While Prime Minister Laurent Salvador Lamothe and several members of his cabinet were on Ile-a-Vache (South) to initiate a dialogue with the island's residents, barricades of burning tires were erected on Monday, Jun. 30, 2014, in protest against the "Ile-à-Vache Tourist Destination" project, according to information obtained by AlterPresse.
The Prime Minister wanted to hold a meeting with representatives of the island's 26 townships. But only a hundred people came to the meeting, witnesses said. Since January 2014, a tense situation has prevailed on Ile-à-Vache. Rumors and speculation talk about possible relocation of the population and probable expropriation of landowners. The island's residents do not wish to be stripped of their land or to find themselves in a situation where they would be forced to leave the island.
The continuation of the plan envisaged by the government for Ile-à-Vache seems to stoke the anger of the people protesting on the island. "Since this morning (Jun. 30), tires have begun burning all over the island to protest against the plan to make this island a tourist destination. This is a disaster! We are mobilized to resist this government tourism project which does not bode well for us!" said Ishmael Jean-Pierre, a member of Ile-à-Vache Peasants Organization (KOPI). Police security forces, including the Unit for Maintenance of Order (UDMO), have intervened and dispersed, on several occasions, protesters' demonstrations. "We do not want this project on the island! " exclaimed M. Jean-Pierre.
AlterPresse interviewed Tourism Minister Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin by telephone about resistance movements of the island's residents and she said that the island's population is well informed about the project. "We have not seen, on the ground, warlike resistance to the project. Given the progress made, the population now sees itself as part of the current project," said Balmir Villedrouin, admitting that the Ile-à-Vache Peasants Organization [KOPI] strongly opposes the government's plan.
Several invitations were sent to KOPI to discuss the project. However, the organization refuses to take part in meetings to convince it of the merits of the project, says Balmir Villedrouin. The Minister is particularly proud of the progress made in the framework of the project. "Recently, we opened five water fountains in Kay Kòk, and the police station of Kay Kòk (after rehabilitation). We also launched the Kay Kòk tourism project (180 m2), announced, among other things, the training of 200 young people at the National Institute of Vocational Training (INFP) and the start of construction of a hospital in Mme Bernard," says Balmir Villedrouin. About a dozen protests have been recorded on the island since the first steps in August 2013 to launch the "Ile-à-Vache Tourist Destination" project.
(Translated from French by Haïti Liberté)