‘A problem of public order and development rather than military,’ says former head of MINUSTAH

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on Sunday for the immediate deployment of an international armed force in Haiti to stop the escalating spiral of violence.

In a letter addressed to the UN Security Council, Guterres urged member states to deploy a “rapid action force” in the Caribbean nation to quell “a dramatic deterioration in security.”

The letter came a day after Haiti “formally” requested international assistance to deal with the serious security crisis generated by criminal gangs, which the national police have been unable to control.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is facing an acute political, economic, health and security crisis that has paralyzed it and caused a breakdown of law and order.

Protests and looting have further shaken the country’s instability since 9/11, when the government announced a fuel price hike.

Since the middle of that month, the country’s largest imported fuel depot has been controlled by powerful armed gangs.

In his letter, Guterres stressed the need to restore security to guarantee access to supplies and services, safeguard road infrastructure and oil terminals, and deal with rampant violence by criminal gangs.

“Addressing these objectives is imperative for the country to stop its spiral of instability,” he said.

He called for the establishment of a force made up of special armed forces personnel from UN member states.

In addition, Guterres reiterated his call in a public statement on Sunday, saying he “remains gravely concerned about the situation in Haiti,” where already dire humanitarian conditions are at risk of being exacerbated by a cholera outbreak.

The Haitian government’s request for a new foreign military cooperation has raised criticism among some sectors of the island’s political life.

Former deputy Guy Jacob Latortue considers that the security crisis in the Caribbean country does not justify a new military intervention. “The Americans entered the country in 1915. From 1915 to 1934, they left us nothing. In 1994, at the request of the president [Jean-Bertrand] Aristide, we still had military personnel in Haiti: American, French and Canadian soldiers. They spent a lot of time in Haiti. They left the country without having left anything. We had the experience in 2004 under the presidency of Boniface Alexandre, when the military arrived in Haiti, and since they have left, the problem of insecurity continues to exist. We must try to solve the root problem, not make it up”, declared the deputy.

Some voices suspect that the call of the Ariel Henry government responds to a way to consolidate its own power.

Police force and Marshall Plan

Mariano Fernández, head of the MINUSTAH Mission from 2011-2013, estimates, for his part, that a foreign presence could help pacify the country, but under certain conditions.

“I can tell you that, from that period [2011-2013], there were no political crimes, individual kidnappings a couple. And with a government that was complex like that of Mr. Martelly, it was possible to install the electoral court, a more regular functioning of the Supreme Court, and with the parliament there was a certain availability to meet the deadlines, “Fernández comments to RFI.

In 2017, the Blue Helmets of the United Nations Mission in Haiti, Minustah, left the Caribbean country, leaving behind a legacy of more than 30,000 deaths from cholera, whose bacteria are attributed to the death of these soldiers in 2004, and reports of more than 2 thousand victims of sexual abuse, among other violence.

The Chilean diplomat recalls: “I took over MINUSTAH after the cholera episode. And of course, the soldiers have made mistakes, it is like that, and they have to pay for it. But those mistakes are not comparable with the deterioration of the situation today after the departure of the Minustah”.

“What he then proposed to the United Nations Security Council, and which is valid for Haiti today, is that this important military presence should be replaced by a police presence. An international cooperation with the cooperation of the national police because it is a problem is one of public order,” estimates Fernández.

But, above all, what the diplomat recommends is that the UN implement “an important development plan.” “Some people have talked about a Marshall plan for Haiti. Why. Because the big problem is that people don’t have anything to work on. Then crime and the formation of mafias and gangs are facilitated.”

The former head of Minustah is convinced that, if this development plan has as a priority to generate work for Haitians, the situation of the families will improve and, consequently, the social conflict will subside.

“I believe that the United Nations has not understood that money must be invested, which in the case of Haiti is not much either, and thus it will have a display of things to do for many years, such as social housing, schools and other infrastructure. That will generate employment, which in Haiti is a fundamental issue”.

Risk of a cholera outbreak

The UN warned on Thursday of a possible explosion of cholera cases in the country after Haiti announced last week its first cases of this disease in three years and that has already caused at least seven deaths.

As of Friday, the UN said there were 12 confirmed and 152 suspected cholera cases in the country, though Ulrika Richardson, the United Nations humanitarian and resident coordinator for Haiti, said the true numbers could be much higher.

with AFP.