He had committed to handing over on February 7, 2024: Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in power since the assassination in July 2021 of President Jovenel Moïse, is still in place. Many Haitians have been calling for his departure in the streets for several days. A departure also requested by the Montana group, initiated by civil society in 2021 to find a Haitian solution to the crisis. Monique Clesca, former United Nations official, is one of the signatories.
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Since an agreement signed between the government of Ariel Henry and some political parties on December 21, 2022, there has been no election in Haiti, contrary to the commitments made under this text. The political, security, social and humanitarian crisis has worsened considerably. Your group, from civil society, which is trying to find a solution to the Haitian crisis, has been calling for a transition since spring 2021. Is it still possible?
Monique Clesca : It is always possible. We are working on it. We have put in place and published mechanisms for the transition. We propose a 24-month transition to break with the criminal and unjust practices of governments like that of Ariel Henry and those who preceded him, and to establish a climate of peace. We want to organize honest elections where Haitians can regain confidence in the electoral system. We also want to resolve humanitarian problems: in one year, from 2022 to 2023, assassinations increased by almost 120%, kidnappings by almost 83%, and rapes of girls and women increased dramatically. A third of the population goes to bed hungry. “ Ariel Henry came by and he destroyed my country »: this is what Haitians are saying these days in the demonstrations.
The demonstrations of recent days have already caused several deaths and are supported by certain politicians. One of them, a former senator, calls on Haitians to “destroy the country”. What is your reaction to these comments?
This is unacceptable. We are not for violence and we have never encouraged it. The country is already collapsed. We call on the population who are demonstrating to do so in peace. But be careful: protests started very peacefully and turned violent when the police started bombarding people with tear gas. So if the police themselves respected the protesters, most of the protests would have been non-violent. We would like the police to have the capacity to support and protect us when we are demanding our rights.
For the government of Ariel Henry, no transition without reestablishing security, and this requires international intervention. At the end of last month, the Kenyan justice system opposed the sending of a support force to the Haitian police. The Montana group has always opposed this deployment. Is this refusal by Kenyan justice further delaying the transition?
But we cannot put the question of the transition and governance of Haiti in the hands of a judge, a president or a thousand troops from Kenya! The issue must be in the hands of the Haitians. And this precisely shows the resignation of this government of Ariel Henry. We can ask for help, but we must take responsibility for the safety of our citizens. Madame Emmelie Prophète, a so-called Minister of Public Security, dares to say that it is because the troops are slow to arrive that there is insecurity. It’s wrong ! It is up to Haitians to resolve their problems and propose solutions with, if we need, international aid. But we cannot sit idly by and beg for alms from Kenyans who have their own problems and think they will save us. The transition that must come is a transition of rupture with this resigned and incompetent government.
You are referring to the interview on our antenna with Minister Emmelie Prophète-Milcé. She also explained in this interview in mid-January that “ all efforts were made to expand the government and achieve a more consensual climate “. If “ this great unity government was not obtained by February 7 “, she said she hoped that ” the Prime Minister was going to achieve this either in March or April “. What do you think is the first step in this transition?
The first step is to chase away the Emmelie Prophète and the Ariel Henry. They are incompetent. We need responsible people, Haitians who have the country as their compass and who are not there to make money or to have power. We need a road map to resolve the catastrophic humanitarian situation and work towards a climate of peace in which Haitians can feel confident and move towards elections. Montana put in place mechanisms that were widely shared. We have made proposals that hold water. We call for a consensus of other progressive forces who want Haiti to move forward and get out of this quagmire. The population has the right to make it known that they no longer want this criminal regime. The fact that the demonstrators are in the streets will not push Ariel Henry to resign, but these demonstrations are an element, with the work that we are doing, to find a consensus with political forces and social forces. It is also a way of saying to our partners at the international level: “ Listen to the Haitian people who no longer want these criminals who broke our country “. It can also be a negotiation with the regime in place to say: “ Listen to the streets, listen to the Haitians who tell you that they no longer want you, because you are leading the country towards its most total collapse “.
In 2021, theMontana Accord raised a lot of hope. However, to date, it has not found any concrete application. Have you not also suffered from divisions within civil society which have delayed this transition?
We are a microcosm of Haitian society. Whatever the country, with 11.5 million people, we cannot have a completely homogeneous civil society and everyone agreeing. I have no problem taking it on. But on the fundamentals, we all agree: Haiti has been under the obedience of the West for too long, we can no longer have criminal regimes in power, our children must go to school. and have a basic health system for good health, as well as other elements of social justice.
What do you say to Haitians who no longer believe today in any solution – Haitian or international -, and who are in despair?
It’s normal that there is this despair when we are being killed, our daughters, our sisters, our cousins, our mothers are being raped. It’s normal that we have this despair when factories are closing their doors, when the economy has been in decline for four years. It is the regime in place which is responsible for this situation. We understand this despair, but we say that we must pick up all that remains of our dignity and our sovereignty to put in place a government that would move towards solutions to this crisis. We must overcome this despair since it is a struggle. It’s as if we were fighting for our second independence. Independence from a criminal regime, independence from the international which has its knee on our neck. So we need to close ranks. We also call on our international partners to help us, but on our conditions! Our fate cannot be decided at the State Department or the Quai d’Orsay.
In another interview, you maintain that the Montana group has regular links with American representatives. Do they approve of this Haitian solution?
This is the double game of the Americans, the French or the Canadians. They tell us that Ariel Henry is the only legitimate one when he has no legitimacy. They were the ones who set it up with a tweet. Then they say “ Yes, but » to a Haitian solution. They add a little A, a little B, a little C. We hope that they will eventually listen to us. It is a struggle, and in any struggle for liberation, it will take as long as it takes.
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