By Rezo Nodwes, March 23, 2024
The farce of Haitian governance: Who represents Haiti at the OAS? Who is the Minister of the Interior? And where is the head of Public Security?
While the nations of the world generally look to their governments for leadership, stability, and action, Haiti navigates in troubled waters, where the absurd rubs shoulders with political reality. One question remains: Who represents Haiti at the OAS? Who is the Minister of the Interior? And who is in charge of public security on the ground?
The writer Graham Greene already foresaw this decadence in his work, but today, reality has surpassed fiction. Never before has a country been run by governmental phantoms - figures who occupy positions without ever actually being there. In a shocking reversal of roles, key players in Haitian governance have chosen to desert the national stage.
Ariel Henry, super Minister of the Interior, is curiously absent from Haiti's lost territory. Similarly, Emmelie Prophète Milcé, who is supposed to be in charge of justice and public security, has taken up residence abroad. These two figures are both ministers and heads of the Conseil supérieur de la police nationale d'Haïti, orchestrating virtual meetings while the people struggle with prefabricated insecurity.
Haiti, freed from dictatorship more than three decades ago, is now mired in a governmental crisis of unprecedented proportions.
Who is Haiti's ambassador to the OAS? Léon Charles, a man whose name is linked to the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, according to an order from an investigating magistrate, had mysteriously returned to his post after having been tasked with protesting the late president. For his part, Claude Joseph, another key figure in this intrigue, continues on his way despite his presumed involvement in the President's assassination.
The investigating magistrate's examination reveals responsibilities, but the masks remain in place. Léon Charles, apparently resigning, strangely retains his post, leaving doubt as to who really holds the power of appointment and acceptance of letters of resignation.
In this absurd play, titles are interchangeable, functions unclear. Who appoints the ambassadors? Who controls internal security? The answers to these questions are lost in the meanders of Haitian political life.
At the same time, the Ministry of Communication shines brightly, the only island of stability in a sea of uncertainty. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, long-distance communication is maintained, justifying the existence of phantom posts and fueling the spectacle of the farce of a Haitian government.
In this political theater, where the absent are sometimes more present than the present, questions remain unanswered. Who really runs Haiti? Who are the real players in this political drama? And above all, when will the curtain fall on this chaotic play?
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted March 30, 2024