EDITORIAL
- Jovenel Moïse having crossed the nation’s threshold of tolerance, it’s time now to eject him from power
During the “country lock” phenomenon late last year until last February, the popular and democratic sector had called for the immediate and unconditional departure of Jovenel Moïse from the National Palace. Millions of citizens took to the streets, both in the capital and in cities, towns, and villages throughout all regions with the same objective, reflecting thereby the legitimacy of their cause. But, comforted by his international “friends,” especially those in Washington, he continued to cling to power. However, the criminal, illegal and unconstitutional acts committed in recent months by the ruling team are so horrendous, that the threshold of the Haitian people’s tolerance has been crossed. Therefore, now more than ever, a united effort to expel The Banana Man from the People’s House is in order.
Indeed, under the governance of Mr. Moïse, especially in the past few weeks, Haiti has witnessed criminal acts perpetrated by the scoundrels in power that defy imagination. In the wake of the assassination of the President of the Bar Association of Port-au-Prince, the brilliant lawyer Monferrier Dorval, the outcry was such that one would have thought this government of gangsters would refrain from more misdeeds. However, more spectacular crimes have been added to those already recorded, particularly in Port-au-Prince. The disturbing criminal series initiated by the Executive and their henchmen is in full swing. Gangs are recruited and armed by the government to carry out the murders just as it happens in a mafia organization. Adding to their barbarism, the henchmen of the regime did not hesitate to invade the sacrosanct site of a University to gun down a student leader in the final stage of his studies. Imagine that, they shot went through his back.
Young Gregory Saint-Hilaire grew up in the lawless neighborhood called Village de Dieu, in the Haitian capital. It is a stronghold of armed bandits in the pay of the country’s decision-makers. Nonetheless, he opted for a noble career by going to one of Haiti’s top schools. There, at the compound of the “École Normale Supérieure” (French acronym ENS) he became a victim last Friday, October 2, of the murderous bullet fired by a police officer of the General Security Unity of the National Palace (French acronym USGPN). He died tragically while taking part in a peaceful demonstration at the institution. The students were only asking that they be integrated into the teaching system.
The death of Gregory Saint-Hilaire generated a wave of discontent and indignation among different sectors, both in the academic world as well as in civil society, triggering all kinds of criticism of the Executive, held responsible for this vile act. It has been learned that Jovenel Moïse and his close collaborators sent the Palace police to the scene of the demonstration, not far from the Palace, with orders to use brute force in repressing the protest.
The young Saint-Hilaire was doubly victimized. Injured by a bullet fired by a police officer, he was transported, after a long waiting period, to the Haitian State University Hospital (French acronym HUEH) to receive the urgent care he needed, as he bled profusely. However, there was no competent doctor present at the medical institution to care for him. He just passed out.
Clearly, the police officers of the USGPN, totally devoted to their chief, and encouraged by the underlings of the PHTK regime in the service of the Boss, wholeheartedly embrace their mission to suppress, in blood, the street demonstrations. They have been given “carte blanche” to assassinate those considered critics of the president. Meanwhile, protesters, falling victim to bullets of rogue police officers have no chance being saved. Unless they are taken to a private hospital. For, although the HUEH is reputed as being the largest —and most important– hospital center in the country, it is not able to provide adequate care to the victims who end up there. To be noted, the attending staff go unpaid for months because the government is said to lack the resources to pay them on a regular basis. This problem of irregular payment of the medical staff results in the absence of doctors and nurses on night duty. And patients who arrive at the institution in the evening have practically no chance of receiving the care urgently needed. Such was the case for Gregory Saint-Hilaire.
The criminal characteristics of the PHTK government, led by Jovenel Moïse, are no longer a secret for the nation. While the criminal acts perpetrated on a daily basis remain unpunished, the demonstrators, nevertheless, take to the streets to vehemently denounce such practices, despite the risks of being shot to death by police officers, well paid by the National Palace.
Certainly, Jovenel Moïse and his PHTK allies have given themselves a mission, that of decimating their opponents. To carry out their objective, they facilitate the federation of certain gangs under the leadership of Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue, a former police officer who was expelled from the National Police for behavior unbecoming a member of the institution. Henceforth, “G-9 in Family and Allies” is recognized by the government as an “institution of public utility,” even registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Families of gang members receive food vouchers from the National Palace.
It is worth nothing that since the creation of the criminal federation, death and desolation have been on the increase in the poorer neighborhoods surrounding the capital. During the months of May and June, such slum neighborhoods as Grand Ravin, Village de Dieu, Cité Soleil, Delmas 2 and 3, and others were occasionally the targets of Chérizier and his men. However, more recently, it is the Bel-Air neighborhood, another underprivileged area of the capital that has been the scene of fire and bloodshed. During the months of July, August and September, Bel-Air, which is not far from the National Palace, was the object of frequent attacks. Almost every week, or two, Jimmy Chérizier’s men have gone on a rampage, killing peaceful citizens and setting fire to their homes. Calls for help by the victims to the local police station, are left unanswered. Not only are the perpetrators of these criminal raids not worried, their leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, still roams the streets unperturbed, despite a warrant for his arrest issued more than a year ago.
Recognized as a criminal government, obscurantism must now be added to the regime’s attributes. This is the first time that the State has set itself up as the official persecutor of a University, a government institution no less. The brutal attack on the École Normale Supérieure consecrates Jovenel Moïse and his team as such. For not only did they kill Gregory Saint-Hilaire, they also set fire to the University’s library.
Considering how Jovenel Moïse and his associates attack the other pillars of the State –the Legislative and the Judicial—and how they wallow into all sorts of abuses, attention has been drawn repeatedly to their ignorance of the means of good governance, and their lack of expertise which they could have learned in certain centers of knowledge. Neither have they had access to models as far as good governance is concerned. However, one could never have imagined that they had the potential to unleash their violence even on a university.
Undoubtedly, the man at the helm in the National Palace has shown his propensity to sink deeper into criminal excesses. In fact, as far as the Haitian people are concerned, he has already crossed the threshold of tolerance. Enough is enough! It is high time for the ultimate effort to drive Jovenel Moïse out of the People’s House.
Cet article est publié par l’hebdomadaire Haiti-Observateur, édition du 7 octobre 2020, VOL. L No. 39 et se trouve en P. 11 à : http://haiti-observateur.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HO7October2020.pdf
