ROBERT ANGLADE'S MURDER
Last Thursday evening in Zanglais (St-Louis du Sud) Robert Anglade, the owner of the Hotel "Jardins sur Mer" (Aquin), celebrated his 74th birthday. While at home, he was attacked, and was shot dead by one or several unidentified individuals. An investigation about this heinous crime was open; however, the motive remains unknown.
The Departmental Management of the South for the Ministry of Tourism learned with regret about Robert Anglade's death. The Ministry of Tourism and the Southern community wish to offer their most sincere condolences to the Anglade family and friends affected by this death. The Tourism sector is very deeply affected by this loss. May his soul rests in peace!
Taiwan and the fight against food insecurity
The Ambassador of Taiwan Tsai-Wang Chiu and Ogé Beauvoir, Executive Director of the NGO Food For The Poor signed a grant agreement last Friday at offices of Food. The objective of the agreement is to fight against food insecurity and poverty in Haiti. As a result 2,400 ton of husked rice from Taiwan (Republic of China), will be donated to Food For The Poor to contribute to its food assistance programs in Haiti. Delivery will be made in 3 shipments respectively in July, August and September 2016.
It should also be noted that the Taiwan government has provided 600 tons of husked rice to a Taiwanese NGOs to deploy its humanitarian operations in Haiti. The arrival in Port-au-Prince of its first rice shipment is scheduled for the month of May.
Travel Ban for Olivier Martelly, Wilson Laleau and others
Published in “Le Nouvelliste”
"Yes, I am confirming that Olivier Martelly, Wilson Laleau (…), Alix Célestin, and Marc Antoine Acra, among others, are banned from leaving the country," confirmed a government representative by telephone last Friday. According to Danton Léger, he is in possession of documents which would lead to believe that the former president’s eldest son may have mismanaged the construction of sports parks throughout the country.
There is no request for Olivier Martelly to appear before the Port-au-Prince prosecutor, but, according to Danton Léger, he can come to provide an explanation regarding his case by making an appointment as did Alix Célestin, managing director of APN. After the hearing, Leger said, if it is proven that he is not involved in a mismanagement of these funds, the travel ban will be lifted.
When contacted by “Le Nouvelliste,” the Martelly family attorney - Gregory Mayard-Paul - indicated that he was not aware of the travel ban on Olivier Martelly. He added that there was no legal basis for it.
In an interview given to “Le Nouvelliste” on August 31st, 2012, Olivier Martelly made the following statement regarding this matter: "We have no funds at our disposal. When it comes to financing, the Ministry of the Planning manages the building of the land, and the Ministry of Youths and Sports takes care of summer camp activities. I only make proposals."
Wilson Laleau, former Minister of Finance under the Martelly administration, Alix Celestin, current managing director of the APN, and businessman Marc Antoine Acra, among others, are also banned from traveling.
Alix Célestin appeared last Friday before the prosecutor. According to the government commissioner, the managing director of the APN presented documents proving that the contract which he is accused of having mismanaged had been signed by the previous director of the APN Jean Evans Charles. "Thus, there is a possibility that I will lift his travel ban," announced Léger.
On his side, Marc Antoine Acra made a formal request last Friday that his file be reviewed, since new information was available, explained Léger.
As for former Minister Wilson Laleau, his case is still under investigation. However, the head of the prosecutor's office mentioned that there was a lot of confusion and that some documents had disappeared.
Former head of OAS Haiti special mission favors vote verification
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
The Antiguan diplomat, who led an Organization of American States’ special mission to Haiti after the country’s delayed presidential runoff set off a constitutional crisis earlier this yea,r says verifying the disputed elections is vital to avoiding a deepening political crisis.
“It is a necessary evil in order to have long-term peace,” Ronald Sanders told the Miami Herald in an exclusive interview. “The verification process must take place. There is an awful lot of suspicions that there was fraud in that election process, and it would not suit any government that is elected without a verification process because there would always be that suspicion.”
