Haiti vote was marred by fraud: probe

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Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 13 janvier 2016

 Out of the Rubble: The Anniversary of the 2010 Haitian Earthquake

Laurent Lamothe Become a fan 

Former Prime Minister of Haiti, Founder of LSL World Initiative

Over half a decade has passed since the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and while relief has come in many forms from all corners of the globe, the country still suffers the effects of the tragedy that occurred that year on January 12th. With a magnitude of 7.0, the earthquake killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions from their homes. An already impoverished country, Haiti was one of the last places in the world capable to handle a natural disaster of this degree and yet, here we stand -- proudly. A nation that continues to struggle is also a nation that continues to persevere.

Before the earthquake, Haiti was already in a precarious socio-economic state, with well over half of the population at or below the poverty level (86 percent of people in the capital of Port-au-Prince were living in slum-like conditions) and living on less than U.S. $2 per day. This natural disaster only brought with it more struggles, more pain -- like kicking a man while he's down. To say it has been difficult to come back from this is an understatement.

On January 13th, 2010 -- the day after Haiti changed forever -- the world came together for our country, not only to grieve, but to help. Although these relief efforts have been extensive and will always be considered as a testament of global solidarity with the people of Haiti, the country continues to grapple with many obstacles. While the aftershocks of the earthquake are long gone, they can still be felt in the form of poverty and economic insecurity. Although much progress has been made by relocating the majority of families who had become homeless, some have yet to recover from this psychological and socio-economic trauma.

It's difficult enough for affluent countries like the United States to go through natural disasters such as tornadoes in the Midwest and hurricanes on the East Coast, but it's nearly impossible for emerging and developing countries with fragile infrastructures to fully recover. If these vulnerable countries could develop sustainable, socio-economic systems that address socio-economic challenges, they would be better able to withstand the devastating aftermath of tragedies like the one suffered in Haiti.

I have dedicated my my life's work to the socio-economic empowerment of Haiti -- and of all emerging and developing countries. It has become clear to me that struggling countries must find alternative sources of financing or fall short of achieving social and economic progress. We need to help the governments of countries like Haiti to achieve their goals by thinking outside the box of traditional foreign aid. We need to help them to identify new revenue sources through innovative financing for development: non-traditional mechanisms to raise funds for aid through projects such as micro-contributions and public-private partnerships. Using these mechanisms, governments can then allocate funds according to their priorities and needs, such as clean water, housing, education and health services. This way, if disaster strikes, they would be better apt to withstand such shock, and any aid received would have a greater impact. Recovery would be within their reach.

This is only one solution to a much bigger problem, but it is just that -- a solution. As a global community, we must ensure that vulnerable countries will be better equipped to climb out of the rubble -- whether that rubble is in the form of the aftermath of a natural disaster, war, disease or economic crisis -- faster and better than ever. As citizens of the world, we must come together to ensure that what happened to my country, the way it happened, never occurs again. We just need to start.

Haiti candidate needs major changes to participate in runoff

By DAVID McFADDEN

 Jan. 7, 2016 9:27 PM EST

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A spokesman for Haitian presidential contender Jude Celestin said Thursday that the second-place candidate will only participate in an upcoming runoff if sweeping changes recommended by a special commission are adopted to improve voting.

Campaign spokesman Gerald Germain said Celestin has been urging Haiti's outgoing president to ensure that the commission's recommendations are put in place before the two-candidate presidential runoff. They include major changes to the electoral machinery, with investigations and possible resignations of those accused of corruption, and political dialogue to achieve consensus about the next round.

"Only when the recommendations are implemented would Mr. Celestin take part," Germain said in a phone interview.

While Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council has pledged to improve transparency for the final round, review commission spokesman Rosny Desroches said he has seen very little progress to solve electoral tensions since the special panel's recommendations were released Sunday.

For instance, he noted that President Michel Martelly this week issued a decree making Jan. 24 the new date for the postponed runoff without first holding a political dialogue with those involved in the electoral impasse, a key recommendation.

"There is apparently no will to hold even a minimal dialogue," Desroches said.

The United Nations, the U.S. government and representatives of other nations making up the "Core Group" that monitors Haiti have urged state institutions and political actors to "take all steps necessary to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected president" by the Feb. 7 constitutional deadline.

On Wednesday, U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon and the U.S. special coordinator for Haiti visited the country and met with a number of people, including the two presidential candidates slotted for the Jan. 24 runoff. It was unclear what, if anything, was accomplished. The pair departed Thursday.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. welcomed the presidential decree setting Jan. 24 as the runoff date and encouraged "all Haitians to participate peacefully and calmly in the vote." The U.S. has contributed over $30 million to this election cycle in Haiti.

On Thursday night, the Organization of American States put out a similar statement, saying its electoral observation mission welcomed the Jan. 24 runoff as a "step in the right direction."

If legitimate elections don't take place as scheduled Jan. 24, a transitional government might have to be formed in the impoverished country where elections are never easy and suspicions of manipulation and complicity by the Provisional Electoral Council and the government in power are chronic.

The Group of Eight opposition alliance, which is made up of Celestin and seven other presidential candidates, wants the members of the electoral council to resign over what it says is corruption and vote-rigging. It says a transitional government is needed to complete Haiti's electoral process in a fair and transparent way.

Celestin has called the official results putting him in second place behind government-backed candidate Jovenel Moise a "ridiculous farce" and refused to campaign for a Dec. 27 runoff that was postponed days before it was scheduled amid swirling allegations of "massive fraud." He has since demanded 30 days for campaigning before any runoff.

Echoing comments he made to Haiti's biggest newspaper recently, U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean told The Associated Press that there has been no evidence to back up the allegations of rampant electoral fraud.

"I have heard many accusations of massive fraud but I have not seen those making the accusations come forward with proof," he said.

