[ad_1]
As violence and looting plague the country, unelected candidate Ariel Henry has agreed to calls to resign.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has announced his resignation and called for peace as the country descends into turmoil.
The 74-year-old announced he would step down late Monday after an emergency meeting of regional countries. Violence has escalated in Haiti in recent weeks, with armed groups taking control and demanding Henry’s departure.
Henry, who has led Haiti unelected since the last president’s assassination in 2021, spoke in a video address after a meeting in Jamaica where Caribbean nations called for a swift transition of power.
“The government I lead will resign immediately after the constitution is enacted.” [a transition] Council,” Henry said. “I call on all Haitians to remain calm and do everything possible to restore peace and stability as soon as possible.”
The former Haitian leader is currently stranded in the US territory of Puerto Rico, prevented from returning home due to gang threats. A senior U.S. official said security in Haiti needed to improve for him to feel safe returning home, but that he was free to remain in the country or travel to other countries.
A coalition of gangsters led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Sheridier began rampaging after Henry left the country in late February, threatening a Kenyan-led foreign police intervention that the Kenyan government had said needed elections to restore order. tried to rally support. It might be possible to hold it.
They had warned of civil war and genocide if Henry, who became prime minister after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, did not step down.
Meanwhile, Haiti is in turmoil due to widespread violence, the looting of basic infrastructure and fears of starvation.
Regional leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held an emergency summit to discuss a framework for a political transition, but the United States has called for the transition to be “fast-tracked” as repeated postponements and armed groups create chaos. I was asked to do so.
Henry, who is considered corrupt by many in Haiti, did not attend the closed-door summit. A spokeswoman for Mr. Henry’s office did not return calls seeking comment, according to the Associated Press.
The prime minister was scheduled to resign in February. He has been effectively barred from the country since the unrest escalated, and landed in Puerto Rico last week after being refused entry to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s president and current chairman of CARICOM, said the emergency talks aimed to bring “stability and normalcy” to Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended the summit and pledged an additional $100 million to the United Nations Assistance Force to stabilize the country, as well as $30 million in humanitarian assistance.
Blinken said the meeting was “extremely important” for Haiti and the region.
The US State Department said in a statement that the US supported “a proposal developed in collaboration with CARICOM and Haitian stakeholders to facilitate political transition through the establishment of a broad-based, independent presidential university.”
The body consists of two observers and seven voting members, including a number of coalition, private sector and civil society representatives and one religious leader.
Blinken said he would be tasked with responding to the “immediate needs” of the Haitian people, enabling the deployment of security missions and creating the necessary security conditions for free elections.
A U.S. official in Puerto Rico said Mr. Henry confirmed his resignation in a telephone conversation with Mr. Blinken.
[ad_2]
Source link
