- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Thomas Shannon and Thomas Adam in Haiti …
The Advisor Thomas A. Shannon, and the Special Coordinator for Haiti Thomas C. Adam, were scheduled to go to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, from March 29 to March 31. They were to meet with senior governmental officials, the civil society, and the private sector.
On March 29th, Advisor Shannon and Special Coordinator Adam were scheduled to go to Santo Domingo to meet the President Medina, Minister of Foreign Affairs Navarro, representatives of the International Organization for Migration (OIM), and the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. They were to discuss the preparation of the Summit of Americas, regional relations and important bilateral matters. They were also scheduled to meet representatives of the civil society to discuss questions of migration and the rights of workers.
On Monday, the 30th, Advisor Shannon and Special Coordinator Adam were to go to Port-au-Prince to meet representatives of the Haitian Government, international organizations and the Mission of Stabilization of the United Nations in Haiti (Minustah) to discuss the preparation of the elections. They were also supposed to meet with representatives of the National Chamber of Business and Industry.
United Nations Unveils Stunning Memorial in New York to the Millions Who Were Killed and Sacrificed in Slave Trade to Create America’s Riches
Visitors to the United Nations headquarters in New York will get a powerful reminder of the brutality of the transatlantic slave trade and its enormous impact on world history through a visually stunning new memorial that was unveiled last week in a solemn ceremony.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called slavery “a stain on human history.”
U.N. General Assembly President Sam Kutesa said slavery remained one of the “darkest and most abhorrent chapters” in world history.
The U.N. has declared 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent. Kutesa said yesterday that The Ark of Return would be one of the most important contributions of the entire decade.
The memorial project was conceived more than five years ago by a group of African and Caribbean nations, led by Jamaica. Courtenay Rattray, the Permanent Representative of Jamaica, who also served as chair of the Permanent Memorial Committee, noted yesterday that several nations, along with UNESCO, helped raise more than $1.7 million to pay for it.
“For us freedom came after a long journey,” she said. “Freedom was not gifted to us but rather earned by the sweat, blood, and tears of millions of our forebears on whose back the economic foundations of the New World was built.”
The memorial was designed by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent who was chosen two years ago after an international competition that attracted 310 entries from 83 countries. Leon was also the designer of the African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan, which was built on a spot where 15,000 people of African descent were buried over a period of around 100 years from the 1690s until 1794.
As the son of Haitian immigrants, Leon said his parents filled him with the history of Haitian liberation and the country’s struggle to be the first independent African state in the western hemisphere.
Leon said he designed the monument so that it could be touched—by members of the public but also by dignitaries at the UN, reminding them, as they deal with global issues on a daily basis, of mistakes made in the past.
The memorial is etched with drawings of actual slave ships, depicting cross-sections of vessels and showing their systematic organization in order to pack in as much “human cargo” as possible.
Leon said the idea that children will be interacting and learning from his work “actually brings me ongoing joy.”
Five of the suspects who have attached religious communities are under lock and key
The criminals who are accused of having committed attacks against approximately thirty nuns were arrested by law enforcement recently. They are part of a gang established by the Charleus brothers, who are natives of Cornillon in Grand Bois. The suspects had developed a particular modus operandi of attacking only defenseless religious congregations. The gang of more than 15 bandits had established its bases in Petitie Reviere de l’Artibonite, Verettes, and Thomazeau, but moved about in the various regions of the country.
Five criminals were captured by the investigators of the Head Office of the Criminal Investigation Department (DCPJ) in cooperation with police officers of the Thomazeau precinct. The criminals attacked 19 religious congregations in 6 departments- among them were Mirebalais, Saint Michel de L’Atallaye, Thomassin, Saut d’Eau, Boucan Carre, Pandiassou, Aquin, Maniche, Saint Raphaël, Petitie Rivere de l’Artibonite, l’Estère, Verettes, Croix-des-Bouquets, Delmas, Marin, Tabarre, Thibert and Thomazeau.
One of the Charleus brothers, Daniel, was arrested whereas Charles is still at large.
Gary Desrosiers, spokesperson for the police department, expressed his anger against these criminals who sexually abused nuns who have dedicated their lives to the Haitian people. These criminals assaulted people who serve the community through various means, including education and healthcare, said Desrosiers. He indicated that some of the nuns’ rings were found in the bandits’ possession. Investigators also seized firearms and a baton.
The actions of the gang of the Charleus brothers have been condemned by all sectors of society. Several members of the gang are natives of Cornillon Grand Bois, bordering the municipality of Carrefour (West), others are natives of Mirebalais and Boucan Carre and Lascahobas in particular. They are charged with night theft, armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy.
French President François Hollande will be in Haiti on May 12th of this year.
Following his trip to Guadeloupe, Martinique and Cuba, François Hollande will stop in Haiti on May 12th of this year.
RD: nurse fired because of Haitian origin
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (sentinel.ht) - Anne Dimanche Saintil was born in the Dominican Republic, earned her nursing degree there and worked at a hospital in the capital. Then she was fired, because her parents were from Haiti.