HAITI ELECTIONS, SECOND ROUND

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (HAITI) – Jude Celestin, the presidential candidate for the LAPEH political party, will not participate in the second round of the presidential elections set by presidential order for January 24th, 2016, according to an article in the Miami Herald.

"January 24th, it is out of the question. President Martelly will have to have the election with a single candidate," declared Jude Célestin, to The Miami Herald.

While the temporary electoral Council (CEP) extended the period of the presidential election campaign from January 8^th to January 22nd, Jude Célestin maintains his position not to participate in the second round of the elections.

Célestin places conditions upon his participation in the runoff of the presidential election. He wants the recommendations of the report of the Commission of Independent Electoral Evaluation to be followed. Among these recommendations, the Commission proposed a dialogue between all of the parties involved.

"None of the recommendations of the CEEI were taken into account," said Célestin, expressing his distrust in the credibility of the soiled electoral process, which according to him was plagued "with irregularities and frauds."

The presidential candidat,e whose party is the Alternative League for the Progress and the Haitian emancipation (LAPEH), made these statements "after two American special correspondents failed to convince him to make a commitment to run in the second round," according to RFI.

While Jude Célestin refuses to participate in the elections, his rival from the PHTK (the party in power), Jovenel Moïse, is pursuing his electoral campaign.

If the elections are held in these conditions, the political crisis could become inflamed, according to the political analyst Robert Fatton Jr. (Professor of Political Sciences and Associate Dean at the University of Virginia,) quoted the Miami Herald.

"It is impossible for the election of January 24th to be credible, the new president will suffer from a lack of legitimacy and the political crisis could become inflamed in the next months,” he said.

GB Group announces that it has concluded the sale of all of its interests in Distributeurs Nationaux

GB Group was a founding partner of the company when it acquired Royal Dutch Shell’s operations in Haiti in 2003. DINASA operates a retail network of gas stations under the NATIONAL brand and SODIGAZ, an affiliate that distributes liquefied petroleum gas throughout Haiti.

“We first want to express our gratitude to all the employees for their invaluable contribution and professionalism demonstrated over the years and wish them continued success in their careers and personal lives. We have been able to grow DINASA to be one of the most profitable companies in Haiti, and this transaction represents our desire and ability to capture the value of this growth. We are proud that our leadership was particularly critical at several key moments, such as the acquisition and integration of Texaco Haiti in 2009, and maintaining a steady supply and distribution of products after the disastrous earthquake of 2010. We also want to thank all our customers, suppliers and the financial institutions that have supported us throughout the years,” says Gilbert Bigio, GB Group Chairman.

During this time, GB Group has contributed management, industry expertise and international exposure allowing DINASA to become the largest distributor of petroleum products in Haiti.

The Group will continue to build upon its other energy assets in the Caribbean to remain one of the most important players in the region.

The Group also remains one of the largest investors in Haiti and continues to seek opportunities to promote companies that have a measurable social and environmental impact, while providing adequate returns for shareholders.

“Our Board and management teams are delighted to be at this crossroad; our strategy and vision remain brighter than ever and the Group is well positioned to capture future expansion," Mr. Bigio said.

GB Group is a leading, diversified group of industrial and trading companies in the Caribbean, with operations concentrated in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St. Maarten and offices in the United States. Comprised of 21 companies from seven different divisions including agriculture, construction, consumer goods, infrastructure, energy, logistics and trading, GB Group collaborates with more than 4,000 employees and embraces managers from more than 15 countries companywide. GB Group and its operating companies have strategic alliances and/or partnerships with some of the world's top business organizations. The company's current endeavors include the $200 million Lafito Global project, which includes Port Lafito, Haiti's first Panamax port. More information is available at gbgroup.com.

DR. LIONEL CARMANT AND HIS FIGHT AGAINST EPILEPSY IN HAITI

Written by: Jean Numa Goudou

Three times a year this neurologist leaves the comfort of the hospital Saint - Justine in Montreal to help people suffering from epilepsy in Haiti

With 4,000 patients just in Port-au-Prince, nearly 500 in Jacmel in the Southeast, and as many in Mirebalais in the center of the country, Dr. Lionel Carmant has helped more than 5,000 affected by "malkadi " (epilepsy) through good times and bad.

Epilepsy is a disease of the central nervous system, which causes the appearance of repeated convulsions. It demonstrates itself with paroxystic abnormal electric hyperactivity in the brain. It can cause the person to lose consciousness, to have complex hallucinations (visual, hearing, etc.) and/or other sorts of symptoms.

Carmant himself lived through similar episodes when he was 16 following a car accident in Haiti. He remained for a week in a coma. When he awoke, he decided to study medicine, specifically neurology.

Currently, he is a neurologist, and Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics at the CHU (TEACHING HOSPITAL) St. Justine in Montreal. With two other doctors, Solomon Moshé and Alix Elie, Dr. Carmant created the Private Hospital of Epilepsy of Port-au-Prince (CLIDEP).

The first year, the hospital received only 500 patients, only 100 of whom were able to pay. Thanks to the successes of the Port-au-Prince hospital, a private hospital of epilepsy has just opened in Mirebalais in the central (Plateau) in partnership with Partners In Health. Another one is operating in Jacmel at the Hospital Saint Michel thanks to the help of the Canadian Red Cross. Another private clinic project in Petit-Goave is underway with the support of the Foundation Marcel and Jean Coutu. Dr. Carmant dreams of having about ten private hospitals in various region to answer the need of the population.

In Haiti, one child out of 10 suffers from cerebral palsy and is affected by epileptic seizures. Nevertheless one or two neurologists only are available for a ratio of 10 million inhabitants.

The disease affects approximately 1 % of the world population. But in Haiti its prevalence is within 10 % of the population. According to the estimation of Dr. Carmant, nearly a million Haitians are affected by the disease.

