Caricom agrees with stakeholders on interim Presidential Council to replace Haitian PM

…Presidential Councillors to be barred from running in future elections

Coming out of crucial talks among Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads in Jamaica on how to return Haiti to a state of normalcy, the regional bloc has announced that a Presidential Council will be established to guide Haiti towards elections and the restoration of order.

This announcement was made by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, when she addressed the media at a press conference following talks on Monday. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Guyana’s President and current Caricom Chairman, Dr Irfaan Ali, as well as other regional Heads.
Mottley said that 80-90 per cent of proposals put on the table were agreed to by the stakeholders. This includes an agreement for the establishment of a Presidential Council, which would help identify an interim Prime Minister and replace the current one, Ariel Henry.
“At this point in time, we felt that it was important for us to state that of the proposals received, all of them, 80-90 per cent of them put on the table were more or less the same thing by the stakeholders,” Mottley said.
Further, Mottley explained that the new Prime Minister would work with the Presidential Council to establish a Government. Additionally, a provisional electoral council would be established as a critical institution.

Contain crisis
As it relates to the rapidly-declining security situation in Haiti, the Barbados Prime Minister said all stakeholders agreed on the need to urgently contain this crisis. Further, she said that the establishment of the Presidential Council would critical to achieving this aim.
Meanwhile, Mottley noted that as a regional community, Caricom has agreed with its international partners on four principles. These include that persons on the Presidential Council should not run in any future elections in Haiti.
“There are some principles, that also came out of our consultations with everyone. Not necessarily everyone agreeing to them, but reinforcing them. As a regional community and with our international partners, we have agreed on these principles that we believe to be critical to garner support of Caricom and the international community,” Mottley said.
Meanwhile, President Ali noted that during the discussions, stakeholders and Caricom leaders were able to have “a broader understanding of the situation and to have your ideas and to listen to you, because that is our primary task in finding solutions that come out of your own communication and consultation and your own working together in finding solutions”.
In recent days, armed gangs, which had already been wreaking havoc in the Caribbean country, stormed two prisons and released thousands of prisoners into the already-troubled streets of Port-au-Prince and caused a State of Emergency to be declared.
Based on reports, at least one gang leader has threatened “a civil war that will end in genocide” if Haitian Prime Minister Henry did not resign and the international community continued to support him. The Prime Minister was left stranded in Puerto Rico as flights in and out of Haiti were cancelled last week.
After being in Guyana, the week before last, drumming up support for a Caricom-backed multinational force to help him restore order in his country, the Haitian PM had travelled to Kenya, where he signed an agreement to mobilise troops for the multinational force.
Since February 29, criminal gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince have conducted coordinated attacks targeting Police Stations, prisons, critical infrastructure, and civilian sites in the city. On March 2, armed gang members raided two penitentiaries, reportedly freeing some 3800 inmates, after which Haitian authorities announced a three-day State of Emergency and imposed a nighttime curfew.
At least four Police Officers and five civilians have been killed in the violence since February 29, while nearly 15,000 persons have been displaced after fleeing from the violence. The United Nations had reported this week that since the beginning of the year, a staggering 1193 persons have been killed and 692 others injured by gang violence in Haiti. (G3)