It goes further. A report by the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute found that the measure is limiting access to education for tens of thousands of children living in the nation.
Bloomberg Business reported the Dominican Deputy Minister of the Interior and Police saying that after June 15, 2015, his government can begin deporting roughly 100,000 persons who are not enrolled in a path to (secondary) citizenship of which only 8,775 have been accepted into.
In 2013 when the D.R. began instituting such measures against its nationals of foreign descent, dating back to 1928, many nations declared it a human right violation and were prepared to impose sanctions.
The Martelly regime in Haiti which had not addressed the issue, rather helped the D.R. at the height of international disdain by engaging in a series of bi-national, highly publicized, meetings on trade and other matters that were iterated over and over, were not to address the critical issue at hand: Constitutional Tribunal ruling TC 186-13.
The article by Ezra Feiser shares more about the case of Anne Dimanche Saintil and the growing tensions between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The Haitian and Dominican Chancellors met
According to reports, the meeting was productive. Among the items discussed on the agenda were:
Chancellor Navarro reminding that the National Dominican Plan for the Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE) to address the irregular immigration status of Haitians in the Dominican Republic will end on June 17th, 2015, following 18 months of applications. Afterward, he explained, the Dominican Republic will conform to the Dominican Constitution and Dominican laws, protocols and procedures. “If need be," to execute deportations, while respecting human rights.
Until now nothing has been done in Haiti in term of preparation to receive these 200,000 fellow countrymen. But the Haitian Chancellor Duly Brutus seemed remain calm. Here was his answer:
“Secretary Brutus announced that next April, the Haitian government will open offices in the Dominican cities of Santiago (Center), Barahona (South) and Higuey (East), to accelerate the process of delivery of documents to our fellow countrymen living in the nearby country, to allow them to apply to the PNRE.”
He also announced, that Haiti will deliver a temporary letter to Haitians with irregular status. It will serve as a receipt to join the plan of regularization, until the Haitian government supplies them with their passports, the first requirements of the PNRE.
It should be noted that while the Dominican Chancellor spoke about repatriation, the Haitian chancellor, spoke about measures taken by his government to activate the registration of Haitian without papers to the PNRE program.
Let us remind our fellow countrymen that to benefit from the PNRE, it is necessary for the applicant to possess identification documents, and to prove through official documents that he or she lived in Dominican Republic before November 19th, 2011. Such proofs, which are not the only requirements, are already difficult for Haitians to obtain. But they are impossible for those, who every day tempt their faith and hang on to false hopes from Haitian smugglers, who grow rich from their ignorance. The only immediate advantage for a fellow countryman to join the PNRE, is to benefit from the moratorium on current deportation until June 17th by producing proof that he or she joined the regularization plan.
The Washington Post
Haiti’s expiring democracy
By Editorial Board March 25
Its PARLIAMENT disbanded and its judiciary weak and subject to manipulation, Haiti is slouching toward tyranny. President Michel Martelly, whose term expires in 10 months, has set a timetable for much-delayed legislative and local elections later this year. But given that Mr. Martelly now rules by decree in a country with a history of dictatorship, there is ample cause for skepticism and worry.
Elected in 2011, Mr. Martelly has spent much of his time in office feuding with lawmakers over holding new elections, effectively paralyzing the country’s politics until the terms of most members of parliament expired in January. Having barely bothered to conceal his contempt for the legislative branch, the president seems content with its absence — and with the collapse of any semblance of checks and balances.
The intransigence of Mr. Martelly’s political opponents contributed to the past few years’ paralysis, but at this point the burden of holding elections falls on him. Diplomats have pronounced themselves encouraged that he has ordered that a first round of legislative elections be held in August, with a second round (plus presidential and local balloting) in October. It is imperative that there be no slippage in that timetable if Haiti is to have any chance of restoring democratic governance.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Justice for Jean Dominique: 2000-2015
Early in the morning of April 3, 2000, a few minutes before the first news broadcast of the day, Jean Léopold Dominique, the director of Radio Haïti Inter, and Jean Claude Louissaint, an employee of the media, were gunned down in the courtyard of the station. In the months and years that followed, Haitian people from all sectors of society, from peasant farmers to human rights activists, to people living abroad in the diaspora, as well as several international organizations and entities, demanded justice for the slain journalist.
The judicial investigation was a spectacle of deception, audacity, and malfeasance: several witnesses were murdered, died under sudden and mysterious circumstances, or simply disappeared; judges were threatened; some 75% of the evidence in the case vanished from the Haitian high court, and several of the major suspects, including Senator Dany Toussaint, refused to cooperate with the investigation by claiming immunity, resorting to various technicalities, or simply not appearing in court.
