Haiti

The apprehension and brief detention of a sitting legislator last Thursday was a prelude to looming political paralysis that also served as a catalyst for change, engaging citizens in substantive debates about institutional corruption decaying Haiti’s political and judicial systems. The national consciousness came to life after government Commissioner Felix Leger ordered the national police […]

Confusion, fear and indignation spread through all extremities of the Haitian population, including the legislative body, following the controversial detainment of Deputy Arnel Belizaire in spite of his parliamentary immunity and constitutional protection. “We are dealing with a dictatorship,” revolted Sorel Jacinthe, president of the House of Deputies. “The Constitution and the law no longer […]

“It shows that the OAS cannot be relied upon as a neutral, independent arbiter of electoral disputes, because of the control of its administration by the United States government and its allies,” read a report recently published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). The Organization of American States in Haiti, a study […]

After ensuring each Minister in his novice administration took the oath of office, President Michel Martelly launched a new initiative aimed at restructuring the country’s political infrastructure, as a roaring opposition still in its infancy mobilized to reclaim power. Using the century-old daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste, the emerging opposition enumerated three areas of concern that […]

“Today, I take over the reins of a government of renewal and a Haitian rebirth,” trumpeted new Prime Minister Garry Conille as lawmakers crowned him head of government. “By allowing me access to the highest office of the State,” affirmed president Michel Martelly, “The Haitian people have invested their trust in me as the bearer […]

“It is necessary to restore order in the administration of Haiti,” declared Monseigneur Guire Poulard, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, during a meeting with officials of international volunteer groups. “If the country was well organized,” he added, “in 10 years it would be rebuilt.” In its article, Mgr. Guire Poulard wants more Order in the Government, […]

Relationships between President Michel Martelly and the Haitian press took another nosedive on October 3, 2011 as the president launched his free education program for disadvantaged children at the National School of Tabarre, located 10 miles north of Port-au-Prince. “Don’t do that,” Martelly told Germain Etienne, a young reporter of Radio Scoop FM. “If you […]

“We have nothing against Mr. Conille, but we must respect the Constitution,” argued Senator Jean Hector Anacacis disputing the constitutionality of his candidacy. “He did not have his identification card, he has not voted, has not paid his taxes and is only someone seizing the moment to access the post of prime minister, overlooking conditions […]

The hurly-burly of two dozen supporters of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier shouting obscenities and paralyzing an Amnesty International press conference rattled the civil community, rights and advocacy groups. “It was a chilling reminder of the intimidation tactics the 1957 regime used against opinionated citizens,” wrote the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH) in a […]

The irony of independence “He took me across the border and sold me to the Dominican soldiers for $8,” said Andre Prevot, a young Haitian boy caught in the pervasive slave trade along Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic (DR). Young Prevot met a man who promised him a good job in the DR; however, […]

President Michel Martelly, among other world leaders, joined the list of heads of state speaking at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum, officials said yesterday. In addition to Martelly, King Abdullah II IBN Al Hussein of Jordan and Atifete Jahjaga, president of the Republic of Kosovo will also speak at the world-renown event that provide a platform […]

Outcries over Uruguayan peacekeepers’ rape allegations of an 18-year-old Haitian man did not spark the country’s distrust and disgust of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Haitians have protested peacekeepers’ overwhelming presence in their homeland since they landed following the 2004 ousting of former President Jean Bertrand Aristide. Many people even demanded their […]