out, they said, to denounce what they consider to be worrying signs that Moïse wants to reinstate a dictatorship in Haiti 35 years after the country ousted its last dictator, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and ended he and his father’s nearly 30 year reign of terror that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, and caused many more to flee. 

Moïse, who came into office in 2017 after a process marked by fraud and violent unrest, has said he is not a dictator. While his detractors protested his autocratic tendencies Sunday and demanded his ouster, he was attending the country’s National Carnival in Port-de-Paix, a city in the northwest. 

Nenel Cassy, a former senator whose detention by police at an opposition protest last month triggered street protests, said Haitians have to take their destiny in their hands. 

“This battle demands determination, it demands engagement,” he said soon after the march began.

Draped in the Haitian flag, and waving miniature versions of it as they protested, the mostly mask-less crowd began in a festive mood. As they walked through the capital, they sang “Send Jovenel away” and beat drums. To make their point, some wore red T-shirts with the phrase, “Esklav Revolte” in Creole or “Revolting Slave.” Others, had on white T-shirts saying “Respect 134-2,” the article in the constitution that they say dictates that Moise’s constitutional term legally ended on Feb. 7.

“I grew up in the Duvalier dictatorship and with a lot of other young people, I was a victim,” Liliane Pierre-Paul, a renown journalist said, moments before mayhem broke out in Pétion-Ville. “We don’t want for a dictatorship to come back again.”

Minutes later, as the crowd was forcibly dispersed, she was forced to seek cover inside a barber shop after police began firing tear gas and bullets near Rebecca Street, not far from the OAS.

Haitian President Moïse’s time is up. U.S., other democracies must make that clear | Opinion

By Marleine Bastien and Ira Kurzban

February 05, 2021 04:21 PM

The Biden administration understandably is focused on its domestic challenges, but it cannot ignore the looming crisis in Haiti any longer. President Jovenel Moïse’s term, fed by spectacular corruption, mismanagement and repression is scheduled to come to a legal end on Sunday. Few believe he will leave as, in Trumpian fashion, he seeks to remain in power, notwithstanding the Haitian Constitution, the electoral law or the will of the Haitian people. 

Moïse became president in 2017 through elections that were so deeply flawed and violent that almost 80 percent of Haitian voters did not, or could not, vote. He has avoided having any more elections, so Parliament became inoperative in January 2020, when most legislators’ terms expired. When mayors’ terms expired in July, Moïse personally appointed their replacements. 

In the meantime, life in Haiti has become increasingly bleak. Almost every day brings kidnappings or killings. The most notorious are the brutal kidnapping and murder of high school student Evelyne Sincere in October and the assassination of Bar Association president Monferrier Dorval in August. 

The Moïse administration’s signature initiative is corruption. Early in his term, Moïse passed a budget law that diverted much of the state budget away from ministries to special administration and parliamentary accounts that lacked any accountability mechanisms. Government services — already crushingly limited — predictably have decreased as the money was siphoned off. 

Government’s corruption has driven the economy into the ground: Inflation has been well into double digits for most of Moïse’s administration, the currency is devalued and jobs are scarcer than ever. More than one-third of the country needs emergency food assistance, even though there has not been a major natural disaster.

When Haitians complain about this state of events, they are brutalized. Police attacked adults and schoolchildren peacefully protesting kidnappings with tear gas and beatings on Jan. 17, 19 and 21. Sometimes, they are shot in the head with very limited chance of survival just for exercising their constitutional right of free speech. The government and allied gangs have organized a series of massacres in poor neighborhoods known to host anti-government organizing, killing dozens at a time.

Throughout Moïse’s term, he has been able to count on the Trump administration to send financial support, downplay the malfeasance and even pressure the opposition into compliance. But in December, the Trump administration seemed to signal that it had had enough, when the Treasury Department issued sanctions against two former Moïse officials and a former police officer for their involvement in the November 2018 La Saline massacre.

