Assembly of Caribbean People Issues Important Open Letter on Haiti

An Open Letter to the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was issued by the Assembly of Caribbean People on September 5 regarding the situation in Haiti. It clearly addresses the dangers of members of the so-called Core Group on Haiti, the U.S., Canada and France sending a Kenyan police force, 1,000 or more strong, to intervene as their proxy in Haiti. The Kenyan police forces were trained by the British during colonial rule in Kenya to violently suppress their own people in rebellion against colonial and neo-colonial rule. They are known for their brutality. For the Core Group to recruit the Kenyan police and get the acquiescence of Jamaica and The Bahamas bodes badly for the people of Haiti and does not bode at all well for the people of the entire Caribbean. It brings more shame on Canada whose role in Haiti has been despicable since it joined the U.S. and France to carry out a coup d'état in 2004 and maintain puppet forces in place ever since.

The situation calls on Canadians to loudly protest what Canada is up to against Haiti. Canada's role in facilitating a U.S. proxy war in Haiti will further foment the violence of the political and criminal gangs which are making the lives of the Haitian people a living hell since it along with the U.S. and France staged the coup d'etat against the elected president Jean-Bertrand Artistide. The Core Group has enforced the corrupt puppet regimes one after another since then while the people live in enforced squalor. The Haitian people have the longest tradition of fighting for their rights of any country ever since they overthrew the brutal French slave regime in 1804. Since then, France, U.S. and now Canada are taking revenge to control the strategically located island, rich in coveted resources, which they have turned into a sweatshop.

The Open Letter issued by the Assembly of Caribbean People to CARICOM was sent on the eve of a special meeting of Heads of State to be held virtually and convened by the current Chair of CARICOM, the Hon. Roosevelt Skeritt, Prime Minister of Dominica. It reads:

"We are once again constrained to communicate with you about the situation in Haiti and to express our grave concern about the position that CARICOM may be contemplating with respect to its intervention." It continues:

"We are deeply disturbed by the positions taken by two CARICOM member states, Jamaica and The Bahamas -- to support a military intervention in the form of 1,000 police officers from Kenya. These two member states took this position before the report and recommendations of the Eminent Persons Team and in the absence of a CARICOM decision. This is unacceptable as it shows total disrespect for the Eminent Persons, one of whom is a former Prime Minister of Jamaica and another is a former Prime Minister of The Bahamas! Furthermore, the position of Jamaica and The Bahamas in the absence of a collective position by CARICOM demonstrates yet again that some governments are prepared to jump to the tune of countries and forces external to CARICOM.

"There must be no foreign military or quasi-military intervention in Haiti. This includes the 1,000 or whatever number of police officers from Kenya. We believe that, especially given Haiti's long and very painful experience of foreign military intervention, any such intervention will not only be unsuccessful but may well exacerbate the crisis -- political and violence/gangs. It is clear to us that Kenya is being promoted as a proxy since the countries of the Core Group, the U.S., Canada and France, recognize that the resentment within Haiti to their military intervention would be immense. CARICOM should not be also seen as a proxy for the Core Group which is largely responsible for Haiti's crisis."

Regarding the Ariel Henry regime, the letter points out: "It was the decision of the Core Group that resulted in Henry becoming Prime Minister as there was and still is -- no Parliament." The letter continues: "Ariel Henry is not and cannot be a part of the solution to Haiti's crisis. The presence of Ariel Henry in any transitional government or the establishment by him of a transitional government will be a major obstacle to the process of reining in the gangs and to facilitating free and fair elections. Ariel Henry lacks legitimacy and whatever legitimacy that he may have had is evaporating given his inability to address any of the people's problems. Many believe that Henry is closely aligned to the gangs and therefore is a contributor to the violence and the criminal acts by the gangs." [...]

"Henry and any successor to him established through an electoral process that is neither free nor fair will simply enable the elites to maintain their hold on power -- much to the satisfaction of the Core Group. CARICOM should therefore take a bold and even unprecedented position and call on Henry to step aside in the interests of peace and the Haitian people. [...]

"To begin the road towards good governance, there needs to be a transitional government as proposed by many civic organizations in Haiti that would be comprised of a cross-section of bona fide civic society organizations, or their nominees should be mandated to appoint the Electoral Commission constituted in accordance with the country's Constitution and establish the process for free and fair elections to the Parliament and for the Presidency. The transitional government will have the legitimacy to obtain the support and assistance of CARICOM with respect to institutional re-building and/or strengthening, initially to enable the elections and in other areas as requested."

According to the Assembly of Caribbean People, "[T]here is a strong view within Haiti that the HNP (Haiti National Police) can tackle the gangs and bring the Violence under control. That they haven't been able to do so is due to the political support for the gangs. Remove that and the HNP will be in a stronger position. The HNP, however, needs material support -- drones, vehicles, and other intelligence and security materiel. Some additional training may also be needed. This is where CARICOM and other countries can assist. The HNP with the support of a proper transitional government and the Haitian people themselves can tackle the gangs. There is already evidence of where collaboration between the HNP and the community has been successful in counteracting the gangs. This has been sporadic, however with the right conditions can be a model that works."

The letter concludes: "CARICOM has taken strong and principled positions on Haiti in the past such as its firm opposition to the coups d'état of 1991 and 2004. Those positions contributed to the democratic struggles by the Haitian people. This is yet another key moment in the history of Haiti. Once again CARICOM has to take the ethical and moral high ground. We look forward to your decisions arising from your meeting."

(With files from Caribbean Organization for People's Empowerment)

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This article was published in

Number 56 - October 2, 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10563.HTM

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