New French ambassador in Haiti
Elisabeth Beton-Delègue was appointed as the new French Ambassador to Haiti in order to replace Ambassador Patrick Nicoloso, who was accredited in Haiti on June 29th, 2013, but was recently called to other functions.
Leonela Relys Díaz has left us
Last Saturday, the author Leonela Relys Díaz who was also an educator and the creator of the program to eliminate illiteracy "Yo, í puedo" (Wi mwen kapab), died of cancer. Her program broadcasted in Haiti, and later in the Dominican Republic, help hundreds of thousands of people learn how to read and write.
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Ten percent of the richest Haitians possess 70 percent of all of the country’s income. While two out of three Haitians live on less than two dollars a day, 82 percent of those are in rural areas.
The disparities on the island are going to continue to increase, experts said.
During the First "Forum of the Dominican diplomacy" which ended last Friday, Temístocles Montás, Dominican Minister of the Economy, Planning and Development declared to the diplomatic corps, that Haiti was the highest priority for his country’s foreign policy, "Not only because of the importance in economic terms but especially for the implications of the migratory pressure on the Dominican nation and the implementation of big national development objectives."
In his speech, he declared, that according to the projections of "The Millenium Project: Latinoamérica on 2030" and of the "Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures" of the University of Denver, the disparities between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, are going to increase on the horizon of 2030, "When the objectives fixed in the national Strategy of development (of the RD) will be reached."
The Secretary indicated that according to these reports, in 2030, the population of the island will reach 25 million inhabitants. The Gross domestic product per capita (GDP) in Dominican Republic will be at $12,000 in 2030, compared to $5,296 in 2010. Whereas for Haiti it will be at $1,043, compared to $720 in 2010. "It means that the income gap between the two countries will increase if the current trends remain. The GDP per capita in Haiti represented 13.6 percent of the Dominican GDP in 2010, and would represent no more than 9 percent in 2030. Temístocles Montás underlined that the migratory pressure from Haiti towards the Dominican Republic, will increase compared to the current migratory flow.
Haiti minister at U.N. asks world to support new government
(Reuters) - Haiti's foreign minister on Monday asked the U.N. Security Council and the rest of the world to continue supporting the impoverished Caribbean nation after President Michel Martelly named a new cabinet to end street protests.
Martelly announced his cabinet choices via Facebook late on Sunday night, keeping the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, health, tourism, education and public works in their jobs and appointing allies to the key positions of planning minister and secretary of state for public security.
The announcement was part of an attempt to end a wave of street demonstrations against Martelly's rule.
"We'd like the Security Council as well as all of our partners in the international community to continue to back the government and people of Haiti as they move toward shoring up the rule of law and democracy," Haiti's Foreign Minister Duly Brutus told the 15-nation council.
He added that Haiti "has overcome successfully the crisis which was threatening to undercut the achievements and results of the stabilization program undertaken over the past decade."
Brutus was speaking at a special Security Council session on the connection between development, peace and security.
Haiti has a long history of coups, uprisings and dictatorships and the dissolution of parliament raised fears that it is again on a slippery slope toward violent unrest.
Although Martelly is barred from re-election, his opponents accuse him of engineering the current crisis in order to promote his own candidate to succeed him in election late this year, possibly even his wife, Sophia Martelly.
Haiti is struggling to overcome decades of instability. It is recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake and a cholera epidemic that has killed thousands and is widely blamed on U.N. peacekeepers.
The United Nations has not accepted responsibility for the cholera outbreak.
Commercial activities on the Haitian-Dominican border have been paralyzed
The market of Jimani / Malpasse was again surrounded on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015 because of an imposed 2,500-peso tax demanded by Dominican authorities to Haitian students and vendors who spent more than 30 days in the Dominican Republic.
The union members of the Association of the Carriers and Workers of Malpasse (ATTM) in Founds-Parisien began a strike since Monday, January 12th, to demand that Dominican authorities cancel this measure, which they declared illegal. They also intend to denounce the mass repatriations of Haitian that begun on January 2nd, according to GARR.
On January 12th and 13th, 2015, vendors and customers who had come to do business at the border market of Jimani, had to turn back because commercial activities were paralyzed, according to eyewitnesses.