Most legal and electoral experts in Haiti — including the national federation of bar associations—have confidently concluded that Moïse’s term ends Sunday, Feb. 7, based on the language of the Constitution, electoral law and Moïse’s own precedence when he proclaimed that legislators’ and mayors’ terms ended last year. The legal experts are joined by a broad range of Haitian civil society, from the Catholic bishops to Protestant churches to unions and tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to protest. If President Moïse is still in office on Monday, larger and more inclusive protests will multiply, and the Biden administration will soon have a full-blown political crisis on its hands. 

There is a large consensus that the Moïse administration can no longer govern the country credibly. His time has legally expired, and he must be removed. It is important that decision-makers in the United States, at the executive, legislative and local levels, send a strong signal and take appropriate action to support constitutional government in Haiti. 

The Haitian people who are fighting in the streets, amid a brutal repression reminiscent of the Duvalier era, need our support. There needs to be a credible transition in Haiti to end the violent turn toward a dictatorship, and the Haitian people, with the assistance of the OAS and the United States, should play a forceful role in maintaining constitutional government.

Any democratic solution must recognize that all socioeconomic groups in Haiti and, particularly, local democratic organizations must have a seat at the table to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Marleine Bastien is executive director the Family Action Network Movement (FANM). Ira Kurzban is a Miami-based immigration attorney.

US EMBASSY NOTE

We have seen an Executive Order issued late February 8 removing three Supreme Court judges.  We are deeply concerned about any actions that risk damaging Haiti’s democratic institutions.  The Executive Order is now being widely scrutinized to determine whether it conforms to Haiti’s Constitution and laws.  In the meantime, all political actors should focus on restoring to the Haitian people the right to choose their lawmakers by organizing overdue legislative elections as soon as technically feasible and presidential elections soon after.

By | 9 February, 2021 | Topics: Press Releases

From Initiative Committee of Community Organizations of Florida

To        President Joseph Biden

            President of the United States of America

            White House, Washington, D.C.

Subject RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN HAITI

Date     February 10, 2021

Dear President Biden:

We, Committee of Initiative Organizations of Florida, congratulate you on your oath in office on January 20, 2021. Your oath marks a new era for democracy not only for the United States of America, but also for the world. Your presence in the White House brings hope, happiness, and confidence for citizens all over the globe especially for people in Haiti because of your interest to promote ethical and moral values in the world arena.

As a lawyer, a 36-year lawmaker, 8-year Vice President, and actual President of the United States of America, no one can be a best asset than you to defend the respect of principles and moral values. The Haitian community has worked very hard to propel your dream and Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House. More than 93 percent of Haitian electors voted for your ticket because of our hard work and the hard work of our children. During your visit in Miami, Florida, we had a meeting where we promised to help each other. We got it done not only because we believed you could restore democracy in the United States, but also because we knew you will help us do the same in our country, Haiti.

Our brothers and sisters in Haiti are trapped in a politico-economic dilemma for a very long time. Their situation in general has worsened in the last decade with the arrival of the actual team in power. Corruption, abuse of power of all kinds, injustice, economic hardship, the proliferation of armed gangs sponsored by the current president etc... have become the norms in Haiti. The government and its allies have imposed a regime of terror and corruption to keep people in poverty and fear. When Haitians take to the streets to express their anger peacefully, armed gangs and the Haitian National Police disperse them with tear gas. Human right organizations in Haiti like NCHR, JEKLERE among others, United Nations, State Department of the former Administration are aware of the brutality of the gang members under the supervision of homeland security department officials of president Jovenel Moise.

On February 7, 2021, the Moise administration’s term ended according to Article 134-2 of the Haitian constitution.  Religious institutions, civic groups, human rights groups have concurred including the Supreme Court of Haiti which held that the Moise administration term ended on February 7, 2021. President Moise reacted by:

1-     Arresting dozens of citizens among them a judge of the supreme court, Ivickel Dabrezil, a general inspector of the Haitian Police on the baseless claim that they were plotting to overthrow him from power.