21 March 2003, the formal investigation concluded that a group of relatively minor criminals were the assassins and accomplices; the investigation named no one as the sponsors or instigators of the killing. Dominique’s widow, Michèle Montas, who herself had barely escaped an attempt on her life on 25 December 2002, in which her bodyguard Maxime Seide was killed, rejected these findings, bringing the case to the Appellate Court.
The result of that investigation were made public 11 years later, on 17 January 2014, leading to the indictment of 9 people, including Mirlande Libérus, a former senator from the Fanmi Lavalas party, accused as being the organizer of the double murder, Harold Sévère, former deputy mayor of Port-au-Prince, and Annette Auguste and Franco Camille, high ranking members of the party. Several of them, including Sévère, were previously arrested in the case but either were released or escaped from prison. Before the case could go to court, the main witness, former security chief at the National Palace, Oriel Jean was shot dead in the street on March 3, 2015.
Dominique’s assassination during the so-called democratic era is one of many political murders that have gone unsolved in a climate of impunity. As of April 2015, fifteen years after Jean Dominique and Jean Claude Louissaint were murdered, justice has not yet been served.
President Martelly in Panama
The President of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, will meet next week with President Michel Martelly, within the framework of the Summit of the Americas, which will take place in Panama City, on April 10th and 11th.
A fundraising dinner with Laurent Lamothe as the keynote speaker
LiveBeyond will host its fourth annual fundraising dinner in Nashville on April 21st at the Hutton Hotel. The former Haitian Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe, will be the main speaker, and will discuss the state of maternal health in Haiti.
The purpose of the event is to raise funds to build an obstetrics and gynecology department at the headquarters of LiveBeyond in Thomazeau (Haiti), to supply to the women in this region a safe place to give birth, surrounded by a medical staff with the skills to save lives. One hundred percent of the profits will go toward the construction of a stronger maternal health program in Thomazeau.
The dinner will begin at 6:30 pm, followed by a speech by Laurent Lamothe.
Tickets are available on-line on the site: www.livebeyond.org/events, or by calling the office of LiveBeyond at (615) 460-8296. The cost is $100 U.S. per person, or $1,000 dollars for a table of 10.
The event will take place in the Hutton Hotel, located at 1808 West End Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee.
LiveBeyond is an organization which brings medical healthcare, maternal health, and drinking water, as well as assistance for the orphanage, education and agricultural development to Thomazeau. David Vanderpool, MD is the founder and CEO of the organization. He lives in Thomazeau to oversee the daily operations of LiveBeyond.
An unmanned plane on automatic pilot has been flying over for some time
The operation was considered secret up until now. However, we have just learned through the Dominican press that Washington has invited Dominican authorities to the signature of an agreement regulating the flying over of their country’s territory by an unmanned plane. We have learned that the plane is equipped with the most advanced electronic equipment and is intended to watch drug trafficking movement. From above, it is capable of spotting the tiniest details on the ground, said the Dominican newspapers. Whereas the plane itself moves so slowly and silently, it is like a flying robot that easily goes unnoticed. Some people who did take note of it have reported having seen a flying saucer!
But how can a plane fly over the Dominican Republic without also flying over Haiti? Nevertheless we haven’t heard anything about our country being invited to sign a similar agreement. There are several hypotheses – do Haitian leaders not consider it necessary to inform their people? Or are they not trusted enough? Or has our national prestige fallen so low that it has nearly disappeared?
The film-maker Raoul Peck rewarded for career’s work in Paris
Haitian Filmmaker Raoul Peck was honored during the 10th anniversary of Henri Langlois prizes and international meetings of the heritage of cinema, during a ceremony at the home of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in Paris on 30 March.
Raoul Peck received the “Humanism and Commitment Award 2015″ for his career’s work. In all, a dozen prizes were awarded at the ceremony that brought together a little more than a thousand people.
Henri Langlois (1914-1977) is considered the father of the conservation and restoration of films. The prices that bear his name are given in particular to film personalities working for heritage.
Raoul Peck recently announced early in July the shooting of his film “The young Karl Marx,” where he will trace the youth of the iconic philosopher and sociologist, economist, German revolutionary and his friendship with fellow philosopher Friedrich Engels.
The movie will be shot in Germany and in Belgium.
14 Stations of the Cross for Good Friday.
Hundreds gathered at the Notre-Dame of Haiti Catholic Church on Good Friday to re-enact the Stations of the Cross on the streets of Little Haiti.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Wreck off Borgne
The night between Wednesday, April 8th to Thursday, 9th a sailboat with about 50 Haitians tried to leave the country, despite poor weather reports. The boat, which was going in the direction of "Providenciales," an island of Turks and Caicos just 200 km north of Haiti, wrecked.
Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, the Director of the Disaster and Emergency Services explained that the incident occurred while the boat tried to get back to the Haitian coast because of the bad weather. The sailboat struck a cliff and capsized before sinking off the Haitian coast, near the locality "Nan Bak," bordering Borgne (approximately 160 km north of Port-au-Prince and Port-Margot, department of the North)
Twelve passengers were able to get back to dry land, while 21 died in the wreck. The magistrate of Borgne saw 11 corpses (8 women and 3 men). Ten other bodies that reached the coast of the municipality of Borgne (located to west of Cap-Haïtien) were directly retrieved by close friends and families of the victims.