"People know what it is,” said Dr. Carmant.  “But due to a lack of means, they go to see herbalists,” said the neurologist.

Faced by the weak purchasing power of the majority of his patients, Dr. Carmant opts for very low consultation costs and uses annual fundraising galas in Montreal to be able to give free medicine to the patients. Those affected by this illness must take their medicine indefinitely in order to assure their well-being.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 27 janvier 2016

Canada: At 120 years, it is not the Guinness Book of Records

A team from Guinness Book of Records is currently in Haiti to verify Cecilia Lawrence's birth information.

Written by: Jean Numa Goudou

2016/01/12 8:48

Cecilia Laurent walks around the family home in Laval.

The family of the Haitian Cecilia Lawrence 120 years, has for six months approached Guinness Book of Records for official recognition as dean of mankind.

Guinness records entered to date on its website, the Japanese Misao Okawa (Aoki born March 5, 1898) as the oldest person in the world 118 years, which bothers some Ronald Chery, the back- grand-son of Mrs. Lawrence is behind the approach.

"For six months I exchange emails with them, says Mr. Chéry the newspaper, I have them already provided all the necessary documents that prove Gran mama is indeed born January 31, 1896".

A team from Guinness Book of rec niords is currently in Haiti to verify Cecilia Lawrence's birth information. These data are collected in an archive extract of his birth certificate as well as in its latest Haitian passport issued in June 2007 by the Haitian authorities.

Cecilia Lawrence lived in Canada since February 2010 following the earthquake that left nearly 300,000 dead. "I was in Port-au-Prince when the 'tranblann' is past, says the Dean accurately, I saw houses collapsing and people dying before my eyes. But I had nothing. "

She was rushed back to Canada thanks to the efforts of Raymonde Folco, former Liberal MP for Laval West constituency and Laval-Les Îles (1997-2011)

Dean still live the same neighborhood for six years with a permanent residence card and anything else the federal government. She has no pension, since Canada has never worked.

Yet she has already met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he was MP for Papineau in Montreal. It has already received a "word health and longevity" by the Premier of Quebec Philippe Couillard.

"At election time, says his great-grand-son, politicians are scrambling to take a picture with her and the phone ringing off the hook."

Elections in Haiti

U.S. Department of State

Press Statement

Mark C. Toner

Deputy Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

January 24, 2016

The United States supports all efforts aimed at finding consensual and constructive solutions that will conclude the electoral process expeditiously with an outcome that reflects the will of the Haitian people, consistent with Haitian law and the Haitian constitution.

Electoral intimidation, destruction of property, and violence are unacceptable, and run counter to Haiti’s democratic principles and laws as well as the values expressed in the Inter American Democratic Charter. The United States, along with the international community in Haiti, urges the Government of Haiti, its institutions, and political actors alike to reject violence and take all steps necessary to pave the way for a peaceful election for a new president and the remaining Parliamentary seats as is constitutionally mandated. As in the past, the United States is taking great interest in how elections in Haiti are unfolding and expects that persons responsible for organizing, financing, or participating in electoral intimidation and violence will be held accountable in accordance with Haitian law.

The United States reaffirms its support for credible, transparent, and secure elections that reflect the will of the Haitian people.

Haiti cancels 24th of January run off

Associated Press - Haiti cancels run off presidential election as violence erupts

Runoff vote postponed indefinitely following widespread unrest and claims from opposition leader that the entire process 

is mired in fraud

Violence continues in the Haitian capital despite the cancellation of Sunday’s election. 

Associated Press

Saturday 23 January 2016 00

Haiti has called off its presidential election just two days before it was due to take place over concerns of escalating violence sparked by the opposition candidate’s refusal to take part in a vote he said was riddled with fraud.

The Provisional Electoral Council decided to postpone the runoff because there is “too much violence throughout the country,” council president Pierre-Louis Opont said at a news conference.

In recent days, a number of election offices across the impoverished nation have been burned and the capital has been rocked by violent opposition protests calling for a halt to the vote.

The council did not set a new date for the vote. It also did not say whether an interim government would take power after 7 Febuary, when president Michel Martelly is required to leave office under the Constitution, or if he would remain until a replacement is elected.

Martelly had been expected to address the issue in a speech to the nation on Friday evening, but he cancelled his address as thousands of protesters erected flaming barricades, smashed car windows and hurled rocks at police in Port-au-Prince. Instead an extraordinary council of ministers was convened to discuss public order and security.

Government opponents have insisted that the first round of presidential balloting on 25 October was marred by massive fraud in favour of the president’s hand-picked successor, businessman Jovenel Moise. The runoff was originally supposed to be held on 27 December, and was then rescheduled for Sunday.

Jude Celestin, also a businessman and the other candidate in the runoff, said he would boycott the vote, though his name remained on the ballot.

Protests have grown increasingly violent in recent days, prompting the council to conclude it was too dangerous to try to hold the vote. Haiti has only a tenuous handle on security even with the assistance of troops and police from a UN peacekeeping force that has been in the country since a 2004 uprising ousted then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Schools that serve as election centres and voting stations in various towns have been attacked and set on fire in recent days, and election materials in a border town were hijacked by gunmen, Opont said.

Recent opposition-stoked protests in Port-au-Prince have ramped up the tension with rock-throwing partisans and burning street barricades.

Thousands of demonstrators cheered in celebration on Friday after hearing the vote would be postponed. Groups of mostly young men then proceeded to Petionville, a hillside district that is home to some of Haiti’s wealthiest citizens, where they smashed windows, set vehicles alight and threw rocks at riot police. Security guards fired into the air.

In the evening, the smoldering remnants of scores of flaming barricades could be seen in downtown Port-au-Prince. Motorists were forced to swerve around burnt tires, shattered glass and piles of rocks, but roadside eateries began to reopen.

