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Moun pa se dra
Friends are like cloaks
(Haitian proverb)
CHAY LA | Main Story
What’s up with the Transitional Government?
In our last newsletter, we discussed the composition of the proposed Presidential Council poised to lead the country and how the seven voting members might coalesce when making decisions. In the past few weeks, more support for this approach has been observed in the public sphere.
Critics of the Presidential Council mechanism have been proposing the appointment of a judge from the Cour de Cassation. According to the original 1987 Haitian Constitution, when a president isn’t in office, a judge from the Cour de Cassation should fill the void and lead the ensuing transition (Article 149).
This was the case when Ertha Pascale Trouillot became Haiti’s first female president in 1990. The elections that brought Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power were organized under her leadership. Since then the 1987 constitution was amended under Michel Martelly in 2011, replacing a judge with a prime minister and a council of ministers to rule in the absence of a president. This amendment has subsequently been in effect, though some contest it on the grounds that it was only published in French in the official newspaper (Le Moniteur) and not in Kreyòl as well.
Those who oppose the appointment of a judge claim that a president selected from the judges simply appointed by Ariel Henry — rather than being duly approved by the parliament — got to hold office illegally. There is also a risk that they may be swayed by loyalty to Ariel Henry.
Both options are flawed — the reality is we left constitutional order years ago when Jovenel Moïse failed to organize elections.
What’s important now is that we move forward with an inclusive approach led by a representative group of actors and parties with a security plan to stamp out the armed groups and organize adequate elections. What’s at stake are the lives of many Haitians and the existence of important Haitian institutions.
The Presidential Council is the result of many rounds of negotiations between Haitian civil society & political parties from which the Presidential Council emerged as the preferred option. Choosing a judge from the Cour de Cassation was discussed during those negotiations but not agreed upon.
Over the last two weeks, the members of the proposed Presidential Council have negotiated and signed a political agreement and are waiting for the previous government to step aside. Under the pretext of reviewing the proposal with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that it is constitutional, Ariel Henry’s ministers are dragging their feet—when the constitutionality of their own appointments has always been in question.
The creation of the new Presidential Council has been announced in Le Moniteur, which is the state newspaper by the outgoing government, and the members of the Presidential Council are contesting the text, saying that it doesn’t reflect what they proposed. Some analysts suggest that Ariel’s government is withholding power because they need time to make some final decisions before leaving, and others suggest that the US might be attempting to impose the long-awaited International intervention on the incoming government.
Insecurity by armed groups and Bwa Kale
Gang activity has drawn down considerably over the last two weeks. We can attribute this to loss of life among the armed groups in clashes with the police and civilians. Both police and community members managed to stave off two gang leaders in Petion-Ville — who seemed to be running low on ammunition.
So far, the gangs have failed to take control of the national palace, the Central Bank (BRH), install Guy Philippe as president and secure amnesty. In the process, they have attacked and looted schools, Lopital Jeneral (General Hospital), businesses, and the Bibliotèk Nasyonal, which contains priceless records and documents. The Haitian National Police (PNH) is limited in manpower and arms. The U.S. has announced a $10 million commitment to the PNH in the form of guns and ammunition, but is it too little too late?
Meanwhile, in Port-au-Prince, people are fighting to stay alive in an increasingly catastrophic context. It's been 1 year since community members in Port au Prince started organizing themselves into self-defense groups and killing many suspected gang members. This movement, referred to as Bwa Kale, continues to grow. In Kenskòf, community members were able to wrest back control of their mountainous towns from Kraze Baryè late last year and have maintained it. In the capital, people are erecting barricades at the entrances to their neighborhoods in hopes of warding off the gang offensive unfolding since early March. They are also forming brigades to patrol their neighborhoods and defend themselves.
These preventative measures are leading to extrajudicial killings — sometimes based on very vague suspicions.
À Delmas 95, plusieurs agresseurs présumés ont ainsi été exécutés il y a dix jours, ces « bandits » étant habituellement tués et parfois même brûlés sur le champ. Cette réaction radicale reflète l'effacement presque total de l’institution judiciaire du pays, au point où certains policiers se muent parfois en exécuteurs de leurs détenus, comme ce fut le cas pour deux d’entre eux vendredi dans le bas de Turgeau, selon un témoin rencontré par DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO. (Source: Haiti Magazine)
Inflation & Food Insecurity
According to a recent publication by Haiti’s national statistics agency, IHSI, the inflation rate reached a high of 23% in February 2024. In the new fiscal year, it fell from 31% to 20%, but it is now on the rise again. Port-au-Prince is already experiencing food shortages as a result of the port closures, so inflation is expected to continue to rise. Within the internally displaced people (IDP) camps and in households, food products that are normally imported are scarce and expensive. The food security situation is grave for people in Port-au-Prince and beyond.
Farmers in Plato Santral are experiencing serious losses due to a lack of rain, which is affecting the survival of livestock and crops. Many people depend on Port-au-Prince to earn a living, and that income is interrupted now by insecurity. CNSA, the government entity charged with monitoring food security, has announced that 5 million Haitians across the country are facing food insecurity.
Canal Update
This humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by our dependence on imported goods, which emphasizes the importance of efforts like the canals being built in the Northeast. Efforts to irrigate river water and store rainwater are essential to combat food insecurity.
In its latest objection to the canals, the Dominican Republican is pumping water out on its side while the Wanament and Malfeti committees coordinate their efforts. The work accomplished thus far is a testament to what Haitians can accomplish on their own, without any help from the international community or the current government, in achieving food sovereignty.
There are reports of yet another community building its own canal. This time, it is in the south of the country, in Tòbèk, where the community started digging last November. The organizing committee is calling for donations in kind instead of cash donations.
KILTIRÈL
April 3rd is the National Day of the Haitian Women’s Movement. On this day, activists among women and feminist groups commemorate one of the most important protests Haitian women organized throughout the country in 1986 after the fall of Duvalier. The march was one action born out of a coalition across classes. Among the messages expressed that day were a call for better working conditions for women who worked in factories and denouncing sexual abuse at the workplace. This march is considered to be a pivotal moment where women’s organizations that had been working in the shadows against the Duvalier regime officially revealed themselves in the public sphere. Nègès Mawon interviewed a number of the women who participated that day in a video series.
On April 7th, Haitians commemorated the 221st anniversary of Toussaint Louverture’s death. He died in captivity in France, leaving his generals, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe, and Alexandre Petion, to finish the Revolutionary War. Events were held in his home neighborhood of Breda, where he was born, and on Okap's Boulevard.