In the urban expanse of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian Premier, Ariel Henry, implored for tranquility during an early Thursday public discourse, following a tumultuous three-day surge of protests that have rendered the nation inert, clamoring for his resignation. The succinct oration did little to assuage the multitude, incensed and disheartened by persistent gang strife, escalating destitution, and the conspicuous absence of general elections on the horizon.
“I deem it opportune for all of us to amalgamate our intellects to salvage Haiti, to pursue an alternative course in our homeland,” Henry asserted, abstaining from explicit details. He beseeched the populace not to view the government or Haiti’s National Police as adversaries. Those opting for violence, devastation, and the usurpation of power through bloodshed “are not aligning with the interests of the Haitian populace,” he asserted.
His remarks unfold amidst the daily congregation of thousands of Haitians throughout the week in cities and towns, vociferously demanding Henry’s ousting, vowing to persist in protest until his departure. The Haitian legislature presently lies dormant, bereft of occupants since the expiry of the mandates of its last ten senators in January 2023. The scheduled elections for 2019 and 2023 floundered, leading to Henry’s assumption of power with international backing subsequent to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
On the preceding day, law enforcement fatally engaged five armed agents of environmental protection in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in an episode stirring concerns about exacerbating Haiti’s predicament. Lionel Lazarre, the leader of the police union Synapoha, disclosed to The Associated Press that the confrontation unfolded in the Laboule community between police and agents affiliated with Haiti’s Security Brigade for Protected Areas. Lazarre contended that the environmental agents initiated gunfire in response to police directives to relinquish their arms, provoking retaliatory gunfire from the officers.
The environmental sector has recently become the focus of scrutiny following clashes between its agents and the police in northern Haiti. Henry asserted that the Haitian populace yearns for serenity, security, employment, and unrestricted mobility across the nation. “The Haitian people aspire to send their progeny to educational institutions without trepidation, as it guarantees them a future,” he affirmed.
Henry reiterated his commitment to organize general elections promptly once the insecurity issues in Haiti are rectified, expressing his readiness to collaborate with those aspiring to propel the country forward, “to collectively formulate decisions that will extricate us from the crisis.” He commended the police for their endeavors in combating criminal factions and vowed to persist in advocating for the expeditious deployment of a U.N.-endorsed contingent of Kenyan police, presently hindered by a judicial injunction.
“I wish to reassure everyone that the government will exert every effort for the mission to materialize with expeditiousness,” he declared. Henry extended condolences to those who lost their lives in the tumultuous protests, assuring, “I guarantee the Haitian people will attain tranquility and advancement with affluence,” without delineating specifics. “Unified, hand in hand, we shall alter our fate.”
Haitians articulated their desire for Henry’s resignation by February 7, a symbolic date when Haitian leaders traditionally assume office. This date also carries profound historical significance in Haiti: in 1986, former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier sought asylum in France, and in 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s inaugural democratically elected president, was inaugurated.