There has been growing concern that a flawed runoff might push the perennially volatile country of 10 million people to the edge of tumult, rolling back a decade of relative political stability and putting the brakes on foreign investment.

Elections are always a struggle in Haiti. It saw its first genuinely democratic election in 1990, closely followed by a coup d’etat. While there have been no shortage of opposition boycotts since, this is the first time that a presidential candidate is boycotting a runoff after qualifying for it.

Celestin recently told The Associated Press that Haiti was “moving toward a selection, not an election.” He said the US and other foreign governments that monitor Haiti were complicit for supporting the flawed process.

Haiti’s Senate and various religious, business and civil-society groups had called for a halt to Sunday’s runoff due to public suspicion of fraud and concerns about instability.

Martelly had said the runoff would go on as scheduled and accused the opposition of trying to derail the vote with bogus accusations so a transitional government they would dominate could be set up.

Miami Herald Reporter Jacqueline Charles is OK.

This is a note that she posted on her Facebook page:

Let me start by saying, I am ok. Shaken but not stirred. But today was a reminder, that this place has its dangers and it's not glamorous.

Found myself with no electricity where I was and so I went next door to the hotel to charge my devices and get into our clunky computer system. I sat on the balcony where I always sit.

First I heard them. Then I saw them, running and cheering. Elections had been canceled. Cars honked their horns. And then in a blink of an eye, gunshots and rocks throwing. For a minute, you freeze. Unsure of what you heard is what you heard. Then you realize, bullets and rocks are flying. You duck. I leave the purse and grab the laptop -- like a real journalist. And then, I sat there -- and watch and listen as a guy with a gun fired several rounds off the balcony into the crowd.

Me? I was still on the floor, along with the international elections observers. I wish I could say just another day in Haiti. It wasn't. Felt like I had stepped back in time to 2004.

Like I said, I am ok. Shaken. But not stirred.

Haiti - FLASH USA:

Travel Alert in Haiti

The State Department renewed its travel alert for American citizens who live or travel in Haiti, to take into account the final round of the elections which take place in Haiti. This alert will be in effect until April 7th, 2016.

"The State Department warns American citizens, who live or travel in Haiti, to show caution and to remain informed about the security situation throughout the current electoral period. The Haitian government postponed the date of the runoff, which was planned initially on December 27th, 2015.”

Tensions remain high and we urge American citizens to be cautious and to remain informed of the security situation while the electoral process progresses in being resolved. Particularly troubled times may be the period preceding and immediately following the date of the election; the date when the results are announced, and the installation of a new President, set by the constitution, on February 7th, 2016.

There may be traffic restrictions, imposed by the authorities or caused by spontaneous political gatherings. The Security Office of the Embassy advises that embassy employees, who are not involved in supervising the elections, avoid unnecessary trips away from their homes the day of elections. For that reason and as a general precaution, you should prepare for possible emergencies, and maintain enough food, water, essential medicine and the other supplies to allow you to stay in one place for at least 72 hours.

Watch the local media for changes in the timetable of the elections. The American Embassy can update this travel alert if the timetable or the circumstances change. "

Michel Martelly is politically doomed

Posted by CSMS Magazine on January 23, 2016

CSMS Magazine

Editorial

He never was a button-down technocrat or a straight-jacket politician. He was simply a coon, a modern-day overseer ushered into Haiti’s highest office to send the clearest message to Haitians everywhere: “You’re good to no one, and your country will forever remain a protectorate of the United States.” Five years ago, Mirlande Manigat was shoved aside to install one of the most vulgar individuals Haiti could ever produce—a humiliation many Haitians still find hard to forget.

Adding to Martelly’s repugnant vulgarism was his dull thirst for Duvalierism and his populous right wing trivia—an issue that sent chills to the hearts of millions of Haitians and further amplified their pain and humiliation. He hired Baby Doc’s son as one of his top advisers. He went on a cruise with Jean-Claude Duvalier and the entire old guard to the very heart of Haiti’s independence, to the city of Gonaives. And when the former dictator died, he wanted to offer State Funeral Services.

That’s merely symbolic, however painful this could be to many Haitians. The greatest harm Martelly has ever caused to the Haitian masses was his raw nonchalance towards the disenfranchised, his slavish attitude towards the enemies of Haiti and his total disregard for the public trust. He and his top associates were said to have enriched themselves lavishly, acquiring luxury villas around the world while millions of Haitians go hungry every night. He is more than just an Uncle Tom. He is a traitor for which he must be tried. Now, at the twilight of his regime, Martelly’s political maneuvering is completely used up; and what happened yesterday was the clearest indication that he has been dumped. His Congo Sapeur that he was trying to stick at gun point into the throats of Haitians is now history. In the eyes of the stakeholders, Martelly is too divisive for proxy politics.   

Ironically, Michel Martelly is a victim of his class of origin, for he embodies the quintessential petty bourgeois who sees the State bureaucracy as the “dazzling” key to the Grand Boulevard that leads to the land of the nouveaux riches. Money will never be enough, and the Hell for those who wallow in poverty every day. Shame on them!

Martelly may be vulgar, a brute with a complete lack of intellectual curiosity, but he is no different from those who claim to have mastered la langue de Voltaire and who claim to have trained within the mold of modern industrial societies. His predecessors were no different.

What Haiti needs is a complete break from the past; for rewriting this ugly narrative would require more than just a Messiah of the last hour.  The State bureaucracy must be uprooted, and only an organization built from the premise of justice for all—with a mission to rebuild the infrastructure, to restore the authority of the State while putting forward a patriotic pledge to forever uphold the integrity and the sovereignty of the Western Hemisphere’s first black republic—can make it happen.

