P-au-P, July 6, 2024 [AlterPresse] — Prime Minister Garry Conille warned on July 6 that gangs have no choice but to lay down their arms, submit to state authority, and he promised that victims of bandit violence will obtain justice and reparations, during a press conference followed by AlterPresse.
Clarifying his statement of June 25, when he called on the gangs to lay down their arms before any other provision, the head of government said that “a limited space (of time)” is granted to the bandits.
“I will not wait indefinitely. The end of this film is planned,” he insists, while assuring that the victims will obtain justice and compensation, because “to get out of this situation permanently, it is necessary. This is what history teaches.”
“The Haitian people will not lose this battle,” he assures.
Garry Conille was meeting the press on his return from a trip of about a week to the United States to try to reinvigorate international cooperation with Haiti.
The Prime Minister outlined four priorities on the thorny security issue: regaining state control of all gang-occupied areas; returning people displaced by gang violence to their neighbourhoods; restoring the free movement of people and goods; and providing justice and reparations for victims.
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On the arrival on June 25 of a first contingent of 200 Kenyan police officers from the Multinational Security Support Mission, Conille declared: “We will gradually take back our country, without confrontation, if it is not necessary. However, let no one suspect the objective! The State will take charge again and reaffirm its authority so that everyone can live in peace.”
Before the UN Security Council on July 3, the Prime Minister called for effective international cooperation to re-establish security and restore democratic institutions in Haiti.
This effective cooperation should be established between national authorities, the Multinational Mission for Security Support (MMAS) and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), among others, Conille recommended.
The Haitian Prime Minister hopes that the deployment of MMAS police officers alongside Haitian law enforcement will help put an end to the activities of criminal groups.
However, he hopes that Haiti will definitively escape the spiral of security missions and, at the end of this mission, will have strong and effective institutions.
Despite the presence of the multinational force, new offensives were launched by gang members, particularly in Gressier, where they murdered and kidnapped around twenty residents, after the new storming, on Sunday, June 30, 2024, of the police station in the said town, which was taken over by the Police on the afternoon of Monday, July 1, 2024.
Armed bandits shot dead several people, including two divisional police inspectors, on Thursday, July 4, 2024 in Carrefour (southern outskirts).
Garry Conille expressed his sympathies to the parents and relatives of these new victims. [apr 06/07/2024 17:00]
