PM HENRY RESIGNS AS HAITI SPIRALS INTO CHAOS

Tue 12 March 2024:

Haiti’s embattled PM announced his resignation late on Monday, effective once a transition council and temporary replacement have been appointed.

A US official said the decision for Henry’s resignation was made on Friday, though he did not officially tender it to his cabinet until Monday evening and later issued an official video address.

Henry had travelled to Kenya in late February to secure support for an international security mission to fight Haiti’s powerful armed gangs, but violence in the capital escalated during his absence and left him stranded in Puerto Rico.

An armed member of the G9 and Family gang patrols a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince on March 11 [Odelyn Joseph/AP]

Over the weekend, representatives from Haiti’s government as well as opposition groups, the private sector, civil society and religious groups, met with leaders from the US and Caribbean Community to establish a consensus on how to return stability to the island.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has tendered his resignation following an emergency meeting of regional nations.

Haiti has been plagued by spiralling violence in recent weeks as armed gangs have taken control, calling for Henry to go.

“The government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council,” Henry said in a late-night video address. “I want to thank the Haitian people for the opportunity I had been granted.

“I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible,” he added.

A man with his face covered calls on demonstrators to stop during a protest against Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government and insecurity in Port-au-Prince, March 1 [Ralph Tedy Erol/Reuters]

US and other countries’ support until now

In the past year, the gangs in Haiti became even more powerful and Henry requested international assistance to help the police and security forces.

Henry travelled to Kenya to sign a cooperation agreement to deploy 1,000 elite police officers as part of a UN support team but he was not allowed to return home.

Many Haitians considered Henry an illegitimate leader because he was not elected and that’s why many were hoping for him to resign. But even though he did not enjoy the support of the population, he did have the US and other countries’ support – until now.

Pedestrians was past a soldier guarding the area of the international airport in Port-au-Prince,

Pedestrians walk past a soldier guarding the area of the international airport in Port-au-Prince on March 4 [Odelyn Joseph/AP]

Who is Ariel Henry?

Henry, 74, studied medicine in France and made a name for himself in Haiti as a neurologist.
During his medical career, he headed the neurosurgery department of one of Haiti’s most renowned private hospitals and taught in state universities in Port-au-Prince, only entering politics late in life.
In January 2015, President Michel Martelly named him interior minister, a position he held for less than eight months.
After a change in the head of government in September 2015, he was appointed minister of social affairs and labor for six months, before leaving the political scene for more than five years.
In July 2021, President Moise chose him as his seventh PM.
Moise selected Henry for the post just two days before he was killed by a group of mostly Colombian mercenaries.
After two weeks of uncertainty and under pressure from foreign embassies, he was finally installed as head of government.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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