The president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, has ordered the main security organizations to mobilize in the face of the protests that are expected to be called on August 7, the day on which, according to the opposition, the mandate of the current head of state expires .
The opposition movements have already redoubled calls to go out into the streets in recent weeks, which has resulted in clashes between police and protesters on several occasions. They are not convinced by the electoral calendar proposed by Moise, which includes a constitutional referendum in April and presidential and legislative elections in September.
Moise has announced in a public statement via Facebook that he has ordered the Police and the Interior and Justice ministries to mobilize to ensure the safety of property and people on February 7. “We are not a country of bandits. The time for robberies is over,” he said, according to the Alterpresse agency.
The president has expressed his particular concern about the rise in kidnappings, which is why he has proposed the creation of a working group that will be headed by Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe. The abductions have been triggered in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and their targets also include minors, although there are no official data.
“There is a problem and I think we need to do a deep analysis of what is happening,” said Moise, who aspires to find “the true source of the problem.” The president has also called for the collaboration of citizens to combat this scourge, in “a marriage between the Police and the population” of which he has not given any details, reports the newspaper ‘Le Nouvelliste’.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed concern last week about the persistence of abuses in Haiti, which he fears could be made worse by “rising political tensions.” Thus, he reported patterns of repression by the security forces and also by armed gangs.
“Political tensions are re-emerging due to the timing and scope of the referendum on the constitutional reform proposed by the Government,” lamented a spokeswoman for the United Nations office, Marta Hurtado, who urged the authorities to take measures “immediately” to guarantee that Human Rights are not violated and that there is accountability.
