Haiti Crisis: PM Ariel Henry Told to Resign or Civil War
Kanako Mita and Chika Yoshida
Modern Tokyo Times
Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, the head of the G9 Family and Allies gang (FRG9), warned last year that his forces would not tolerate a new UN force abusing Haitians. This concerns past crimes and open sexual abuses by the UN against Haitians.
This time, Cherizier told Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign. If not, he warned of a “civil war.”
He said chillingly, “If Ariel Henry does not resign … we’ll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide.”
Cherizier continued, “Either Haiti becomes a paradise for all of us, or a hell for all of us.”
Thousands of prisoners escaped after the G9 alliance took over two prisons. This led to the escape of 3,800 prisoners.
Henry, while outside the country, declared a 72-hour State of Emergency. However, with gangs controlling most of the capital (Port-au-Prince) even this is vague. Accordingly, gangs have made attempts to take over the national airport.
Gangs are estimated to control approximately 80% of Port-au-Prince.
The BBC reports, “The gang leader has been opposed to the prime minister since he took over power shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, without an election.”
The Guardian reports, “The UN’s announcement of its support for an international force led by Kenya prompted some optimism that it could challenge the gangs. The plan is not a formal UN peacekeeping force, in part because of the disastrous impact of the previous UN mission, which was tarnished by appalling sexual misconduct allegations and the fact that sewage from a UN camp was implicated in a cholera outbreak that killed nearly 10,000.”
Last year, when an international force was announced, Cherizier warned against this.
He said, “If the foreign forces arrive in 2023 or 2024, and we see them sexually assaulting women, raping young boys just as the Uruguayan soldiers did in 2004. If they bring cholera back to Haiti. … If that is what they are coming to do in the underprivileged neighborhoods, along with opening fire on us, killing the people or massacring them — we Haitians will fight them until we shed our last drops of blood.”
Reuters reports, “Girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated by U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti and abandoned to raise their children alone, according to testimonies from more than 2,000 residents.”
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Accordingly, it is understandable why Haitians feel betrayed by the UN and distrust outside forces. The lasting legacy of the cholera outbreak and countless sex scandals – all connected to the UN – cement enormous mistrust. Therefore, bridges need to be built with ordinary Haitians – outside the corrupt political class.”
President Joe Biden of America said many years ago: “If Haiti, a God awful thing to say, if Haiti just quietly sunk into the Caribbean or rose up 300 feet, it wouldn’t matter a whole lot in terms of our interest.”
No easy solution exists for the people of Haiti. Hence, the capital is spiraling out of control.
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