UN and Haitian government officials are tut-tutting as the paramilitaries in Haiti whom President Martelly wishes to elevate to a position of a Haitian 'army' are undertaking increasingly aggressive action. The two articles below report on the storming of Parliament on April 17, 2012. What the articles decline to report, but that travellers to Haiti are increasingly seeing, is that the paras have established public bases throughout the country.
Haiti, UN condemn disruption at parliament
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Haitian officials and the United Nations envoy to the Caribbean nation condemned an episode in which about 50 men in uniform claiming to be former members of Haiti's disbanded army disrupted a legislative session, both said in statements Wednesday.
The statements come a day after about 50 men in military uniforms entered the premises of Parliament and demanded to speak to deputies about what they said were the government and police department plans to expel them from the old military camps they've occupied in the capital and countryside in recent months.
Some of the men were armed but they all left without incident. A contingent of Brazilian peacekeepers showed up to patrol the grounds outside Parliament and provide security.
Still, the armed men's presence was disruptive enough to prompt some deputies to leave hastily and end the session. A few of the lawmakers later spoke on local radio about how the remnants of the former army acted as if they were an official security force.
Samson Chery, a former sergeant and spokesman for the group, denied the men were disruptive. They were only responding, he said, to a formal invitation from deputies to meet with them. He conceded that they had carried guns but they didn't have heavy weapons.
"We didn't go down there to cause any problems," Chery said by telephone. "What people are saying on the radio has nothing to do with us."
As many as 3,500 former soldiers and their young recruits have occupied the bases in hope that President Michel Martelly will honor his campaign goal of restoring the army that was abolished in 1995 because of its bloody past. Foreign diplomats have called the men paramilitary elements as they parade around the capital and countryside with guns.
In addition to a brief statement from Martelly, the U.N. envoy to Haiti, Mariano Fernandez called the incident a "new provocation" and "an attack on the integrity of democratic institutions of sovereign countries."
Outgoing Prime Minister Garry Conille also issued a statement condemning the episode.
Haiti condemns incident on grounds of parliament by armed individuals in military uniforms
By Jacqueline Charles, The Miami Herald, April 19, 2012
A day after busloads of armed former and wannabe soldiers forced their way onto the grounds of Haiti’s parliament seeking a meeting with lawmakers, the country’s leaders are condemning the incident. Prime Minister Garry Conille, who resigned on Feb. 24 but remains in charge until a new head of the government is approved by parliament, said Wednesday he is “deeply dismayed by the incident.” He also strongly condemns “the invasion by the armed individuals calling themselves demobilized military,” the prime minister’s office said in a press statement.
Conille’s office said he has directed both the Minister of Justice Pierre Michel Brunache, and Haitian National Police Director Mario Andresol to quickly address the situation, which is “detrimental to the public peace.” Both Brunache and Andresol have been at loggerheads over how to attack the problem of the so-called ex-soldiers who have taken over former military barracks throughout Haiti. They have since recruited scores of young Haitian men and women, with numbers ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 individuals in the former barracks.
Haiti’s National Palace also issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying the presidency wants for the public peace and order to be maintained throughout Haiti, and the formation of a new public security force has to be done within the law. “Any offender will undergo the rigors of the law,” the statement said.
Though President Michel Martelly has called for the reinstitution of the Haitian army, the move has been opposed by the United States and others in the international community. Mariano Fernandez, the head of the U.N. Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) in Haiti, called the incident “an unacceptable act of intimidation” that was “an attack on the integrity of sovereign democratic institutions” of the country. On Wednesday, MINUSTAH beefed up security around parliament where lawmakers have met in pre-fabricated buildings following the January 2010 earthquake.
Tuesday’s incident occurred while members of Haiti’s lower chamber of deputies were meeting to set up a committee for the ratification of Prime Minister Designate Laurent Lamothe, who was approved last week in the Senate. Lower Chamber President Levaillant Louis-Jeune told The Miami Herald the group was “well-equipped” and caused a panic among lawmakers. The incident was peacefully resolved, and the day’s session was eventually suspended.
As the armed men were on the parliament grounds, Martelly was in Miami laying in a hospital bed. He is recovering from pulmonary embolism, his advisers said. Martelly was forced to fly to Miami on Monday as a result of post-surgery pains. He underwent shoulder surgery in Miami two weeks ago. An earlier statement released Wednesday by the palace said the president remains “in constant contact” with his office and members of the government.
"I am better now and I am in contact with the government team and members of my Cabinet so that everything continues to function normally,” Martelly said. “I continue to work with them for good government. I thank the Haitian people for their support and send a message of peace.”