NINE HAITIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM A FULLBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

The Office of Public affairs of the Embassy of the United States of America informs that 9 Haitian academics, all of whom hold their Bachelor's degree, were selected among more than 200 candidates who applied for the Fulbright program for academic year 2016-2018.

Their selection was led by a rigorous process during which the candidates had to demonstrate their capacity of the English language through a series of tests, including the TOEFL. (Test of English has a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the TELP (The Test of English Language Proficiency), and the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). The final stage of the process consisted of an interview.

Fulbright is the international educational exchange program financed by the American government, which aims at strengthening the mutual understanding between the American people and other cultures. This program selects academically endowed students from throughout the world and allows them to achieve a master's degree in an American university.

The 9 Haitian Scholarship Winners are:

Beethoven A. Pleasure, who will pursue a Master's degree in Computer Science; Claudlène St. Vil, who will pursue a Master’s degree in Urban Architecture; Yvens Rumbold, who will pursue a Master's degree in communication;  Francois Ronald Vibert, who will pursue a Master's degree in engineering  with concentration in renewable energy; Ricardo St. Aimé, who will pursue a Master's degree in agronomy and vegetable production with a specialization on sustainable agriculture; Samantha Grand Pierre, who will pursue a Master's degree in International trade; Pascal Valbrune, who will pursue a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in International Development and Management; Fritz Alemagne Yzema, who will pursue a Master's degree in Civil engineering; Anne Marie Desormeaux, who will pursue a Master's degree in Public health.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 5 février 2016

Minister Joan Raton denies rumors regarding the Triumph Movie Theater

In a note, Dithny Joan Raton, Minister of Culture, has denied that the Ministry signed a partnership agreement with "Haitian American Association of Filmmakers", or with any other entity regarding the use of the Triumph Movie Theater, as certain rumors are suggesting.

"The Ministry of Culture is aware of the importance of the Triumph Movie Theater for all those who dedicate their talents to this art form and who put a lot into this magnificent collective adventure that is the movies. In this respect, the Ministry reminds the Haitian cultural world, that it is in negotiations with the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH), owner of the building, to establish together a rational and efficient method of managing this space dedicated to the promotion of the Haitian culture under all its forms.”

Sandra Honoré denies that the international Community is trying to Influence the situation in Haiti

Sandra Honoré, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General, denied that the International Community is trying to influence the electoral process in Haiti." I reject this idea that the International Community is trying to influence the electoral process... These negotiations are taking place between the various Haitian political actors. The United Nations does not participate in the negotiations. It reflects the will of the UN Security Council, which indicates that an agreement on an action plan must be defined and managed by Haitians. It is thus about a Haitian and Haitian process to reach a consensus which is acceptable by those who have most at stake as what is better for the Haitian people."

Editorial: CARICOM Must Help Haiti

Haiti is in danger of sliding into a new round of political and constitutional instability without, it seems, its partners in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) seriously exerting themselves to avert, or at least contain, this potentially long-term crisis. It is not in CARICOM's, and certainly not Jamaica's interest that this should happen.

The current problem in Haiti is that President Michel Martelly's five-year term is hurtling to an end, but with no one to replace him when he leaves office on February 7. A new leader has not been elected.

There was, in fact, a first round of the presidential vote last October 25 when Juvenile Moise of Mr Martelly's Tet Kale party, was reported by the electoral authorities to be the leading candidate with just under 33 per cent of the votes. But no candidate got the 50 per cent to avoid a run-off. At the same time, the second-placed candidate, Jude Celestin, and others, claimed widespread fraud in favour of Mr Moise.

A CARICOM election observer mission agreed that there were "too many anomalies" in the voting process. They were, however, unable to conclude whether these were "accidental" or other causes, including poor training of electoral staff. There have been opposition demonstrations, and some violence, in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, and other cities.

The run-off election has been postponed and with Mr Martelly soon to step down, there is a suggestion that an interim government should run the country until his successor is eventually elected. Another proposal is for Mr Martelly to remain in office until May, the date of his ceremonial inauguration, thus keeping his government in place and presiding over the run-off.

CARICOM appears to be little involved in these discussions , seemingly content to leave the role of influencing matters to the so-called Core Group - USA, Canada, Brazil, France, Spain - of countries that emerged to help guide Haiti's return to democracy after the 2004 coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

There is, perhaps, a view that these developments are merely Haiti's political process playing true to form. CARICOM, which ought to be an invested partner, might even claim Haiti-fatigue. That response would be unfortunate.

TWO OBSERVATIONS

We make, in this regard, two observations. First, the development of democracy, in which Haiti has not had much practice, can be a winding tortuous process. Second, the Anglophone Caribbean, the majority of whose citizens share a common ancestry with those of Haiti, owe much, to the Haitians for their psychological liberation.

Further, instability in Haiti, which worsens its already weak economy, won't be contained in that country. It will ultimately affect its neighbours, including their security. In the case of Jamaica, for instance, it could worsen the so-called drug-for-guns trade, in which narcotics from Jamaica are traded for small arms sourced in Haiti. There are also legitimate business interests at stake. Jamaican firms, including the poultry company, Jamaica Broilers, have invested in Haiti.

In 2004, in the lead up to Mr Aristide's ouster, CARICOM, led by Jamaica, asserted itself as a player, with a principled stance against the effort by the triumvirate of United States, Canada and France against the putsch. Jamaica insisted on the maintenance of constitutional processes. CARICOM, unfortunately, has not remained sufficiently invested. It needs to recapture that moment.

After canceling its presidential election, Haiti heads toward chaos

Washington Post – Before he went into politics, Haitian President Michel Martelly was a nationally renowned pop star whose stage antics included mooning his adoring fans. As president, Mr. Martelly, whose five years in office are drawing to a close, has treated his constituents, Haiti’s 10 million citizens, with no more dignity or respect.

