“The Venezuelan cooperation is now number one,” said President Michel Martelly shortly before boarding his plane to Caracas, land of Hugo Chavez. “It gives most grants and aids to Haiti,” added the president at Toussaint Louverture airport’s diplomatic room ahead of his first official trip to Venezuela as a member of the Community of Latin […]
Haitians began 2011 with heavy hearts as they approached the first anniversary of the Jan. 12 earthquake that crippled their homeland and crushed 316,000 lives. Haitian leaders watched a steady stream of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) invade the country, carrying a $1-billion purse collected on behalf of the victims. Meanwhile the population remained on edge, following […]
“Haiti is a country that supported the fight for freedom in Latin America, a country that terrified slave owners across America and is now subjugated to foreign occupation that has nothing to do with humanitarian purposes, as proposed,” said Julio Turra, president of Unified Confederation of Workers (CUT French acronym). “It’s embarrassing,” added Turra during […]
President Michel Martelly took his first official trip to Cuba on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011, a diplomatic mission he hoped would strengthen bilateral relations and traditional cooperation between Haiti and Cuba while identifying new avenues of cooperation. “That does not make sense,” said Martelly, talking about U.S.’s embargo against Cuba. “Haiti pleaded the cause of […]
Facing his first major judicial-political crisis sparked on Thursday Oct. 27 following the unconstitutional arrest and overnight detention of Deputy Arnel Belizaire, Prime Minister Garry Conille created a three-member commission to help uncover the incident’s hierarchical authors and diffuse escalating tensions. The “Belizaire Affair,” as it is now known, directed the national dialogue for more […]
Accompanied by wife Rosalynn, US Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten and Haiti’s Public Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaune, Former US President Jimmy Carter launched National Initiative to Eliminate Filariasis on Sunday Nov. 7, 2011, a massive $1.5 million medication distribution campaign to help eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis in Haiti. Also known as elephantiasis, lymphatic Filariasis infected […]
The apprehension and brief detention of a sitting legislator last Thursday was a prelude to looming political paralysis that also served as a catalyst for change, engaging citizens in substantive debates about institutional corruption decaying Haiti’s political and judicial systems. The national consciousness came to life after government Commissioner Felix Leger ordered the national police […]
Confusion, fear and indignation spread through all extremities of the Haitian population, including the legislative body, following the controversial detainment of Deputy Arnel Belizaire in spite of his parliamentary immunity and constitutional protection. “We are dealing with a dictatorship,” revolted Sorel Jacinthe, president of the House of Deputies. “The Constitution and the law no longer […]
“It shows that the OAS cannot be relied upon as a neutral, independent arbiter of electoral disputes, because of the control of its administration by the United States government and its allies,” read a report recently published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). The Organization of American States in Haiti, a study […]
After ensuring each Minister in his novice administration took the oath of office, President Michel Martelly launched a new initiative aimed at restructuring the country’s political infrastructure, as a roaring opposition still in its infancy mobilized to reclaim power. Using the century-old daily newspaper Le Nouvelliste, the emerging opposition enumerated three areas of concern that […]
“Today, I take over the reins of a government of renewal and a Haitian rebirth,” trumpeted new Prime Minister Garry Conille as lawmakers crowned him head of government. “By allowing me access to the highest office of the State,” affirmed president Michel Martelly, “The Haitian people have invested their trust in me as the bearer […]
“It is necessary to restore order in the administration of Haiti,” declared Monseigneur Guire Poulard, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, during a meeting with officials of international volunteer groups. “If the country was well organized,” he added, “in 10 years it would be rebuilt.” In its article, Mgr. Guire Poulard wants more Order in the Government, […]
Relationships between President Michel Martelly and the Haitian press took another nosedive on October 3, 2011 as the president launched his free education program for disadvantaged children at the National School of Tabarre, located 10 miles north of Port-au-Prince. “Don’t do that,” Martelly told Germain Etienne, a young reporter of Radio Scoop FM. “If you […]
“We have nothing against Mr. Conille, but we must respect the Constitution,” argued Senator Jean Hector Anacacis disputing the constitutionality of his candidacy. “He did not have his identification card, he has not voted, has not paid his taxes and is only someone seizing the moment to access the post of prime minister, overlooking conditions […]
The hurly-burly of two dozen supporters of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier shouting obscenities and paralyzing an Amnesty International press conference rattled the civil community, rights and advocacy groups. “It was a chilling reminder of the intimidation tactics the 1957 regime used against opinionated citizens,” wrote the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH) in a […]