But verification, Sanders said, should be swift in order for Haiti to quickly get back to political stability by transferring power from its current caretaker government to an elected one. Sanders’ support of a Haitian-owned investigation into the country’s disputed Oct. 25 presidential first round differs from the position of many other foreign diplomats engaged in the crisis.
The European Union, the United States and others in the international community have publicly dismissed calls for verification and have been stepping up pressure for provisional President Jocelerme Privert to quickly resume Haiti’s interrupted electoral process. On Thursday, 60 Haitian-American leaders and organizations wrote U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, asking for the Obama administration to end its opposition of verification.
“If we go ahead and force Privert to hold elections without it, an election that is not ultimately acceptable to the majority of Haitians, we are courting trouble,” Sanders said. “We are going to let a possibly fraudulent process deliver a government? In which country would we accept that? Can you tell us the U.S. would allow that? The English-speaking Caribbean?”
The chairman of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States until last week, Sanders said he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the hemispheric organization, which has shied away from making any public statements on the matter. Its electoral observation mission has said that despite voting irregularities, “the information gathered by EOM/OAS on the ground did not show inconsistencies with the final results presented by the CEP in terms of which two candidates go to the run-off.”
Sanders said he was speaking as the diplomat who led a February mission to Port-au-Prince at the request of then-president Michel Martelly. The mission was tasked with helping Martelly and the opposition broker a political accord on how the country would be governed after Martelly’s Feb. 7 departure from office.
That agreement, known as the Feb. 5 accord, outlined the steps for a 120-day transitional period led by a caretaker administration. It also set April 24 as the runoff elections date after the balloting was twice postponed because of the fraud allegations. This week, the head of the country’s newly revamped Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) indicated that the elections cannot be held that day.
A FUND RAISING TO HELP the MOST VULNERABLE
LastThursday, the Government of Haiti and a humanitarian team of the United Nations launched a 193.8 million dollar fund-raising campaign to answer the critical humanitarian needs of 1.3 million people. This strategic planning document aims to ensure and protect access to basic services to the most vulnerable people, but also to reinforce the strength of the Haitian population and its institutions.
"We appreciate this effort of pooling the priorities and the coordination between the national authorities and the members of the humanitarian community. The critical situation of thousands of families affected by these multiple problems and particularly by the food insecurity require a fast and effective answer to avoid a worsening of the humanitarian situation as we are laying the foundations for a sustainable development of the country," said Aviol Fleurant, the new Minister of Planning and Extreme Cooperation. The ultimate objective of this plan is to reduce the vulnerability of the 1.3 million targeted people. Although the top priority is to address the most essential humanitarian needs, this plan also intends to implement structural actions to avoid a worsening of the vulnerability of needy populations, and move forward with the Objectives of Sustainable Development (ODD) on the horizon of 2030.
"Structural problems associated with multiple crises continue to increase the vulnerability of millions of Haitians. We have to act together to allow these people to get back up on their feet”, declared Mourad Wahba, Coordinator of the humanitarian aid and special representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Haiti.
Delta Airlines Employee Arrested Carrying More Than A Quarter-Million Dollars
Taken Into Custody At Palm Beach (FL) International Airport
An employee of Delta Airlines was arrested Saturday carrying a backpack containing $282,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida last Monday.
Airline ramp agent Jean Yves Selius was stopped after bypassing security checkpoints and using him employee ID to enter a secure area at the airport, according to a report from ABC News. He was wearing civilian clothes at the time of his arrest.
In the affidavit, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security stated that Selius was asked to show the contents of the backpack, which he did willingly. It contained "large packets of cash wrapped in clear, vacuum-sealed bundles," according to the document.
A drug-detection dog indicated that the backpack had been in contact with drugs.
Selius said he had been paid $1,000 to carry the backpack to an "unknown person in a bathroom inside the airport's sterile area." He said he had done similar drops over the past year, for which he had been paid $4,000.
He said that he knew that the backpack contained money that "did not come from a good cause."
Selius said that he knew the men who had paid him only as "Ricky" and "John".
Delta said his employment has been terminated, and the airline said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies in the matter.