Mr. Martelly is largely to blame for having led the country into electoral and political chaos, with no prospect of electing a successor to replace him by Feb. 7, as the Haitian constitution requires. Having governed as a virtual autocrat for much of his term, as a consequence of failing to hold timely elections to replace term-limited local officials and members of parliament, Mr. Martelly was instrumental in creating the conditions for a shambolic first round of presidential elections, in October.

That ballot’s polling-place shenanigans and eyebrow-raising outcome hardly inspired confidence. The first-place finisher, a heretofore obscure agricultural promoter named Jovenel Moise, known as the “Banana Man,” was Mr. Martelly’s hand-picked successor. The only question involved the extent of the fraud — whether it was massive and systemic or merely widespread.

Despite good-faith efforts by international diplomats to salvage a presidential runoff, originally scheduled forDec. 27, the damage was done. After having been postponed to Sunday, the runoff was undone by the toxicity that surrounds Mr. Martelly’s presidency and the distrust engendered by the Provisional Electoral Council. With street violence intensifying and the Banana Man’s chief rival, No. 2 finisher Jude Celestin, having withdrawn from the proceedings, leaving a one-man race, the electoral council announced Friday that the elections were canceled.

What happens next is a mystery. A transitional government might avert a power vacuum and anarchy, but the constitution, which limits Mr. Martelly to a single five-year term, contains no such provision. As throngs of street protesters demand that Mr. Martelly leave office as scheduled, elites from the private sector and civil society, along with U.S. and other diplomats, are trying to broker a solution.

Mr. Martelly is hardly the first terrible leader to afflict Haiti and leave ruination in his wake. Still, he may be chiefly remembered for having squandered more goodwill and opportunity than many of his corrupt, self-serving, pocket-lining predecessors.

He took office just a year after the cataclysmic 2010 earthquake shattered the nation, with billions of dollars of foreign aid pouring in. And he had the advantage of being the only democratically elected Haitian president to take power from a democratically elected predecessor. It’s fair to wonder now when that will next take place.

The United States, whose influence in Haitian politics is considerable, dumped more than $33 million into the presidential elections, to no good effect. Although some Haitians distrust Washington’s intentions, it’s likely that without a stronger U.S. diplomatic role, the country’s pandemonium will only deepen.

Haiti edges toward interim government after election collapse

‹By Frank Jack Daniel

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - President Michel Martelly is determined to leave office on the first day of Haiti's carnival in two weeks even though he has no replacement, the prime minister said on Monday, making it likely an interim government will guide the country to elections.

Haiti was due to choose Martelly's replacement last Sunday, but the two-man race was postponed indefinitely after opposition candidate Jude Celestin refused to participate over alleged fraud that sparked protests and violence.

"It is clear that we won't have elections before the departure of President Michel Martelly scheduled for Feb. 7," Prime Minister Evans Paul said.

The United States' Haiti Special Coordinator Kenneth Merten said Washington wanted to see new elections quickly and opposed a long transitional period, but acknowledged Martelly was unlikely to place the presidential sash on his successor.

"Realistically speaking," Merten told Reuters, "We may be looking at some sort of temporary solution until there is a handover to a new elected president. Our fear is that we go into a situation that is open ended.

"In our analysis that is a dangerous place to go," Merten said.

Opposition parties want Martelly to leave on Feb. 7, as mandated by the constitution, although some in his party would like him to remain in office to oversee the elections until his five-year term ends in May.

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"There are people who are for, and people who are against, but he is determined to leave," said Paul, a former opposition member who joined Martelly's government in 2014.

Martelly, a former pop-star known as Sweet Micky, had a dream to sing on a carnival float on the day he leaves office, Paul told Venezuelan TV station Telesur.

The government and opposition leaders are discussing what kind of interim administration will govern until a new president is elected. One option is that the prime minister take over.

Some in the opposition have called for an unelected transitional government to take Martelly's place for a longer period, harking back to a violent two-year period after a coup in 2004.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, has been unable to build a stable democracy since the overthrow of the 1957-1986 dictatorship of the Duvalier family and ensuing coups and election fraud.

HEALTH: the Zika virus is detected in all 10 Departments in Haiti

During a press conference last Wednesday, Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume, Minister of Public Health, provided an overview of the evolution of the Zika virus in Haiti. According to Dr. Paul Adrien who heads the Epidemiology department of the research laboratory (DELR), 125 cases were detected throughout the country’s 10 departments. The West (35 %) and the North (32 %) have the highest number of cases. However, he also specified that these data do not necessarily reflect the inevitable reality, because generally subjects affected by the fever of Zika do not always go to a health center to be diagnosed and/or treated).

Regarding the risks of transmission of the Zika virus from mother to child during pregnancy with a threat of microcephaly to the fetus, Dr. Adrien indicated that none of the cases that have been brought were pregnant women. He recommended that pregnant women use collective and individual prevention measures, such as sleeping under mosquito nets and using anti-mosquitoes creams to avoid being bitten by an infected mosquito.

In addition to individual protection, the fight against the disease includes the prevention of the proliferation of mosquitoes, that is by the reduction of all the potential sources of larvae breeding grounds established by sitting waters, and eliminating any containers able to retain rainwater such as flowerpots, worn tires, badly maintained roof gutters, etc) and by the application of larvicides when the elimination of these containers is not possible.

On a positive note, the National Laboratory of Public Health (LNSP) is now endowed with necessary technical capacities to confirm the cases of fever of Zika in Haiti. Thus, specimens will no longer be sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to be diagnosed.

The Ministry continues to strengthen its infrastructures in order to definitively bring an end to the presence of this virus on the national territory.