Volunteers of the Disaster and Emergency Services, the temporary executive agent of Borgne, and the Vice Delegation of the District of the Borgne are coordinating the search and rescue, with the help of local fishermen.
Obama meets with CARICOM leaders in Jamaica
Haiti Sentinel / Written by Staff Writer on 10 April 2015.
KINGSTON, Jamaica (sentinel.ht) - US President Barack Obama, offered heads of states and governments of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) alternative clean energy for their countries to reduce dependence on Venezuelan, a country Obama, by executive order dated March 9, declared "an extraordinary threat to national security and foreign policy" and laid sanctions on.
"This region has some of the highest costs of energy in the world," Obama said at the meeting on Thursday with Caricom, a block of 15 Caribbean nations. Obama said that the United States could help reduce that burden.
"If we can lower those costs through the development of clean energy and increased energy efficiency, we could generate, I think, more investment and growth," he said.
The Obama administration announced $20 million in funding to develop clean energy projects in the region, and the establishment of a working group on energy security. The White House is willing to offer an alternative to oil supplies from Venezuela which has been beneficial to many of the smaller economies in the region.
Since 2005 Petrocaribe, an initiative of Venezuela's PDVSA state, offers 17 Caribbean and Central American nations favorable payment terms for the supply of crude oil. With years of grace, low interest rates and the possibility to exchange it for agricultural products, the agreement provides for different conditions according to the international price of a barrel on a scale between 15 and 150 dollars which gives greater benefits to higher price.
In general, not in the case of Haiti, the Caribbean countries that must import most of their energy, have benefited from the sharp drop in oil prices. But as where failures Venezuela's economy, which depends exclusively on its oil exports, the Caribbean countries face stricter payment terms and lower supplies, leaving them more vulnerable situation deepen.
In 2014 Venezuela exported 2.37 million barrels of crude oil, 789,000 of which were to the United States, according to the Department of Energy of the country. Obama traveled Wednesday to Kingston, Jamaica and after his trip to the Summit of the Americas to be held in Panama.
Elections: Tom Adam declares that the situation is convenient for the organization of presidential, legislative, and municipal elections in Haiti.
The special coordinator of the U.S. State Department for Haiti, Thomas Adam, declared that the political atmosphere which prevails in the country at this time will make it possible for the realization of the elections planned this year.
In an interview with the “Voice of America,” he considered that all the big political parties are in favor of the election.
Addams declared having noticed interesting signs during his recent visit to the country, and said he hopes that the concerned parties will continue to work in favor of political stability and development.
Recalling that during these elections, all the elective offices will be up for grab, he explained that the elections will take place over the course of three days and that from an administrative standpoint, they will be pretty complicated.
Adams indicated that the United States and the other investors are going to support these elections financially and with their expertise. "The MINUSTAH will be there also to offer the same type of support which it has offered during the last few years,” he said. Although he noted that because the MUNISTAH had decreased its staff, a bit more effort will be necessary from the Haitian government.
Arrest of Dominican citizens to Moca
On Thursday evening, the regional Command of the Center Cibao of the Dominican National Police Force (PND), announced having arrested 11 Dominican citizens accused of violence and damaging the property of hundreds of Haitian citizens in the community of Ortega of Moca.
Colonel Lorenzo Morillo, local spokesman of the PND, declared that the prisoners had admitted to having committed these acts in response to the murder of motorcycle taxi driver Carlos Jose Nunez, age 18, who was beaten to death, then deprived of his motorcycle, apparently according to their assertions, by two Haitian immigrants who had boarded the community motorcycle-taxi last Monday.
This murder angered local residents, who chased off hundreds of Haitians who had been living in the Ortega community with inadequate immigration documentation, and had them deported. In addition, the houses where the Haitians lived were plundered and their belongings thrown in streets, where they were destroyed and burned.
Health: reconstruction of the Upper National Institute of Midwives Training
Last Wednesday the First Lady, Sophia Martelly, accompanied by Florence Duperval Guillaume, Minister for Public Health, and Paula Caldwell, Ambassadress of Canada to Haiti, participated in the ceremony of the laying of the first stone of the Upper National Institute of Midwives Training, on the site of the former national Nursing School, located next to the General hospital in the street Monseigneur Guilloux. "Professional midwives are important and necessary to support pregnant women in childbirth" declared the First Lady.
Canada, via its Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Trade and Development (MAECD), appointed the "United Nations Office for Project Services" (UNOPS) to rebuild this institute which had been destroyed during the earthquake of January, 2010. Financed at the level of 5 million dollars by the Canadians, the new institute, with a size of a little more than 1,000 m2, can welcome 160 students, and will include 4 classrooms, 2 rooms for hands on training, 1 computer lab equipped with 30 computers and dormitories with a capacity for 16 beds.
