Pay Close Attention:
The Capitulation of the Haitian State was no Overnight Affair!
Millions of Haitians are trapped in a very dangerous and tremendously fragile situation right now, caught in the crossfire of a paramilitary power struggle.
Support for Haitian grassroots movements
In this bleak moment, we must remember the efforts of our Haiti Support Group partners, including the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), the Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (PAPDA) and Batay Ouvriye. All of these grassroots organisations are working unceasingly to advance society to the betterment of all Haitians while risking their lives for justice. They know, as we do, that this is the nadir of a longstanding crisis that requires a lasting solution: one that benefits the majority of Haitians by prioritising their voices and demands above all else.
Escalating violence and unrest
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that over 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in January alone. Twenty years to the day that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted from office in Haiti’s infamous coup d’état, on 29 February Port-au-Prince was once again paralysed in an escalation of violence. In the last three weeks alone, 15,000 Haitians have abandoned their homes and neighbourhoods, joining the 350,000 people already displaced.
Haitian democracy in crisis
We cannot lose sight of the cause of this terror. It has grown out of a persistent erosion of Haitian governance. Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s recent agreement to leave office, uniquely delivered outside the country, was only part of the shattering of Haiti’s political structure. Henry ruled without constitutional support and headed a Parliamentary system in which all elected officials were holding office well past their constitutional expiration. At present, not one single person clinging onto power in Haiti can claim any form of constitutional legitimacy.
Henry’s authority was instead gifted to him after the late President Jovenel Moïse was shot dead by hired mercenaries on 7 July 2021. Since then, Henry grasped, limpet-like, to provisional power with promises to hold elections by this year. Few efforts were made to begin that process. His resignation then is the latest chapter in a political drama in which for two decades the likes of Henry, Moïse, Martelly, the international ‘community’ and their ilk have chopped away at the weak limbs of Haiti’s fragile democracy.
No to military intervention
In this current crisis, international and regional partners are devising yet another blueprint for solution. The British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Americas and Caribbean David Rutley was in the Dominican Republic this week, meeting with President Abinader and numerous military officials who are due to host the 2025 UK-Caribbean Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit. With most of these players bearing responsibility for Haiti’s destabilisation and geopolitical isolation, their plans must be observed with close attention.
History has made it clear that military intervention in Haiti would be nothing short of a disaster. There can be no workable plan without the inclusion of grassroots organisations and a well-supported, active civil society. It is Haitians who continue to work against interminable odds for a better Haiti. A coordinated plan that builds on their knowledge and activism is the only viable and lasting way to transform the country.
Standing in solidarity with the Haitian people
Life in Haiti is volatile. We are deeply concerned about the welfare of the millions affected. We cannot predict what will happen next. Nor can we pretend to know what the path forward will be. What we do know that Haiti needs our support and solidarity to stop the violence, restore security for Haitians and to build a lasting solution; one led by Haitians and crafted to the benefit of all Haitians.
Here at the Haiti Support Group we will continue, as always, to stand in solidarity with our grassroots partners to advocate, as they do, for better Haitian futures. Help us to help them by sharing this message.
#SolidarityNotCharity #WeStandWithHaiti #KanpeAkAyiti #Justice4Haiti #JistisPouAyiti
