Haitian Times Morning News Roundup – Mar. 18

PORT AU PRINCE – Senate candidate and former paramilitary leader Guy Philippe has threatened a “civil war” if the Privert government fails to hold elections on April 24, Canada Haiti Action Network reported. Efforts to restart the electoral process have been stalled by a stand-off between interim President Jocelerme Privert and pro-Martelly legislators, who insist on quick elections without a verification of the vote.

Philippe’s threat to resolve Haiti’s electoral crisis through violence would seem very real, given the recent parade of militiamen sympathetic to PHTK on February 5. Despite his bellicose comments and his name appearing on the U.S. government’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wanted list for drug trafficking, the international powers do not appear concerned by Philippe’s political involvement or his repeated threats of violence.

PORT AU PRINCE (CMC) – The Government of Japan has signed three grant agreements, totaling US$256,000, with Haiti, two of which will go towards the development of the agricultural sector.

During a recent ceremony, the Ambassador of Japan accredited to Port-au-Prince, Yoshiaki Hatta, said, US$87,000 will go towards the Association of Women in Action of Gros Morne (AFAGM) for the development of a fruit processing plant, the construction of a storage area and equipment necessary for the operation of the workshop.

An amount of US$90,000 was also made available to the farmers of the Association for the Development of Liancourt Moreau (APDML) for the development of a grain workshop, including a shed with a drying area and three motorized grain grinders.

The Ambassador also signed off on US$80,000 for the construction of six classrooms, a toilet block and the provision of school furniture in the community of Levêque .

Funds were also provided to improve access to safe drinking water and hygiene promotion at 12 schools and 12 communities in the Southeast department, and six schools and four communities in the municipality of Croix-des-Bouquets.

PORT AU PRINCE  (AFP) – At least seven people were killed and about 30 others seriously burned Thursday in Haiti when a tanker truck transporting fuel for the Total oil company caught fire and exploded.

The accident took place in the town of Hinche, 110 kilometers (65 miles) northeast of the capital Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Civil Defense office said.

Witnesses told AFP that the tanker truck hit a wall and spilled fuel as it was preparing to unload at a Total service station.

The flammable liquid spread and caught fire when it reached vendors cooking food on outdoor grills. The flames quickly returned to the tanker, which set off the explosion.

Seven people died on the spot, and the burn victims were rushed to area hospitals and to Port-au-Prince for treatment, the Civil Defense office said.