Reminding that only 36 % of the Haitian women are delivered by trained professionals, and 25 % are delivered in specialized institutions, the Minister of Health considers that her ministry should have at least 600 midwives. "With only 250 midwives, we are not yet capable of meeting the everyday needs […] This explains the importance which we have given since last year to the training of women and girls by giving them a preparation ranging from 18 to 36 months to considerably reduce the maternal mortality in the country […] The rebuilding of the national school of the midwives is a step, so that a woman [can] give birth with the assistance of qualified personnel."
This new professional educational establishment will make it possible to train approximately 70 midwives a year for the whole country.
Dominican Councilman arrested for drug trafficking through Haiti
Written by Staff Writer on 03 April 2015.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (sentinel.ht) - A councilman of the border province of Independencia in the Dominican Republic has been arrested for running a drug trafficking ring they say imported marijuana through Haiti.
Councilman Luis Domingo Medina Trinidad was arrested with four other men after police seized some 170 kilograms (375 pounds) of marijuana. Medina serves as Councilman of the Independencia province where Jimani is a major port of international trade between the nations.
Police say the suspects would bring marijuana in from Haiti through Lake Enriquillo. The drugs would then go to the Dominican capitol of Santo Domingo and the towns of Capotillo, Gualey, Guachupita, Los Mina, Sabana Perdida, Ensanche Isabelita, los Tres Ojos and municipalities Guerra and Boca Chica..
"It was determined by intelligence work that this organization carries marijuana shipments from Haiti to Dominican Republic, specifically to the Jimaní and is then transported using different vehicles to the city of Santo Domingo where supply of different drugs to neighborhoods of Greater Santo Domingo," said Central Narcotics Police (DICAN) Spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete.
He said other members of the network are dismantled Luis Raul Reyes Alcantara, alias "Luisito the decline"; Ángel Félix Montero, Emmanuel Cena Felix Rivas and Michelangelo, who were arrested during operations.
Police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said Friday that Medina was arrested after a month-long investigation while traveling in his vehicle down an avenue in west Santo Domingo. Medina did not put up a fight.
Who were the Dominican nationals working with on the Haitian side of the network? In speaking with some enforcement exports, The Sentinel has come to learn that likely possibility would be those with capabilities, more affluent members of Haitian society. The wealthy or politically connected are among the few who could be trusted to support such a network from the Haitian side.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Cocaine: Jacques Ketant to be freed from prison in Miami
BY JAY
A onetime Haitian cocaine kingpin who had accused former President Jean Bertrand Aristide of accepting drug-related bribes will soon be released from a U.S. prison after helping prosecutors convict a dozen fellow traffickers, government officials and police officers in a long-running case that exposed Haiti as a “narco-state.”
Beaudouin “Jacques” Ketant saw his 27-year sentence chopped in half on Friday by a federal judge after the U.S. attorney's office in Miami recommended that reduction because of his “substantial assistance” as a witness in other successful prosecutions.
Ketant, 52, has been held at a low-security federal correctional institution in Louisiana and will soon be transferred to immigration authorities. He plans to fight his deportation because of the potential danger that might await him if he returns to his homeland, where Aristide's former bodyguard was recently killed — possibly for cooperating with U.S. authorities after serving a three-year prison sentence in this country.
Haiti: $3 million cocaine, heroin shipment seized
Written by Staff Writer on 15 April 2015.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (sentinel.ht) - The Haitian Brigade Fighting against Drug Trafficking, with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and UN Police on Tuesday seized 77kg of cocaine and 10kg of heroin from a ship at a local port. The bust has a value of about $3 million [US]
The arrest comes days after US Marshals arrested the Haitian adjoint Director of PIHDH, Limongy Jean, a former deputy of the 48th Legislature. PIHDH is a program tasked with providing identification documents to Haitians living in irregular circumstances in foreign countries. Jean is said to have been found in possession of an official Haitian diplomatic passport and his capture as well as this massive drug bust, is fueling much speculation in Haiti.
Radio hosts believe a shipment of that size cannot be transported without a great level of coordination from people of influence.
U.N. calls for swift investigation in death of Chilean peacekeeper in northern Haiti
BY JACQUELINE
04/14/2015 1:34 PM 04/14/2015 4:15 PM
U.N. officials are calling on Haitian authorities to conduct a “swift investigation” into the death of a Chilean peacekeeper who died of injuries from a gunshot wound Monday in the northeast region of Haiti.
Rodrigo Andrés Sanhueza Soto was on his way to administrative duty when his vehicle came under fire in the northeast city of Ouanaminthe near the Haiti-Dominican Republic border. He is a second sergeant serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his sincere condolences to the family of the peacekeeper as well as to the government and the people of Chile.
“The Secretary-General calls for a swift investigation and urges the Haitian authorities to do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice,” the U.N. said in a statement.
