The West African state of Benin has pledged 2,000 troops to the planned multinational force to bring stability to Haiti and the United States will provide US$200m among other support but says its soldiers are not needed as Port au Prince requires peace, democracy and stability and not the spectre of an occupying power.
“The US is committed to supporting the multinational force. We are committed to providing the Multi-national Force with what it needs to deploy on the ground, and we are committed to providing a lot of the logistical support that is required,” US Ambassa-dor to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at a press conference yesterday in Georgetown in response to a question from Stabroek News on if US troops would form part of the multinational force.
“What we have heard, and I think what you have heard as well, is that Haiti does not need what appears to be an occupying power in Haiti. I think this is why this is so important that the region has to engage and that African countries have to engage. We have committed US$200m to supporting that process, we have committed to provide logistics. We have committed to providing equipment and support to the multinational force,” she added.
Thomas-Greenfield headed the US delegation to the ongoing CARICOM Heads of Government summit here.
In his address at the opening of the summit on Sunday evening, President Irfaan Ali underscored this country’s and the region’s commitment.
“Our region has one interests when it comes to Haiti; that is the people of Haiti, and we will not deviate from that interest – the people of Haiti. Anything that impedes the interests of the people of Haiti is of immense concern for the leadership of this region,” Ali stressed.
“Already today [Sun-day], we spent most of this morning on the very issue of Haiti. We are committed as a region in ensuring that the people of Haiti can also realize their full potential in peace, security, and with good governance. We owe it to this, the people of Haiti. Sometimes, as a region, we are in tough positions and we have to take tough measures, but always, the region’s toughness is always in the interests of the region’s people, that is fundamental for the region,” he added.
This newspaper understands that Guyana has pledged monetary support for Haiti but it is not clear how much.
Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry on Sunday also told Stabroek News that he has had and will continue to have ongoing meetings with heads of CARICOM whom he believes want as much of a resolution to the current crisis on the island of Hispaniola which it shares with the Dominican Republic.
“We have ongoing meetings…I think that the CARICOM leaders (are) engaged in the Haiti crisis, they want to achieve something and we hope that during these meetings we have, a common understanding of how we are going to proceed [will occur],” he said.
Henry who was emphatic in saying that he will not “at all” be running for the presidency, said that he understands that opposition forces in his country are against him but they need to put the people of Haiti and their peace and security above all power aspirations.
Fighting for power
“The problem in Haiti is that the politicians when they are fighting, they are fighting for power and they want to lead by the [power].We have to embrace together and to go to election to give the power to the people. Give the people the right to choose who they want,” he said contending that the country needs calm and stability urgently.
Asked if there has been a timeframe for when he believes elections can he held, he said that he was advised that within 18 months, once the nation is stabilized, they could go to elections. “We are talking about this year. Our colleagues who are the experts, they are saying within 18 months…fresh elections,” he said.
Prime Minister of The Bahamas Phillip ‘Brave’ Davis told this newspaper that having the Haitian crisis where daily the country is rocked by gun violence and swarmed with gangs clinging for control of various communities, is paramount for his country and he hopes to influence CARICOM leaders to act swiftly.
His country, Davis reasoned, faces the brunt of illegal migration of Haitians who many times take perilous risks to travel by boatloads to the 700-island archipelago.
“The challenges with Haiti remain. It is very important particularly for The Bahamas to have a resolution sooner rather than later,” Davis said, expressing his disappointment in the progress made by both CARICOM and the international community and lamenting that “the international community appears to be not as committed as we are”.
He too said that the leaders of Haiti will have to ultimately decide on peace and stability for the nation.
A Haitian solution
“The CARICOM on its own don’t have the resources to respond to all of the issues …in Haiti. We do need international support but at the end of the day it still has to be a Haitian solution. Trying to get all these pieces and synchronizing the wishes of the Haitian people is the ultimate goal,” he said.
The Bahamas, he pointed out has committed to deploying Bahamian marines and giving any other technical support it can. “We are prepared to provide marine support to assist with the maritime and border patrol. That is where we are,” he said.
Davis floated a US$600m per annum budget needed for the efforts to have “a serious impact”.
With the US already committing US$200m he said that “We are working assiduously to find the balance.”
A U.S. statement issued on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last week had announced “financial, personnel, and in-kind commitments to the mission” from Benin, France and Canada, the latter which later announced 80.5 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) for the mission, according to Reuters.
“We will, we are at the forefront of this. A failed Haiti poses a serious security threat to The Bahamas. It poses a very serious threat to the people of Haiti, because desperation sets in and they may seek to migrate irregularly from Haiti, by means totally unsafe, and we had instances where boats capsize, persons’ [lives] get lost. The challenges are serious for me and for the people of Haiti,” the Bahamian Prime Minister said.
With the United Nations last October agreeing that a multinational force be sent to the country and the African country of Kenya agreeing to lead that group, the UN Ambassador to the UN said yesterday that Washington is pleased that countries in Francophone Africa are assisting.
“We heard just before I started this trip that Benin, another country has offered up to 2,000 troops to support this force. CARICOM countries in the Caribbean have also volunteered to have troops provide training or other training or other support to the multinational force,” she said.
Kenya the intended leader of the mission has had its participation entangled in its judicial system. It intends to send 1,000 policemen.
When she arrived in this country, Thomas- Greenfield said that she had bilateral discussions with the Haitian Prime Minister as well as meetings with Haitian government leaders, CARICOM Heads of government and representatives from the UK, Canada and France. “We had the opportunity to discuss how we move forward the political process in Haiti and also we talked about the urgency of deploying the UN multinational security force,” she said.
“This mission is key to helping the Haitian national police restore peace and security, enabling free and fair elections and alleviating the humanitarian crisis,” she added.
During discussions with Henry, the US UN Ambassador said those focused on the needs of the Haitian people.
“We did have an opportunity to speak extensively with Prime Minister Henry, regarding his needs but basically what we talked about were the needs of the Haitian people and Haitian people need security. They need an opportunity to do the things normal everyday people do; go to school; go to church. What I heard over the course of the past two and half days are that women are afraid to go out of their houses to attend church, to shop for food for their families. So security is uppermost in all of their minds,” she stated.
“We talked about how to address those issues along with discussions about how to more urgently move the political process forward, so that in tandem with security, there is a political process that will lead to free and fair elections and democracy restored in Haiti,” she added.
The CARICOM countries have all expressed their strong commitment to Haiti, according to Thomas-Greenfield with Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas leading the charge.
To the opposition, Thomas-Greenfield said that they have to also come to the table and say what they are committed to doing for the peoples of Haiti.
“I would say to the opposition that we also need to hear from the opposition what they are for, not all what they are against. We have encouraged both Henry as well as members of the opposition to sit down and find a path forward. This is about the Haitian people and their need for certainty and I expressed the need for both. Haitians should not be left hopeless by this situation. Leaders need to take responsibility for the moving of the agenda forward to have elections. It requires both sides to do it”, she said.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield (left) meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry (US Embassy photo)
