Haiti Leader Calls for Calm as Protesters Ask Him to Quit
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry has taken to the airwaves to urge Haitians to unite to “save” the country.
Mr. Henry gave the national address as violent protests calling for his ouster mounted.
Tensions had been rising in Haiti in the days leading up to 7 February, the day that new Presidents are traditionally sworn into office.
Haiti has not had a President since Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by Colombian mercenaries in July 2021.
Mr. Henry had been chosen by Mr. Moïse as his Prime Minister just 24 hours before the former President was gunned down.
In December 2022, he signed a deal with representatives of political parties and civil society organizations in which he agreed to hold elections in 2023 to have a new government ready to be sworn in on 7 February 2024.
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But 2023 came and went without elections being held, and with Mr. Henry arguing that worsening levels of gang violence made it impossible to ensure a free and fair election.
The repeated failure to hold not just presidential but also legislative elections means Haiti has not had a single elected government official since the term of the last elected senators expired in January 2023.
Anger about the political vacuum, as well as at shocking levels of violence, which according to United Nations figures have internally displaced almost 314,000 people, have fuelled protests.
The country is being held hostage by gangs. We can’t eat. We can’t send our children to school, one demonstrator told AFP news agency.
Another protester told AFP that this Wednesday is D-Day. It’s the day when Ariel Henry must leave office.
The already tense situation has been exacerbated by the return of Guy Philippe, a former police chief who played a key part in the ouster of former President Bertrand Aristide 20 years ago.
Philippe was repatriated to Haiti in November from the United States, where he had served a prison sentence after admitting taking bribes to protect narcotics shipments.