The incident was also condemned by the members of the Security Council. Members said they too look forward “to the completion of a full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident.”
A U.N. team was dispatched to the area soon after the incident. Ban’s special representative in Haiti, Sandra Honoré, equally condemned the violence and killing, and has offered UNPOL support to Haitian authorities in order for the “perpetrator to be brought to justice without delay.”
“Armed violence is a criminal act, which not only endangers people’s security, but also the gains in peace and stability that the Haitian population has achieved so far,” Honoré said. “The mission continues to urge all Haitian stakeholders, civil society, political, religious and community leaders to continuously work against violence in all its forms.”
The violent demonstration, which was over a lack of electricity, comes as Haiti enters the electoral period. The country is scheduled to hold the first round of legislative elections for two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Deputies on Aug. 9. Legislative runoffs and local elections will be held alongside presidential elections on Oct. 25. If no one wins the presidency outright, a runoff will be held Dec. 27.
Last week, registration opened for legislative candidates. Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has approved 166 political parties and platforms to participate in the balloting.
Jet Blue Airways throws (launches) its direct flight from Port-au-Prince to Boston
The discount carrier, JetBlue Airways, confirmed that on Wednesday, June 17th, 2015, it will launch a new seasonal flight without layover from Boston to Port-au-Prince. In preparation for this launch, Maryse Noel, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, accompanied by Pascale Hilaire of the Promotion Department and Samuel Daméus, who heads the Communication Department, received company representatives at the ministry as special guests. Representing Jet Blue were Elsa España, who manages marketing in Latin America and the Caribbean and Elsy Viala Générale Manager for the company in Haiti. It should be noted that Jet Blue Airways has offered air services to Haiti since December 5th, 2013 with flights connecting Fort Lauderdale and New York in Port-au-Prince.
Everything is ready for the deportations of citizens living in the Dominican Republic in irregular status…
In honor of the 6th anniversary of the foundation for the executive office of Dominican Immigration, Jose Ricardo Taveras, the Director of Immigration, declared that everything was ready to begin deportation procedures of the foreigners (of any nationality) with irregular status in the Dominican territory, according to the law, following the completion of the National Plan of Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE) on June 17th of this year.
"The law is there, and its implementation will be at the appropriate time." As for the necessary financial resources for the application of immigration policies starting in mid-June, he indicated that the executive office was waiting for the intervention of President Danilo Médina" but what I can assure you, is that the President is going to help us in this respect."
He explained, in order to clear up any misunderstanding, the deportation will not be about the hunting of, or the persecution of, people in illegal situations. He specified that no deportation will take place within 24 hours, but that it will be a process supported in time, with respect for dignity and for human rights. "At first, the foreign citizens who are in the country will be invited to leave voluntarily. Secondly, if they do not leave voluntarily, through diverse mechanisms set up by the law, they will be sent back to their country of origin ".
André Navarro, the Minister of Dominican Foreign Affairs, also announced that the process of eviction, in particular for Haitian nationals in illegal situation (who) represent most of the concerned foreigners), will begin on a national scale, next June. He indicated that this process will be negotiated with the nearby authorities within the framework of the Bilateral Joint committee.
Dominicans lift suspension of freight trucks into Haiti
Written by Staff Writer on 15 April 2015.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (sentinel.ht) - Less than 24 hours after announcing the suspension of freight trucks into Haiti, due to alleged acts of violence and looting, the Dominican National Federation of Transportation (Fenatrado) said transports would be resumed Wednesday morning.
Fenetrado Secretary General, Geovanny Escotto, said that Haitian and Dominican officials held a meeting at the provincial governor's headquarters and pledged to compensate for the merchandise said to have been lost by four trucks. These losses are estimated at about $90,000.
Escotto also said that the Haitian National Police recovered some of the stolen merchandise. He said a judge and a prosecutor are currently performing an inventory of the losses.
Fenetrado says provincial governor Ramona Rodriguez, and CESFRONT Chief Brigadier General Carlos Aguirre Reyes, are engaged in following up on the situation.
The Dominican military authorities ordered a strengthening of surveillance at the border of this province with Haiti to prevent further unrest. Every Monday and Friday, traders Dominican and Haitian celebrate binational Mercano in which several millions of pesos are mobilized.
It should be noted, on the Haitian side, many seem unaffected by Fenetrado's suspension, believing that unfair trade policies exist and a boycott of Dominican products should be in effect.
Mogul predicts ‘development boom’ along Haiti-Dominican border
Santo Domingo.- Vicini group executive Juan B. Vicini on Monday said potential areas to invest in have been identified along the border with Haiti and forecasts around US$3.0 billion to develop projects.
He said renewable energy and agribusiness projects can be developed in several strategic points which he affirms can transform the border and include Manzanillo port in Montecristi province, Lake Azuey and the Artibonite river basin.
Vicini said an agro project and an energy storage system could be developed on the river basin and next to the lake.
