Port-au-Prince –Haiti remains in a state of political uncertainty as the planned ceremony to swear in the president of the Senate, Joseph Lambert, as the new head of state to replace the assassinated Jovenel Moise, had been postponed indefinitely.
The ceremony was due to have taken place on Saturday, but some senators asked to reschedule the event. However, no specific date was agreed for the presidential takeover.
Lambert was chosen by eight of the ten active Senators in the country to serve as interim president, despite not finding favour with the current government led by Claude Joseph, whom President Moise had sought to replace with Ariel Henry, the seventh person to be in the position since 2017. All three men are now saying they should be allowed to run the country until elections are held in September.
The Senate remains the only elected body in the country, but it is lacking of quorum since January 2020, when Moise dissolved the legislative.
As the investigation continues into Moise’s assassination by armed “foreign mercenaries” last Wednesday, a Florida-based doctor was arrested on Sunday.
Haiti’s national police chief, Léon Charles, said that Christian Emmanuel Sanon is the third United States-based individual tied to the killing that also left Moise’s wife, Martine, hospitalised in the United States as a result of the injuries received during the brazen attack.
Charles, told reporters that Sanon was a central figure behind the assassination and that the doctor had even planned to take over as Haiti’s new president.
Media reports said that Sanon had arrived in Haiti last month in a private plane where he contacted a private security firm to recruit people to carry out the killing, police said.
Haitian police claim that during a raid of Sanon’s home they recovered a US Drug Enforcement Agency cap, a box of cartridges, two vehicles, six pistol holsters, about 20 boxes of bullets, 24 unused shooting targets and four license plates from the Dominican Republic.
Two Haitian-Americans were arrested by local police last week who have since claimed that they were not in the room when the assassination took place and they were merely working as translators for the assassins.
Meanwhile, the Episcopal Conference of Haiti has joined in the condemnation of the assassination of Moise describing it as “inadmissible and revolting murder”.
“This sad event marks a regrettable turning point in our history as a people, unfortunately dictated by the deliberate choice of violence made for some time by many sectors of the population as a method of survival and settlement of disputes.
“Violence can only breed violence and lead to hatred. It will never help our country to get out of this political impasse which can only be resolved through dialogue, consensus, the spirit of compromise, for the best interests of the Nation, for the common good of the country,” the Bishops said.
They added that it was inviting all Haitians “to go beyond their personal pride and their group interests to seek together, around a table, the Haitian solution long awaited by the population, dictated by love of Haiti and our values as a people”.
“Lay down the weapons. Opt for life! Finally, choose fraternal living together in the interest of all and in the interest of Haiti.”
Pope Francis has also condemned the killing expressing his “sadness and condemns all forms of violence as a means of resolving crises and conflicts”.
“He wishes for the dear Haitian people a future of fraternal harmony, solidarity and prosperity,” said the Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, on behalf of Pope Francis, who is convalescing after surgery.
Several former prime ministers have also spoken out against the assassination.
Former prime minister Joseph Jouthe said he is “morally devastated” that “this barbaric, odious and inhuman crime orchestrated by enemies of the nation and fervent supporters of chaos, is the worst punishment that bloodthirsty retrogrades can inflict on our country”.
His former colleague, Jean-Henry Céant “vehemently condemn this heinous act” while Evans Paul said the “villainous assassination of . . . Moïse . . . constitutes a real national tragedy”. (CMC)
