As new Haiti leadership takes power, gangs demand a seat at the table
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s new transition council is set to choose the country’s next president on Tuesday, but leaders of the gangs who have exerted increasing control are clamouring for political influence and amnesties and threatening violence if their demands are not met. Last week, after former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned, the council was […]
Caribbean ambassador calls for global action to establish slavery tribunal
Reuters A high-level Caribbean ambassador said on Wednesday it was crucial to establish a new international special tribunal to seek reparations for transatlantic slavery and its legacies in today’s society. Reuters reported earlier this month that support was building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of such a tribunal on atrocities dating to […]
Haiti decrees long-awaited transition council, but questions remain
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haiti’s government on Friday issued a decree formalising the creation of a nine-member transitional presidential council, a long-delayed move intended as the first step in restoring security to the gang-ravaged Caribbean country. The decree, however, leaves many questions unanswered. It does not name the new council members or establish a timeframe for its […]
Slavery tribunal?: Africa, Caribbean unite on reparations
CATARINA DEMONY, of Reuters, reports on the support building for the creation of an international tribunal on atrocities dating to the transatlantic trade of enslaved people…
Haitians seek to flee gang-fueled anarchy as neighbours boost militaries
Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Kingston, Jamaica Reuters With no sign yet of a long-promised transitional council to usher in the deployment of international troops and restore order, Haitians who can are trying to flee the country. Violent gangs have taken over much of the capital, killed thousands, and forced millions into acute hunger. People take cover from gunfire […]
Diplomats push for progress on Haiti transition as death toll mounts
Reuters Diplomats at a regional Americas body on Wednesday urged Haitian politicians to move forward with a delayed plan to replace Prime Minister Ariel Henry with a transitional council, a move which could trigger the long-awaited deployment of an international security force. The transitional council – agreed with the mediation of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) […]
UN chief calls for slavery reparations to overcome “generations of discrimination”
Reuters United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called on Monday for reparations over the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people as a way to tackle its legacy in today’s society, including systemic racism. From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported by European ships and merchants and sold into […]
Haiti gang leader killed as transition council nears completion
Updated: 6pm (AEDT) Reuters Attacks, including a shooting that left a gang leader dead, flared in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday as political groups appeared nearer to finalising a transition council to take over from an absent government. A police operation killed the head of the Delmas 95 gang, Ernst Julme, known as Ti Greg, […]
Haiti’s top gang leader threatens politicians as fires break out in capital
Port-au-Prince Reuters A powerful gang leader in Haiti has issued a threatening message aimed at political leaders who would take part in a planned transition council, as fires broke out amid a fresh surge of violence in the capital. After unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Monday he would step down once the council […]
After Prime Minister pledges to step down, uneasy quiet in Haiti capital
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Uncertainty hung over Haiti’s political future on Tuesday after its Prime Minister said he would step down, a move welcomed by many Haitians exhausted by months of escalating gang violence, but with questions over security still to be settled. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico, released a recorded video late […]