Romain Dérissaint, who heads the ATTM, denounced the decision taken by the Dominican authorities which requires every Haitian vendor present a valid passport in order to have access to the border market of Jimani.
The union activist also denounced the ill-treatment subjected to Haitian migrants during repatriations.
In only one day (January 12th, 2015), 43 Haitians among whom 13 women and 8 children were repatriated at the border of Jimani / Malpasse. These repatriated people were intercepted in the streets of the Dominican Republic whereas they attended to their ordinary activities.
"I work as cleaning lady for Dominican woman. I was quite surprised when immigration agents picked me up at my home with my 4 children and brought me to the Jimani border," confided a woman to two GARR representatives who were on site.
It should be highlighted that since the signature of the draft agreement on the mechanisms of Haitians' repatriations signed on December 2nd, 1999 by Haitian and Dominican authorities, GARR always denounced its violation during repatriations. GARR has continued to plead nonstop for its effective application.
A binational meeting during which representatives of the Haitian and Dominican National police force participated, as well as transportation union representatives, and the general of the Dominican Armed forces took place at the Jimani border in the afternoon of January 12th, 2015. At this meeting, no decision favorable to the resolution of this conflict was taken. Another meeting took place on Friday, January 16th with the aim of the freeing up commercial activities on Jimani / Malpasse border.
Belgium will still not have a Haitian ambassador
Belgium has been waiting since the last fall for Haiti to appoint another ambassador. Since his arrival in 2013, the current appointee never received the approval of the Belgian and European authorities, according to the publication “La Libre Belgique.”
On his Wikipedia page, Josué Pierre-Louis appears as "the extraordinary messenger and the authorized agent of Haiti with the European Union and with the Kingdom of Belgium." Actually, he was never recognized as ambassador since he arrived in Brussels in 2013.
"We refused the approval, and we would like him to leave,” summarized a Belgian diplomat. In a letter to Haitian authorities last fall, Brussel asked that a new ambassador be appointed. To date, according to this diplomat, no replied to this letter has been received.
The European Union (EU), following Belgian’s decision, also refused to accredit him in the second half-year of 2013. "It is a rather exceptional procedure ", a European state employee recognized. " There are cases of ambassadors to a country that topples over during a coup d'état. These people find themselves suddenly on the other side of the regime. But here the man was sent by his own country".
Josué Pierre - Louis's reaction
Mr. Pierre-Louis will be next week in Brussels. For the moment he is in Haiti, explained his secretary, following phone calls from of “Libre Begique.”
He hopes that Belgium is going to reconsider its position and asserts that the new Haitian government will address this case as soon as a Parliament will have been formed.
How to bring the Brazilian companies in Haiti?
The Inter-American Development Bank (BID) in partnership with the Center for Facilitation of Investments (CFI), and the Association of Haitian Industries (ADIH) organized a workshop under the theme "How to bring Brazilian companies to Haiti?" The event focused on the possibilities of inter-cultural management, as well as development strategies for the assembly sector between Brazil and Haiti. This workshop was managed by Xavier S. Casademunt, director of the Business Administration School of Brazil (ESADE) and professor-partner in the Internationalization of "ESADE Business School."
Mass visitors
Members of the United Nations Security Council arrived last Friday to Port-au-Prince for a three day visit. They were scheduled to have discussions with the highest authorities of the country including President Michel Martelly in particular on the question of holding elections.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the Madrid Club is expected, on January 27th, 28th and 29th in the capital to also discuss the case for elections. It will be led by former Mexican president, Luiz Felipe Calderon and former Bolivian president Jorge Kiroga.
Demonstrations against the French weekly magazine Charlie in Niger: five people were killed
The final count on the violence in Niamey amounts to five deaths, said the president of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou in a speech to the nation, last Saturday evening. Four people died in church fires, and the fifth one in a bar, specified the head of state.
The persecution of churches continued for the large part of the day. Many of them, in particular the church Saint Augustin of Niamey, in the city’s outskirts, was left in smoke. All in all, about twenty Christian places of worship and churches were set on fire. Out of the approximate fifty churches in Niamey, very few of them today have been left in good condition.
As for the main cathedral of Niamey, It was secured early on by security forces and its priests were evacuated under cover, according to sources close to the church. The most significant damage was caused by groups of young people on motorcycles, carrying Molotov cocktails that were thrown in churches, bars, restaurants and hotels.