Friday, March 29, 2024

Caricom leaders to meet following assassination of Haiti’s President Moise

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St John’s – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will meet later on Wednesday following the assassination of Haiti’s President, Jovenel Moise, CARICOM chairman Gaston Browne has said.

Browne, the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that he was in shock at the developments, adding “that’s very very, unfortunate”.

“I am shocked to hear about the assassination of President Moise and I pray the full recovery of his wife, who is reported to be hospialised with bullet wound,” said Browne, adding “the savageous act, is a very unfortunate development coming at a time of great instability to Haiti”.

“I hope the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet, will be able to hold things together to prevent further chaos and confusion,” Browne told CMC.

“I will be convening a meeting of heads later today to discuss this latest development,” said Browne, who up until Tuesday night had chaired the annual summit of regional leaders where at which the situation in the French-speaking CARICOM country had been discussed.

Browne had told reporters following the summit that the leaders had agreed to issue a statement on the ongoing political and economic crisis in Haiti, after receiving a report on the situation in that country from the Expert Group which had been established by CARICOM leaders in February 2021.

Haitia’s outgoing Prime Minister Claude Joseph confirmed the assassination.

Joseph has called on the population for calm and indicated that the police and the army would maintain order.

“It is with great sadness that we confirm the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, during an attack on his residence by mercenaries. The First Lady, injured, receives the necessary care. Our hearts go out to the presidential family and to the whole nation.”

The Trinidad and Tobago government said it was “shocked at the tragic developments in Haiti with the assassination of the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse earlier this morning”.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family of President Moïse and to the Government and People of Haiti, our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on this most distressing occurrence.

“Trinidad and Tobago pledges to work together with our CARICOM colleagues and other hemispheric and international partners to support Haiti at this very difficult time,” the Dr Keith Rowley administration added.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that he met and spoke with Moise on several occasions and “in all my interactions with him, particularly within CARICOM, I found him to be a man committed to seeing Haiti take her place in the world”.

“This heinous act is a stain on Haiti and a sorrowful time for the region. May God be a special covering over his family and over the people of Haiti during this dark time in the nation’s history,” Holness added.

Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, speaking on the state-owned DBS Radio, said Haiti has been embroiled in “some security and political challenges for a long time, but most specifically over the last year or so with the postponement of elections and people demanding elections.

“CARICOM has sought to intervene in the matter and of course we just concluded our heads of government meeting yesterday and we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Haitian situation.”

Skerrit said that the regional leaders had spoken to the authorities in Haiti “but it is rather unfortunate that it has descended into the assassination of President Moise”.

“The situation in Haiti is very unstable. Obviously, I am sure CARICOM will call a meeting sometime today to discuss the situation with other partners and to see how can we help to bring some level of order and process in Haiti at this time”.

Skerrit said prior to the CARICOM summit, the regional leaders had been in touch with Moise as well as the authorities “seeking to settle a time table for elections and to bring the country back as much as possible to some level of order and normalcy”.

“I believe all the efforts of the international community may have failed in setting a clear roadmap for elections. It is really unfortunate the assassination of the President [and] so we can only hope and pray for some order. Like I said, it is a very very difficult situation and the political issues are compounded with the coronavirus (COVID-19) challenge which is unabated there,” Skerrit added.

Haiti is facing a constitutional crisis with many Haitians saying they had no longer recognised Moïse because they believed his term expired on February 7 under the current constitution.

Late last month, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced plans to stage the constitutional referendum as well as the legislative elections for the Senate and Deputy on Sunday, September 26.

Haiti had earlier announced the postponement of the constitutional referendum that was originally scheduled for June 27.

The referendum has been criticised by the opposition parties that claimed it had been unilaterally proposed by Moïse, with the head of state indicating that the referendum was necessary as the government moves to reform the constitution.

Earlier this week. Moise had appointed his seventh prime minister since coming to office in 2017. (CMC)

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