Haitian journalists and some members of civil society marched in Pétion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince to demand the release of Pierre-Louis Opont, former president of the Provisional Electoral Council.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Marie Andre Belange
Signs in hand, on which one could read: The State, assume your responsibilities! ” Or “ Free Opont! “. This is the second time this year that Haitian journalists have taken to the streets of Port-au-Prince to implore kidnappers. Abducted near his home, Pierre-Louis Opont has been kidnapped since June 20. His wife, Marie Lucie Bonhomme, a star journalist at Radio Vision 2000, had been abducted 8 days earlier from her residence. She is worried.
” It is only since Friday that we have been able to send him medicine. So it’s been 26 days since he took them. It’s huge for someone in fragile health like Pierre-Louis. We are here to beg the kidnappers to free Pierre-Louis Opont “, she says.
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) association called for the journalist’s release and former President of the Provisional Electoral Counciljoining the march organized by the Association of Haitian Journalists (AJH) and SOS Journaliste.
📢#Haiti🇭🇹: RSF calls for the immediate release of journalist Pierre Louis Opont, kidnapped 3 weeks ago, and joins the march of the Association of Haitian Journalists and @SOSJournaliststomorrow July 16, to demand concrete measures from the authorities.https://t.co/zjz6u5PnQF
— RSF (@RSF_inter) July 15, 2023
The kidnappers remain deaf to the demands, and always demand a large ransom. The Secretary General of the Association of Haitian Journalists, Jacques Desrosiers, one of the initiators of this march, denounces the situation of insecurity which prevails in Port-au-Prince.
” This is a plea that we have been making for some time. Ask the authorities to assume their responsibilities to guarantee the safety of citizens so that they can circulate in peace, without any fear of being kidnapped. What we are still asking for today is that the State take its responsibilities he says.
The Haitians had experienced a moment of respite with the movement baptized “Bwa Kale” but for several weeks, cases of kidnapping have been reported in Port-au-Prince. For the time being, the guns are silent in Cité Soleil, but the fear of being kidnapped in Port-au-Prince is once again taking its place in the daily lives of Haitians. Meanwhile, rival gangs in the commune of Cité Soleil have initialed a peace agreement initiated by the Catholic priest, Tom Hagan.