More information about the Zika virus:

The Zika virus is transmitted to people by the sting of an infected mosquito. The clinical syndrome is known under the name of the Zika fever. The infection is symptomatic only in 18 % of the cases, and when it is, the diagnosis can be difficult to reach.  The symptoms can be confused with other diseases, such as those of the dengue or the chikungunya. After an incubation period from 3 to 12 days, the presence of the virus in the blood is generally observed within 2 to 5 days. The Zika fever is spontaneously resolved, the symptoms lasting from 4 to 7 days. There is antiviral medicine against the Zika virus and the treatment rests solely on managing the symptoms.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 12 février 2016

 Provisional government to be installed while Martelly leaves office

Associated Press

Saturday 6 February 2016 

Top Haitian leaders have reached an agreement to install a provisional government less than a day before the President, Michel Martelly, is scheduled to step down, an official with the Organization of American States (OAS) told the Associated Press.

Special mission leader Ronald Sanders said the interim president will be elected by parliament for a term of 120 days. He said the prime minister, Evans Paul, will remain in his position until lawmakers confirm a replacement in upcoming days.

The interim government will continue an electoral process that began last year. It will hold a second round of presidential and legislative elections on April 24. A new president is scheduled to be installed on May 14 and will rule Haiti for the next five years.

“The country now has an opportunity for a fresh start,” Sanders said, adding that parliament would invite nominations for an interim president soon.

The deal, if it holds, will prevent an institutional vacuum when Martelly leaves office on Sunday, and creates a roadmap for an elected leader to replace him in a few months. But there appeared to be no break in opposition protests in the capital on Saturday and recent violence suggests discord is likely to continue.

Sanders said the deal was signed overnight following “very animated” negotiations on Friday between Martelly, the two leaders of Haiti’s bicameral legislature, and numerous lawmakers. Sanders, an Antiguan diplomat, is mission leader and chairman of the 35-nation OAS’ permanent council.

A senior member of Haiti’s ruling party, who was not authorized to talk to the media, told the Associated Press that lawmakers will meet on Sunday to start the process to elect an interim president.

The OAS mission had been observing negotiations to resolve a standoff over a disputed round of voting in August and October that led officials to suspend a runoff election that had been scheduled for 24 January.

Opposition leaders have repeatedly said Martelly could not be part of the process, but Sanders, who stressed he was a witness and not a participant in the talks, said the deal was reached by elected officials who have the authority to do so.

“I don’t think that anybody could say that it was a cooked-up agreement because it was done by people who didn’t have the right or the authority to do it,” Sanders said. “Indeed, there are no other two sets of entities in this country that could have signed a legitimate agreement.”

When asked if a commission would be set up to verify results of the contested 25 October vote, Sanders said: “I would not discount the idea that there would be some form of verification.”

Haiti’s provisional electoral council [which no longer exists and a new one, preferably an independent one, will have to be created by the new president] has repeatedly rejected opposition demands for an independent review of the election results, fuelling suspicions of vote-rigging.

OAS officials have held more than 25 meetings since they arrived last Sunday, but never met with Jude Célestin, a candidate who had been boycotting the presidential runoff, despite numerous invitations to him.

The OAS, however, did meet with other members of the opposition alliance, which includes Célestin.

That alliance has been critical of the OAS mission, saying it would interfere in efforts to resolve the political crisis. The group had been seeking a transitional government led by a Supreme Court leader to ensure a commission verifies the disputed election results. Célestin was boycotting despite official returns that showed him coming in second and winning a spot in the runoff against Martelly’s preferred successor, Jovenel Moïse.

Shortly after the deal was reached, an anti-government protest broke out in downtown Port-au-Prince, and a radio station reported that more than a dozen men in the green uniforms of Haiti’s disbanded military [originally disbanded years ago under President Aristide but recently reinstated by President Martelly] burned down a police station on a road leading to the coastal town of Arcahaie, north of the capital. The station said they also robbed a small bank, burned cars and fired guns into the air [without any interference whatsoever by the national police]. Calls to officials to ask about the reports went unanswered.

It was not clear if the incidents were related to the new agreement. AP

Inauguration of the new Ministry of the Interior

Last Thursday President Michel Martelly, went to the Champ de Mars for the inauguration of a building that will house the Ministry of the Interior, and other government offices.

Among the officials present were: Lener Renauld, Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs and Ardouin Zephirin, Minister of the Interior, members of the diplomatic corps, as well as VIPs form the private sector.

This construction is situated at the corner of Paul VI and Lord Guilloux Streets, formerly the location of the General Tax Office (DGI), which was destroyed during the earthquake of 2010. It is part of the Administrative City project.

"This new realization shows once more the efforts achieved by my administration for the reconstruction of the country," declared President Martelly, satisfied to have laid the foundations for the reconstruction of the City Center still called "the Administrative Center."

This 5-story building was financed by the Treasury and PetroCaribe funds. It will  includes offices, meeting rooms, an infirmary, a cafeteria, a parking area with a capacity of 120 vehicles, and an underground parking lot for about thirty vehicles. The building will also include three elevators and two fire escapes. "All measures were taken to make sure that the construction of this building met modern standards," reassured the Engineer Clément Bélizaire, Executive director of the UCLBP.

US MARINES OFF SHORE – READY TO INTERVENE AT THE FIRST SUGGESTION OF VIOLENCE

Secretary of State John Kerry deployed Ambassador Kenneth Merten to Haiti last night, for a meeting with outgoing President Martelly – to ensure his safe departure is guaranteed on Sunday, Feb 7th. As a precautionary measure, SOUTHCOM has ordered the mobilization of a Strategic Amphibious Platoon, of the United States Marine Corp, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A unit of this type is made up of 300 officers and men.

This is a precautionary measure in case of civil unrest in Haiti, where over 25,000 United States Citizens reside. SOUTHCOM is planning this contingency to protect American lives against any violent acts.

