Haiti’s PM Condemns Gangs and Kidnappings in Televised Address

• Haiti’s PM said he is aware of people’s anger and that his administration is addressing the country’s multiple problems.
• Henry’s speech also came days after a widespread strike led schools, businesses and public transport to shut down in the capital..

Ekohotblog reports that Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry decried the recent increase in gang violence and kidnappings in the country in a prepared statement, assuring Haitians that the country is not running out of petroleum, despite acute shortages.

Henry’s statement, which broadcast on Friday, was the prime minister’s first public acknowledgement of these difficulties since the kidnapping of 17 members of a missionary group headquartered in the United States on October 16. The abduction of the 16 Americans, one Canadian, and their Haitian driver occurred during a rise in gang-related kidnappings that authorities are fighting to contain.

“If they do not stop their wrongdoing, the law will apply to them,” Henry said in his message. “The only option for bandits and all their sponsors is imprisonment or death if they do not want to change professions.”

The address comes at a difficult moment for the little Caribbean island. After President Jovenel Moise’s killing on July 7, Henry became Prime Minister around three months ago. A few weeks later, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, wreaking havoc on the country’s south.

The head of the 400-strong Mawozo gang that abducted the missionaries, five of whom were minors, has threatened to kill them if his demands are not satisfied. According to Haitian officials, the gang is asking $1 million per person, but it is unclear whether this includes the children, the youngest of whom is eight months old.

Christian Aid Ministries, which had organised a trip to Haiti for the group of missionaries, in a statement published on Thursday said they hoped the hostages would be released soon, despite the worsening political situation in the country.

“Haiti is in a state of anarchy with no active government,” according to the statement. “Gangs are in charge of many areas and [are] controlling the fuel and goods at the seaports.”

Henry’s speech also came days after a widespread strike led schools, businesses and public transport to shut down in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond to protest against the lack of fuel and the country’s worsening economic and security situation. Gangs have been blamed for blocking gas distribution terminals, with at least one gang leader saying he would lift the blockade if Henry stepped down.

The prime minister said ships are waiting to unload fuel and that the country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, would not run out of gas. He added that he has created a crisis unit with top officials from the finance, justice, police, public works, trade and other departments to find a “quick solution” to the fuel distribution problem.

The shortages have affected hospitals, ambulances, schools, public transport and many other parts of daily life.

“This is really catastrophic,” said Solon Cledion, director of a private school in Port-au-Prince, told The Associated Press news agency. “The day-to-day is difficult … We wonder how long this is going to last.”

Henry acknowledged the dire situation, noting that patients with COVID-19 who depend on respirators are among those who are at risk of dying if fuel is not available. In his speech, he congratulated one man who he said drove through dangerous communities to transport fuel and oxygen to a hospital and saved the lives of 60 patients.

The prime minister said he is aware of people’s anger and that his administration is addressing the country’s multiple problems.

“To all those who have legitimate demands, who have declared they are fed up with inflation, poverty and insecurity, I guarantee that their voice is heard by the government,” he said. “Gangs are our enemies. No real solution to the country’s problems will emerge if we do not arm ourselves with the courage to fight and eliminate this scourge.”

Henry added that when he came into office three months ago, he found a country that is “torn, divided, with a state in tatters whose democratic institutions are dysfunctional”.