Port au PrincePublic opinion in Haiti has been divided over Kenya’s announcement that it will support the Caribbean country in its fight against criminal gangs and consider the possibility of leading a multinational force.
Most recently, at the beginning of July, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, again called on the UN Security Council to approve the deployment of a multinational force to Haiti in order to support the government of Haiti in improving the security situation. In his opinion, more security is an important prerequisite for improving living conditions in the country.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who took office without elections two years ago after the assassination of his predecessor Jovenel Moïse by Colombian mercenaries on an unclear order, wants this step. The USA, which advocated an intervention in October last year, failed with a corresponding proposal in the Security Council (america21 reported).
Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus welcomed the statements of his African counterpart Alfred Mutua, who confirmed his willingness to provide effective support to the Haitian law enforcement forces in their struggle to restore a secure environment. A reconnaissance mission by Kenya is to take place in the Caribbean country in the coming weeks to clarify how to proceed.
Mutua stated in a statement that his country is ready to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti as soon as the UN Security Council approves the mandate.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Claude Joseph spoke out, questioning Nairobi’s ability to lead an international force in Haiti while the country is mired in its own political crisis.
For months, Kenya has been regularly shaken by demonstrations, with anti-government protests over the high cost of living being violently repressed, which human rights organizations and the Kenyan Bishops’ Conference have heavily criticized, Joseph said.
Well-known opposition politician and human rights lawyer André Michel spoke out in favor of an intervention, stressing that only a multinational force could help the “country plagued by armed gangs”.
Since the preparations for a foreign intervention, there have been repeated mass protests in Haiti, massively rejecting this possibility and announcing resistance (america21 reported).
The last such intervention in Haiti, involving 4,900 soldiers, is remembered as one of the most heavily criticized UN missions in recent decades. The Minustah (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti – 2004 to 2017) repeatedly caused protests in the country because it was perceived as an occupying power. Political and human rights organizations in Haiti and Latin America have repeatedly denounced violent attacks on demonstrators, cases of abuse and other scandals in the context of this operation. Minustah was also responsible for the cholera outbreak in 2010: UN soldiers brought cholera to Haiti. At least 10,000 people died as a result of the epidemic and up to 800,000 were affected (america21 reported).