Haiti
Rwandan police leave after eight years of support to the PNH
126 officers from the Rwanda Constabulary Unit (UPC) of the United Nations Mission for the Support of Justice in Haiti (UNMIJUSTH) left Haiti on Saturday following the closure of operations of the last Rwandan contingent in the country.
According to a statement from the UN mission, the remaining 14 Rwandan officers will leave in September, putting an end to eight years of continuous presence of the Rwandan police in Haiti in support of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) since arriving in 2011.
The departure of these police officers who arrived in 2018 and were deployed in Jérémie and Miragoâne is part of the gradual withdrawal of the last three UPCs of UNMIJUSTH by October 2019. The scheduled closure of the mission was set by the United Nations Security Council for the United Nations Security Council, ending 15 years of United Nations peacekeeping operations in Haiti. Continue reading
New government in Haiti needed to address critical issue, Moise says
The Republic of Haiti needs a government to address the urgent needs of the time, including the return to school, the fight against insecurity among others, said President Jovenel Moïse at a graduation ceremony of 656 new police officers Thursday.
The creation of an ad hoc committee in the Chamber of Deputies to study the documents of the Prime Minister Fritz William Michel and his potential ministers is a big step in the right direction, Moïse added, reiterating his appeal dialogue to all sectors of national life.
Since the dismissal of the Prime Minister, Jean Henry Céant, and of his government, at the end of a meeting of interpellation in the Chamber of Deputies in March, no other government has been ratified by the Parliament. Continue reading
Police chief determined to hunt down bandits
Michel Ange Gédéon, head of the Haitian police, gave assurance Thursday while speaking at the graduation ceremony to members of the 30th promotion of the PNH that the police will continue the fight against armed gangs.
“In the crosshairs of the police gang leaders and those who finance them. The police will not accept that bandits have bosses. Those who reject their reputation will be responsible for their dishonor,” warned Mr. Gédéon. Continue reading
Gonaïves to hold the first edition of the International Vodou Festival in Haiti
The city of Gonaïves will host the first edition of the International Festival of Vodou (FIV) from August 12 to 14. Conferences-debates, guided tours in lakes and exhibitions of vodou artworks will constitute the backdrop of this cultural and spiritual event.
According to the initiators, the Arts Promotion Association (APA), the idea was born of an alarming report. The disdain of the population vis-à-vis vodou is an ancestral cult. In order to avoid a huge debacle, festival president Bekens Petit-Homme said it was important to sound the alarm and change people’s negative perception of this way of life.
“It is the duty of every Haitian to help safeguard the vodou culture that is one of the pillars of the nation’s identity,” he said.
The festival is a way to rebuild more than four centuries of history between Africa, America and Europe. Several personalities invited include: Augustin St Clou, king of the Haitian voodoo, Kate Rames, priest from New Orleans (USA) andKinoss Dossou, president of the Festival of Vodoun Arts in Brussels. Representatives of the Konfederasyon nasyonal vodouyizan ayisyen, the Benin Voodoo Festival and the National Bureau of Ethnology (BNE) are also expected. Continue reading