Troops can be launched off a Tarawa Class assault vessel, probably holding off the coast of Haiti, at this time.

Haiti leader departs as he came: amid uncertainty, disorder

 By DAVID McFADDEN

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Michel Martelly came to office promising a stronger Haiti following a messy election that provoked widespread skepticism. He left power this Sunday at the close of his five-year term with few accomplishments and a legacy clouded by a new political crisis.

The singer-turned-politician had urged Haitians to set aside deep divisions at his May 2011 inauguration. But his hostile relations with Parliament resulted in gridlock.

Many Haitians say Martelly squandered a golden opportunity to turn impoverished Haiti around as international aid poured into the country following a devastating 2010 earthquake that flattened much of the capital and surrounding areas. The disaster killed an estimated 300,000 people.

"He said he'd help the population and I hoped it was true. But here we are still struggling, same as ever," said fruit vendor Nadine Suzie, selling oranges on a street corner by piles of smoldering garbage. Haiti has long been one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world.

Some who worked with him closely see Martelly as a charismatic but flawed leader who doomed his presidency by surrounding himself with an entourage of unsavory cronies, including a number from his previous career as "Sweet Micky," the self-proclaimed "bad boy" of Haitian pop music.

"It hurts me to say this because I still like him as a person, but the Martelly years were a big zero. There were people around him who were very corrupt and money had a way of disappearing," said Georges Sassine, a prominent industrialist who was tasked with overseeing the country's industrial parks until he was abruptly replaced in 2013.

Martelly's former prime minister, Laurent Lamothe, who was forced to resign under pressure in late 2014 after some 2 ½ years in office, is distancing himself from the president during his shambolic last days. He asserts Haiti made clear gains during their partnership but political feuding over the last year has rolled them back.

Lamothe told The Associated Press that the endless infighting between the president and Parliament "brought Haiti back to its old days of gridlock and self-serving policies that collapsed the economy and destroyed any progress that was achieved."

The dysfunction deepened last year when the mandates of the entire lower house and a third of the Senate expired in the absence of elections, leaving Martelly to rule by decree.

Martelly came to office after winning an election process marred by allegations of fraud, and only international pressure got him in the runoff. He leaves on Sunday, less than a day after he and Haitian lawmakers reached an agreement to form a short-term provisional government under an interim president who will serve until a newly elected leader can take power May 14.

Violent opposition protests and deep suspicions of electoral fraud favoring his chosen candidate, Jovenel Moise, derailed a scheduled runoff last month.

Martelly, through a party official, declined to be interviewed for this article. But at a Saturday ceremony with legislative leaders, the president somberly said: "Even though I didn't accomplish everything I hoped to get done for Haiti, we did our best."

While he's unpopular with some of those in the political class and many struggling to raise families, the forceful, self-confident leader still has many admirers among the young.

"This is the first government in my lifetime that's worked to build up basic infrastructure," said 25-year-old student Pierre Richardson Olson in Haiti's crowded capital. "That's worth something, isn't it?"

Martelly's most ardent supporters insist he's been Haiti's best leader, while hardline critics often characterize him as a dictator who enriched himself illegally. His legacy is more complicated than either of those extremes.

Kenneth Merten, the U.S. State Department's special coordinator for Haiti, said it's easy to lose sight of accomplishments made during the Martelly years amid the current disorder.

"I think we would have all hoped to see that more was accomplished. But I think it's important for people who don't really know Haiti to understand that there has been progress made," said Merten, attributing gains in large part to partnerships with the U.S. and other foreign powers that supported the pro-business president.

Haiti has more paved roads, more children in school, a stronger police force and less extreme poverty. The World Bank said that the local economy had its best performance in decades, with a real growth rate averaging 3.3 percent yearly from 2011 to 2014. Parts of the capital have seen new construction, including major hotel chains, and the number of people in dismal tent camps has dropped from 1.5 million after the quake to about 60,000 now.

But these gains, spurred by international aid, are fragile. Haiti's chronic problems of widespread poverty, lack of opportunity and exclusion remain entrenched.

Martelly's government relied so heavily on Venezuela's Petrocaribe trade initiative, which provided subsidized oil to allied nations, that Haiti's debt to Caracas is nearly $2 billion. His government used savings from the program to fund building and social programs.

One of Martelly's final acts in office was releasing a Carnival song under his stage name, aiming sexually suggestive lyrics at a respected female journalist amid the political crisis. Some former insiders see this as a sign that he was never all that serious about improving Haiti.

"I think he saw power as an excuse to party," said Chantal Elie, a foreign affairs adviser to Martelly who quit after a year because she was fed up with various tensions, including, allegedly, frequent sexist comments by the president and officials close to him.

VICKY JEUDY WINS A SAG AWARD IN LOS ANGELES

The Haitian-American actress Vicky Jeudy took home her second SAG Award for her performance on the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black" last weekend at the 22^nd Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. During her red carpet entrance, while posing with the actor Léonardo Dicaprio, the star accidentally let her right breast show, a moment which photographers did not miss to immortalize.

Rodney Joseph, best "Chief Petty Officer" of the USA

Chief Rodne Joseph, a native of Gonaïves, has served in U.S.  Navy for 17 years.

As "Division Leading Chief Petty Officer" he manages 30 sailors at 5 recruiting stations, bringing to the U.S. Navy candidates of the highest quality.

Joseph was chosen as "Navy Recruiting Command Division Leading Chief Petty Officer" of the year. He received this honor in a national competition, making him the best "Division Leading Chief Petty Officer" in the country.

"I cannot take all the credit for this honor," declared Joseph. "I owe it to a phenomenal team of recruiters, and it was a privilege to guide them towards their full potential."

Note that "Navy Recruiting Command" consists of 26 recuitment districts divided into Divisions.