By Hervé Noel, Rezo Nodwes, Oct. 25, 2024
If the United States really wanted to help Haiti fight armed gangs, it would block this arms and ammunition trade, says trade unionist Josué Mérilien. The fundamental question is: why doesn't the United States, which claims to be a friend of Haiti, intervene to block the trafficking of arms that is plunging the country into chaos?
The union organizations also point the finger at the Haitian political authorities, in particular the Prime Minister, who is accused of holding the Conseil Supérieur de la Police Nationale (CSPN) hostage. Preferring, they believe, political theater and cynicism to concrete measures to combat the armed gangs that continue to defy the police.
The joint press conference was held by several union organizations, including the Syndicat du personnel du Ministère de l'Éducation nationale et de la Formation professionnelle (SPMENFP), the Syndicat pour la défense des employés de l'OAVCT, the Syndicat des huissiers de la République d'Haïti (SNHRH), the Association nationale des transporteurs visionnaires d'Haïti (ANSTVH), the Association nationale des greffiers haïtiens (ANAGH), and the Collectif des enseignants pour le renouveau de l'Éducation en Haïti (CEREH).
Representative Josué Mérilien strongly criticized the government's inaction in the face of armed gang exactions.
For the trade unionists, the threats made by gang leaders on the eve of October 17, 2024 should have been enough to anticipate the loss of life and serious damage that followed. Intelligence services appear useless as gang leaders take care to alert the authorities of planned attacks on neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and other communes.
The government, however, persisted in its inaction and remained deaf to the cries of distress from the population. Such was the case in Pont-Sondé where police only intervened after massacres had occurred. According to Mérilien, despite repeated calls for help no serious action has been taken by the government to prevent this massacre.
The trade unionists assert that crinimal gangs would have been neutralized if it were not for government impunity and alleged complicity of American leaders. According to Mérilien, several high-ranking Haitian government officials have become the enforcers of U.S. and CORE Group interests.
According to a credible source, some 40 million gourdes are mobilized every month by the Prime Minister's Office to finance the intelligence services in Haiti, in addition to other funds available from the US.
To put an end to this vicious cycle, union leaders are encouraging the population to mobilize against this untenable situation.
A union platform is due to be launched on November 18, with the aim of breathing new life into the labor struggle. According to Josué Mérilien, a schedule of mobilization activities has been announced: on November 8 and 9, two workshops will be organized for leaders who will join the new trade union center, followed by a ceremony and march on November 15 to mark the official launch in front of the Villa d'Accueil.
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted Nov. 11, 2024