The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER days of high-level meetings mainly centred on the crisis in Haiti, member states of CARICOM have agreed to provide direct support to the Haitian National Police (HNP) to help restore peace to the crisis-torn nation, CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister Phillip Davis revealed Friday.

He said during a news conference, which marked the end of the three-day CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting, that the path towards bringing stability to Haiti did not include placing boots on the ground, but rather “building up the security mechanism that is in place”.

“That is the Haitian police,” Prime Minister Davis added. “Working and resourcing them as best we can and for example, ensuring that food is provided to them and that they are paid and at the same time expanding for the force to be able to ensure that they have the capacity to deal with the issues that are there.

“So, we are not there yet with boots on the ground.”

He also expressed optimism that international sanctions levied at some of Haitian elites that have supported gang activity, thus fueling unrest there, will help CARICOM achieve their goal to bring peace to the troubled nation.

The crisis in Haiti was a topic that dominated discussion at the CARICOM meetings that attracted regional and world leaders to The Bahamas, which hosted the event between February 15 -17.

At the meeting’s opening on Wednesday, Mr Davis said The Bahamas was under great strain because of the worsening crisis in Haiti, which he said needs urgent attention.

He also noted that other countries were also being heavily affected and told reporters Friday that within three weeks, Haiti will see “the results of the efforts of CARICOM.”

This comes amid increased illegal migration activity from Haiti, with many leaving the troubled nation to flee deepening poverty and increasing violence.

On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed Canada to sending navy vessels to conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a maritime presence off the Haitian coast in the coming weeks.

However, there have been no promises made by international parties to deploy troops to Haiti, despite requests made by Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October.

This follows reports of mass exits of Haitian officers from the police force there.

Many of them have reportedly been left angered by the killings of their colleagues by armed gang members and even took to the streets last month to protest the government that they blamed for not taking action.

When asked how CARICOM planned to strengthen the HNP in view of recent issues and the fact that many were seeking to move abroad for better opportunities, Prime Minister Davis said the body was hopeful that once officers were supported, they would remain in Haiti to enforce security.

“It is counterproductive to be encouraging police officers to abandon their station as it were, for the bright lights of Miami,” he said.

“This is a matter that was brought to our attention during the course of these discussions and in fact, we were told at least 600 or more have already left.

“Again, we cannot just allow what is going on to stop us from inaction and there’s still a belief that there are a number of Haitians who are prepared to put themselves to work towards having a peaceful country to return it to normalcy.

“And we are encouraged that there are a number of Haitians, once they know that they will be properly supported, properly resourced, they will come to the fore to assist.”

As it relates to humanitarian assistance in Haiti, Mr Davis said it was a matter that was being addressed by CARICOM and should be dealt with in a matter of weeks.

A major challenge, he added, was the hijacking of food and other essential supplies by Haitian gang members.

“We are advised that the gangs control the points of entry to be able to get food and other supplies and medicine to the population,” he also said.”There is an urgency to the matter and that’s why I would’ve said within weeks, I don’t want to give the time stamp, but within weeks I daresay that within the next three weeks, you would see the results of the efforts of CARICOM.”

Mr Davis said talks surrounding Haiti were also held with US counterparts, but he refused to disclose the outcome of those discussions.

“I will say no more about it , but again we have been talking about it. CARICOM believes this is the time for action and not just talk, but I’ll leave it at that for the moment, but they have committed themselves to support the efforts that we have and at the moment, we are now crafting a plan,” he continued.

“We will indicate to them what that plan is and we will look to them for the support that they have promised and committed to.”