The sugar cane mogul noted that the port doesn’t require a large investment and stressed that it’s the closest point to the US Eastern Seaboard, with a high return on investment. "What we’re trying to create is a development boom in that area so it becomes an attractive spot for the population."
Interviewed on Sol de la Mañana radio program, the business leader said the viable projects will be announced here and in Haiti through universities and other organizations to engage stakeholders. He said they’ll also integrate the community in the areas where the initiatives will have an impact, with a guaranteed "to give participation.”
Vicini said developing the border area is the ideal way for the Dominican Republic to contribute to solve Haiti’s economic and social crisis, by creating jobs and attracting investment, in addition to the benefits for both nations. "When you join resources from one country with another on a border for a common good (...) it bolsters investment. It’s possible to seek harmonious solutions."
Haiti is going to chair a forum on health in Cuba
The Secretary of Public Health and the Population, Florence Duperval Guillaume, will chair from April 20, till 24, 2015, a Forum called "Cuba Health 2015," at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, learned HPN.
The Haitian delegation will consist of Dr Nancy Larco, Alfred Patrick and Palau Brunache, as stated on the official site of the ministry of the External Affairs of Cuba.
In a press release, the Cuban government informed that this event will aim at facilitating the exchange on the current and future challenges of public health in the world. The Haitian delegation will have the opportunity to discuss topics of interest for the benefit of the Haitian population.
The Secretary of Public Health visited Cuba repeatedly, and had exchanges with her Cuban counterpart - Roberto Morales Ojeda and other state employees of the Ministry of Health.
In addition, it has been recognized during the international forums the important role played by the Cuban medical staff in Haiti, concluded the press release.
Three artists on tour thank the MNUSTAH to encourage a peaceful society for the country …
For the first time in Haiti, from April 16th till May 17th, 2015 the caravan "Vwa Ayiti Pou Lapè" will bring 3 renowned Haitian artists: James Germain, Emeline Michel and Beethova Obas, to meet young talent from 10 Haitian cities, in order to entertain musical creation workshops and offer mini-concerts under the theme of peace and nonviolence.
" I requested Minustah to realize and finance a national tour which will offer workshops to the young musicians coming from vulnerable communities throughout the country," explained James Germain "The campaign Ann Chwazi Lapè, has the real logic and it is good to set up something significant with a clear message. "
" The antidote to violence, is peace,” reminded Beethovas Obas who wishes through this tour to make their contribution to the consolidation of a peaceful climate in Haiti.
The three artists will work from April 16th till May 17th, 2015 with the selected artists (singers, musicians and composers) who will propose collective concerts for peace and nonviolence.
- Détails
- Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti
Published on April 21, 2015
PETIT PORT A PIMENT, Haiti -- A Dutch couple aboard an Australian flagged boat en route from Cuba to Ile a Vache, Haiti, was anchored at Petit Port a Pimient, Haiti, when it was boarded overnight by six armed men last week, Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN) reported.
The couple cooperated with the pirates and offered everything, but they were nevertheless violently attacked. The captain was tied to the rail on deck and beaten badly, resulting in broken bones and machete wounds. His wife sustained machete injuries also, both were hospitalized.
Stolen items included cash, solar panels, computers, navigation electronics, etc.
Embassy officials have become involved and are providing assistance.
While confirming details of the incident of piracy/assault last week, CSSN said it became aware of another such incident in Haiti earlier this year.
On January 20, a French couple and their children had anchored overnight between Corail and Pestel, Haiti. At 3 am they were boarded by 12 men armed with machine guns and machetes. The leader of the group was in uniform. The boat was “inspected” for 2-1/2 hours, rummaging through drawers, lockers, etc. The roller furling and main sheet were deliberately damaged.
The men were aggressive, with much yelling and arm waving, but the crew cooperated. They forced the boat to go two miles back to Corial at first light after taking all the cash on board ($1,000), laptops, diving equipment and some other gear from the captain. The official then “allowed” the boat to depart to go onward to Pestel, Haiti, the next planned stop.
It is unlikely a police report was made, CSSN said.
Haitian marine biologist wins environmental activism prize
(Reuters) - A Haitian marine biologist who successfully fought to create a national park to protect a large swath of Haiti's north coast has won a prominent U.S. environmental activism prize.
Jean Wiener was awarded a Goldman Environmental Foundation prize for his efforts to establish the Caribbean nation's first Marine Protected Areas while working with local communities to promote sustainable fishing practices and preserve mangrove forests.
In awarding the $175,000 prize, the Goldman foundation highlighted Wiener's efforts in overcoming extreme poverty and political instability in Haiti, a country with few full-time environmentalists and almost no government programs to protect natural resources.
Wiener, 50, is being honored along with five other prize winners at a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday for a campaign he led to create the Three Bays National Park, covering 30,000 square miles (75,000 sq km) stretching from the city of Cap Haitien to the border with the Dominican Republican.
The park, created in 2014, protects the vulnerable eco-system of over-fished waters in the bays of Limonade, Caracol and Fort Liberté.
