By Robensen Geffrard, Le Nouvelliste, April 5, 2024
Legally, the Conseil présidentiel de transition (CP) does not yet exist. On Friday evening, the presidential advisors announced the harmonization of the decree creating the Council and the framework agreement. All that remains now is for the document to be published in Le Moniteur. Leslie Voltaire, Fanmi Lavalas representative on the Presidential Council, is demanding that the Haitian National Police secure the area around the National Palace before the CP members are installed. He demands that the presidential advisors will be sworn in not at the Court of Cassation, but "before the nation...".
LN: How do you see the installation of the Presidential Council? Is there a date?
Leslie Voltaire: The installation of the Council should take place at the National Palace one or two days after the publication in Le Moniteur of the decree and agreement organizing the Presidential Council. The outgoing government will announce the date and time of the ceremony. Normally, the protocol departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Palace and the CP committee will be responsible for preparing the event, together with the security forces. Invitations will be extended to members of the outgoing government, the handover commissions, the diplomatic corps, clerics, the media, the sectors that produced the political agreement, and law-enforcement staff.
LN: The National Palace has been repeatedly attacked by gangs. Do you have any requirements in this regard prior to the installation?
LV: I think that in order to protect and serve the population, the specialized bodies of the PNH should concentrate their efforts on dislodging the intruders who have stormed the buildings around the Palais, such as the Hôpital général, the Petit Séminaire Collège St-Martial... Reclaiming these spaces, consolidating them and their presence can be done in one or two days before the installation. Afterwards, we'll need to extend this territory to facilitate the Presidential Council.
LN: Are you hoping for the arrival of the Multinational Mission?
Lv: I've always believed that the Multinational Mission was not a good idea and that we should work bilaterally with all countries to assist the PNH. I continue to advocate career enhancement for police officers, higher salaries, and programs in partnership with the private sector to provide scholarships and health insurance cards for their children. Of course, as an architect and urban planner, I plan to advocate housing programs for them.
LN: Can the national police do it alone?
Leslie Voltaire: No, the PNH can't do it alone. Now, the CP, assisted by the Republic's new National Security Council, will have to discuss, with the representatives of the UN Security Council, the application of resolution 2699 to arrive at national and international assistance for the vetting of PNH personnel, their training, equipment and the recruitment of new officers.
I also advocate the creation of a national civic corps made up of thousands of young people from all neighborhoods, who should be involved in the production and distribution of humanitarian assistance and help the three hundred thousand victims displaced from their homes to return home.
LN: Will the members of the Presidential Council be sworn in? If so, where, how and when?
LV: Given the non-existence of a National Assembly representing the nation, the members of the Presidential Council will be sworn in by the nation.
LN: How do you feel about the battle for the presidency of the Presidential Council?
LV: The working atmosphere within the Council is cordial. It's the first time that so many members of political parties, civil society, adversaries or allies have worked together and produced a consensual agreement for better management of the transition. There is no battle over the presidency. The President of the Council will only be a good coordinator and representative of the Presidential Council.
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted April 14, 2024