The Presidential Transitional Council (Conseil Présidentiel de Transition (CPT) as the outgoing government and the CPT could not agree on what and how to appoint members to the transitional government. This stalemate has resulted in proposal to select a president from the Cour de
cassation, which many believe will most closely resemble the mandate of the 1978 constitution. On the Panel Magik program on Monday, April 1, 2024, the former Minister of Justice stated that the proposal is motivated by the engaged parties’ inability to agree on a workable method that would be agreeable to all sides. Discussions have not progressed since, and given the urgency of the issue at hand, proposing to follow a process that once worked appears to be more expedient. The former minister argued that in both1990 and 2024, presidents from the court successfully completed the transitional periods and organized elections. According to the judge, Choosing someone from the cour de cassassion is a better option for the country because it has a better chance of succeeding instead of choosing someone who represents a political faction and would be selected from among competing presidential candidates.
The transition period with a president who does not come from a political party and who does not reveal the immediate interests of potential candidates seems to be the most viable, especially since other sectors have consistently rejected this idea of a presidential council and have been
favorable to going to the Court of Cassation. The current proposal p is for the head of the transitional government to come from the court, in line with the order of succession proposed in the 1987 constitution, at least the Creole version which has not been subject of an amendment. Putting the Constitution aside and opting for an innovative solution like the CPT, which is struggling to work and if it fails completely, it will and waste of more time in achieving a permanent solution, it is better not to venture and adopt the solution that has already proven itself.
In a letter to Caricom, representatives of Haitian political parties, including André Michel, Marjory Michel and Edmonde Supplice Beauzile, among others, have voiced their preference in favor of the designation of a judge from the Court of Cassation at head of the executive council.
Meanwhile, as gang violence rages on, the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the UN Security Council and the international community to act soon before it is too late. The UN Security Council is attempting to keep its promise and quickly establish a security support mission authorized by the UN that is equipped with all the necessary guarantees in terms of human rights. The council should follow through on their commitment to Haiti. They should ensure that the mission they have authorized is provided as quickly as possible with the financing, personnel, and technical capacities necessary to effectively support the national police (PNH) to help restore minimum conditions and security and the functioning of the country’s critical infrastructure, including the security of the new transitional government. At the same time, HRW recommends stopping the flow of arms and ammunition to the country by applying the arms embargo imposed by the UN on Haiti and recommends increasing inspections in the maritime ports and airports. The Security Council should request that the sanctions committee regularly map illicit flows of arms and munitions to criminal groups in Haiti and brief council members as often as necessary. On the political level, HRW encourages international and Haitian actors involved in political negotiations under the arbitration of Caricom to support the selection of candidates for the new presidential council by examining the information available within the framework of sanctions regimes. Other stipulations of the organization include the need to reform the prison system by prioritizing the need for detention centers to be safe and humane and ensuring that criminal procedures respect human rights. Similarly, the international institution must provide training and technical support for the judiciary to establish responsibilities for the most severe crimes committed by members of the criminal groups and those who support them. HRW is also calling for the necessary resources to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Haitians in need and neighboring countries, as well as suspension of expulsions or return measures for Haitians back to the country, which can be considered a violation of international law.
Meanwhile, the violence continues and is intensifying in the metropolitan area. Armed gangs have taken over the primary teaching hospital, l’Hôpital de l’Université d’Etat d’Haïti (HUEH)and are vowing to take over the national palace soon. The Viv Ansanm gang pushed hard to take the hospital hostage early yesterday and used the premises as a strategic base to constantly discharge their firearms toward the national palace, which is located nearby. PNH officers and members of the Armed Forces of Haiti confronted some of the bandits at the Champ de Mars. An armored vehicle belonging to the police was set on fire by criminals on rue Monseigneur Guilloux. According to the testimony of a police officer, he and his brothers-in-arms had to abandon the automobile because it could no longer start. At least four police officers who were in the armored vehicle were injured. Clashes near the National Palace continued during the evening. On the same day, gangs attacked the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint Martial and set fire to the institution’s computer room.
Finally, the Digneron industrial park in Croix-des-Bouquets, one of the flagships of Palm Apparel Group, was invaded on Friday, March 29, 2024, by bandits who set fire to a 96,000-square-foot warehouse that contained raw materials. The bandits then entered the 200,000-square-foot production building, destroying the offices and many industrial machines. The industrial park has been closed since 2022 after several workers were kidnapped. The police commissioner, Frantz Elbé, has promised the national police will do all it takes to make sure people are safe and that the police will uphold their constitutional duty to protect and serve. Two security operatives who were alleged to be armed traffickers were arrested by the Mirebalais police station. Ananel Alexandre, agent of the Haitian National Police, and of the Motorized Intervention Brigade (BIM), and Michelet Musca, security agent of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), were arrested by officials of the Mirebalais police station in on the afternoon of Friday, March 29, 2024, during a routine check by law enforcement. According to information available to officials at the Mirebalais police station, these individuals travelled from Port-au-Prince, with large sums of money and firearms, intended to go to the Dominican Republic to purchase ammunition. While being held in custody at the city police station, an angry mob burst into the building, lynched both, and burned them alive. In the meantime, voices are being raised in Benoît Batraville, and the
population is being called on to be vigilant because there will be reprisals. The people of Mirebalais are demanding a security plan on the border with the Dominican Republic, which, according to them, represents a sieve for smugglers and notorious criminals from both parts of the Island.