The area includes Haiti's second-largest mangrove area, as well as one of its longest barrier reefs and important seagrass beds. That trifecta of coastal eco-sytems "makes it probably Haiti's most productive coastal system in terms of marine life and fish nurseries," Wiener said in a phone interview.
The Fort Liberté bay had been targeted for port development by a U.S. government-backed project which was scrapped last year over environmental concerns and lack of investor interest.
A schoolteacher in Port-au-Prince, Wiener studied biology at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is the founder of the Marine Biodiversity Protection Foundation (FoProBiM), Haiti's only nongovernmental environmental organization focusing on coastal and marine areas.
Funded by the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development, FoProBiM works with community groups to preserve natural resources, including fishing waters, endangered coral and mangroves which are cut down for charcoal.
"It's been over-fished to a point where the fishermen are catching almost nothing except juveniles," Wiener said.
Despite tough regulations, "there's no throwing anything back," he said. "The rules need to be updated and more importantly enforced. There's barely a Coast Guard."
The other Goldman prize winners for 2015 are from Myanmar, Canada, Scotland, Honduras and Kenya.
The prize, created in 1990 by Richard and Rhoda Goldman to encourage environmental protection, has been awarded to activists in more than 80 countries.
Justice Minister appeals Sonson Lafamila ruling
Written by Staff Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (sentinel.ht) - Minister of Justice Pierre Richard Casimir submitted an appeal to the Haitian Supreme Court for a reconsideration of the ruling on the case of Woodly Etheart alias Sonson Lafamilia and Renel Nelfort alias Renel Le Recif.
The appeal was submitted before the Tuesday deadline and if the court of appeals chooses to accept it, the two previously indicted, murderer-kidnappers, close to President Michel Martelly, may be returned to prison.
Minister Casimir's appeal comes after the Obama administration expressed "concern" of the speed at which the case of Sonson Lafamilia was thrown out by the embattled Judge Lamarre Belizaire.
Tuesday tweets from the Ministry of Justice account said the government was not okay with decision on Sonson Lafamilia and an earlier tweet said it would exercise the power of appeal.
Over the weekend, Casimir dismissed the Government Commissioner of Port-au-Prince Kerson Darius Charles for his performance in prosecuting the case.
U.S. ‘concerned’ about ruling in Haiti kidnapping case
By Reuters
PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 20 (Reuters) – The Obama administration said it was “concerned” about the speed of a court ruling in Haiti that saw charges suddenly dropped in the indictment of an accused kidnapper with close ties to the family of President Michel Martelly.
On Friday, the judge freed Woodly Ethéart and Renel Nelfort, two leaders of the so-called Galil Gang, who had been indicted a month earlier for masterminding a host of violent crimes, including murder, money laundering and more than a dozen kidnappings.
Two days later, the Minister of Justice sacked the prosecutor, saying his deputies asked the judge to free the men, arguing they could not win a conviction.
“We are concerned about the ruling, including the speed in which it was made,” a State Department spokesman said in an email on Monday in response to a request for comment.
“This is an ongoing case in the Haitian courts, and we understand the ruling could be appealed.
Ethéart, who is a friend of Martelly’s brother-in-law, Charles Saint-Rémy, is known by the street name ‘Sonson Lafamilia,’ and is the former owner of one of Haiti’s fanciest restaurants, La Souvenance.
“The prosecutor in Port au Prince was removed because the government was not satisfied with the performance at the trial,” Peguy Jean, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said on Monday. “At the end of the trial, the prosecutors asked the charges to be dropped.”
The release of Ethéart immediately raised questions about the handling of the case, with some Haitians suggesting he was let off because of the close relationship with the president’s family.
“The move (to free them) absolutely came from the top,” argued Pierre Esperance, the executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network. He accused the judge, Lamarre Bélizaire, of corruption, saying he frequently rules in favor of the Martelly government.
The Galil Gang made nearly $2 million dollars from kidnapping ransoms in a two year period, said lawyer Newton Louis Saint-Juste, who testified in the case.
“Of course I’m scared. This exposes all the victims and all the witnesses to the Galil Gang,” said Saint-Juste, an outspoken critic of the Martelly government.
Martelly’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The Ministry of Justice has until Tuesday to appeal the tossed indictment. If no appeal is filed, government critics say it will be a sign the Ministry of Justice is doing favors for the president. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington. Editing by David Adams and Christian Plumb).
The Focus On Haiti Initiative is proud to publish our Voices of Haiti’s Voiceless: Post-Earthquake Aspirations & Achievements symposium
The Focus On Haiti Initiative and the U.S. Department of State will host Voices of Haiti’s Voiceless in Washington, D.C. on Friday, May 1, 2015. The symposium will discuss Haiti’s fundamental development challenges and progress toward meeting them in the post-quake period, focusing on the aspirations of the country’s under-represented population as presented at the March 31, 2010 post-earthquake UN-sponsored Donors’ Conference in New York.