2-     Closing of the Supreme Court office of Haiti

3-     Closing of the Judicial Academy of Haiti

4-     Retired/fired 3 of the 9 Supreme Court Justices

5-     Interdiction of meeting with more than 2 people on the street

6-     Coerced Supreme court justices and other political opponents to hide under warren arrest etc…

All those decisions are illegal and made in violation of the Haitian constitution of March 29, 1987 amended which guarantees freedom of assembly and association (art 31).

Mr. Moise has established a regime of terror in the country where corruption and armed gangsters impose their rules. A $4.2 billion long-term loan from Venezuela earmarked for development, economic growth, job creations were stolen by officials of his PHTK regime. An audit conducted by the Supreme Administrative Court of Haiti revealed that the $ 4.2 billion were spent mostly without justifications. Among those cited, president Moise’s name appeared 69 times in the report for using public resources for personal gains.

Haitian electors voted for the ticket Biden/Harris in the presidential elections to restore democracy in the United States. Now we need your help to restore democracy in Haiti by demanding Mr. Moise to respect the Haitian constitution and relinquish the presidency immediately.

Thank you so much, President Biden, for the prompt attention that you will be given to our urgent concern. We look forward to having your administration restore democracy in Haiti.

Sincerely,

Maxi FRANCOIS                                                                         Theobale PIERRE-PAUL

516-967-1559                                                                           786-285-5483

Roger BIAMBY                                                                          Jean Robert PIERRE LOUIS

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Phone: 305-335-0433                                                                Phone: 786-487-6175

Opinion: Haitians are fleeing their country. Their president is the source of the problem

Opinion by Editorial Board

Feb. 10, 2021

HAITI’S CHRONIC hardship and hunger have long been entwined with a long line of corrupt, autocratic and brutal leaders who have exacerbated the country’s instability. Among the worst in recent memory is the current Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse.

Having taken office four years ago, Mr. Moïse’s term has been marked by a degradation of democratic institutions and a descent into violence that has transformed the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, into a tableau of fear and insecurity. Armed gangs prey on civilians with impunity, some of them through kidnap-for-ransom rackets.

Neighborhoods known for their opposition to the president have been targeted for bloody attacks by criminals whom the U.S. government has tied to high-ranking officials in Mr. Moïse’s government. Those officials were hit with sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in December. In Haiti itself, virtually no one responsible for the attacks has been brought to justice.

Mr. Moïse has dissolved most of the country’s elected parliament and stripped mayors throughout the country of their offices. The president denies he is a dictator; his actions suggest otherwise.

His term in office expired last Sunday. Nonetheless, he says he will remain in power another year, owing to the fact that an interim government was in place during what would have been the first year of his four-year term — the result of fraud-marred elections in 2016. The fact is, Mr. Moïse has permitted no fresh elections, and the fractured, feeble opposition is in no position to form a government to replace him. That may help explain why the State Department, while urging a restoration of democracy, has supported the president’s contention that he should remain in office until February 2022. To be credible, that stance must be reinforced with pressure to set a timetable and benchmarks for new elections.

As protests intensified, Mr. Moïse’s government on Sunday arrested more than 20 prominent figures and others, including a Supreme Court judge, alleging they planned to depose and kill the president. Given the chaos, it’s little surprise that Haitians have been leaving the country, hoping to make their way into the United States through Mexico. More than 600 of them have been expelled on a half-dozen flights since the start of February after trying to cross the border without documents, according to Haitian Bridge Alliance, an advocacy group that tracks the flights. None were allowed to apply for asylum under the pandemic public health emergency declared last spring by the Trump administration, which the Biden administration has so far kept in place.

No country holds more sway in Haiti than the United States. By supporting the political status quo there, the Biden administration ensures that more desperate Haitians will flee their country, and many will end up adding to the rising tide of illegal crossing at the Mexican border. As with Central American migrants, the problem of illegal immigrants from Haiti can be mitigated only by a concerted U.S. push to address problems at the source. In Haiti, those problems begin with Mr. Moïse.