12/22/2005
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The situation in Haiti is desperate. Minustah once again under attack
Marc Bourque, a Canadian member of the blue berets of Minustah, the United Nations
Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, lost his life following an attack by a group of
armed men in one of the most heavily damaged, poor and dangerous areas of the
capital at Port au Prince.
The facts. According to news coming out of the island, the soldier and a colleague, who
was not injured in the incident, were guarding a roadblock near the bidonville
of Citè Soleil when a group of men opened fire on the vehicle the two blue berets
were sitting in.
Even though Bourque was quickly taken to a medical facility set up the Argentinian contingent of the blue berets, he died shortly after from loss of blood. Bourque, together with 25 other Canadians, was in Haiti to help oversee the imminent elections.
A desperate situation. The condition in which Haiti finds itself is so dramatic that presidential elections
have been postponed on more than one occasion in the last few months, creating
apprehension among the population and raising strong doubts in international public
opinion.
Returning fears. The hope is that recent events aren’t the beginning of another “season of attacks”
and that the kidnappings of old, which even involve children, won’t be resumed.
An example of this was seen a few weeks ago when a large group of armed men kidnapped
a group of school boys between the ages of 11 and 18 who were on their way to
school by bus. Luckily enough the children were all released without harm a few
hours later after a ransom had been paid. One of the mothers of a child involved
said that the ransom paid was around $50,000, although the Haitian police claim
that the sum involved was much less.
The facts. According to news coming out of the island, the soldier and a colleague, who
was not injured in the incident, were guarding a roadblock near the bidonville
of Citè Soleil when a group of men opened fire on the vehicle the two blue berets
were sitting in.
Even though Bourque was quickly taken to a medical facility set up the Argentinian contingent of the blue berets, he died shortly after from loss of blood. Bourque, together with 25 other Canadians, was in Haiti to help oversee the imminent elections.
This, however, is only the latest episode in a series of incidents that is lacerating
Haitian society.
In recent days, three other members of the Minustah forces have been attacked.
Three Chilean soldiers (the Chilean contingent is the biggest in Haiti), came
under fire while they were patrolling the streets of Plaisance and were forced
to open fire in self-defence, chasing away their attackers.
A desperate situation. The condition in which Haiti finds itself is so dramatic that presidential elections
have been postponed on more than one occasion in the last few months, creating
apprehension among the population and raising strong doubts in international public
opinion. While it is still not known who is responsible for the attacks (the security
forces have not arrested anyone), the method and timing employed leads to the
suspicion that they could be the work of supporters of the former president, Jean
Bertrande Aristide, who was overthrown in February 2004 following public demonstrations
and disorder and a joint French/American intervention, who are still thought to
be on the island.
The situation is so dangerous that it’s not just the local population that is
frightened. On 13 December Leonel Fernandez, president of the Dominican Republic,
brusquely interrupted his official visit to the island, where he had had meetings
with the interim president, Boniface Alexandre, and the prime minister, Gerad
Latortue, “to avoid running the risk of being assassinated”, which says a lot
about the current situation on the island.
Returning fears. The hope is that recent events aren’t the beginning of another “season of attacks”
and that the kidnappings of old, which even involve children, won’t be resumed.
An example of this was seen a few weeks ago when a large group of armed men kidnapped
a group of school boys between the ages of 11 and 18 who were on their way to
school by bus. Luckily enough the children were all released without harm a few
hours later after a ransom had been paid. One of the mothers of a child involved
said that the ransom paid was around $50,000, although the Haitian police claim
that the sum involved was much less.Alessandro Grandi
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