Powerful U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy has spoken:
- “Jovenel Moïse’s term expires on February 7, 2021.
- And Congresspeople agree. IT IS OVER!
- Special to Haïti-Observateur By Emmanuel Roy
In less than twenty-four hours, Haitian President Jovenel Moise’s term of office will expire. But the president has assembled a cast of characters to whom he has been paying thousands of dollars a month to help him convince the Biden administration that his term of office will not expire until February 7, 2022. His propaganda machine has been on overdrive, seeking to change public opinion about prolonging his term of office in violation of the Haitian constitution. But, earlier today, Saturday, February 6, Senator Patrick Leahy tweeted this:
“Feb. 7 th marks the end of Pres. Moise’s term in Haiti. The country is in worse shape than when he began w/rampant poverty, corruption & gang violence in which the govt is complicit. The US should join in calling for an inclusive transition that represents the Haitian people”
What happened at the State Department Press Briefing with Ned Price?
On Wednesday February 3, 2021, U.S. Department of State spokesman Ned Price led a press briefing about several issues involving U.S. relationship with Russia and extension of an arm treaty. During the press briefing Mr. Price spoke about various issues involving different countries. This type of press briefing is meant to answer questions and explain certain decisions made by the administration or the State Department.
But the State Department has specific procedures on how policy decisions are made. Normally, once a decision involving Haiti has been officialized, it appears on the State Department’s website, the website of the Secretary of State, as well as on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Policy pronouncements are serious matters to which the Department give special attention as to how they are communicated.
For example, policies regarding a country are communicated officially in ways that leaves no doubt as to the stand of the American government. Answers provided by Ned Price to a question about the end of Jovenel Moïse’s mandate as president of Haiti is not the American government policy vis-à-vis the country. The Biden administration has not issued an official pronouncement about Jovenel Moïse’s term of office.
Why is President Jovenel Moise so desperate to stay in office?
While Mr. Moïse and his lobbyists have been trumpeting Ned Price’s statement as official pronouncement of the American government, I have listened to the press briefing very carefully, reviewed the websites of the Stated Department, the Secretary of State, and of the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. Nowhere on any of these sites is there an official pronouncement supporting prolonging Jovenel Moïse’s term.
Mr. Moïse wants to remain in office to conduct a fraudulent election that would guarantee that the murderous PHTK, Bald Headed, party will remain in power. It is self-serving effort for several reasons. The PHTK party has been in office since 2011, Two separate investigations by constitutionally mandated State Auditors revealed widespread corruption involving government ministers, including former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. More than $4 billion of the PetroCaribe Fund have been embezzled or otherwise disappeared. President Moïse is implicated for having received millions of dollars for projects never done. To this day, not a single person has been called to account for this brazen theft.
The murder of renown attorney Monferrier Dorval, president of the Bar Association of Port-Au-Prince, last August 29, occurred few feet away from the residence of Jovenel Moïse, who said his wife, Martine, showed him the video of the execution five minutes after the fact. The cellphone of the victim was found in the possession of the First Lady’s chauffeur. He claims that the president gave him the phone. The morning of his assassination that occurred after 11 pm, according to President Moïse himself, Mr. Dorval had given an interview to a leading radio station in Port-au-Prince during which he said the country “is neither governed nor managed.” In private he had also said that he would soon give an interview about the end of the president’s term on February 7, 2021.
Murderous gangs have taken over the country, kidnapping and murdering people daily. These gang leaders make no secret for whom they work. They have carried out several massacres, notably in the impoverished neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. This prompted Congresswoman Maxine Waters, last May, to send a letter to U.S. ambassador Michle J. Sison reminding her of her role as U.S. ambassador to Haiti.
In 2019, the Trump administration made a deal with Jovenel Moïse, in exchange for his support to condemn Venezuela. Thus, did Mr. Moïse obtained the blessing of the State Department which has kept mum about all the crimes he committed. And now, a holdover of the Trump administration at the State Department has come to the rescue of their ally at this critical junction. All of it in violation of the Haitian constitution and the electoral law under which Jovenel Moïse was elected. The deal hatched with Moïse was that of the Trump administration, not of Biden’s. When Ned Price spoke about Haiti this week, his answer reflected the position of the Trump administration, not that of Biden’s.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the president pro-tempore of the United States Senate tweeted earlier this morning that Jovenel Moise term of office expires on Sunday February 7, 2021 and that the U.S. must push for an inclusive transition that represents the people of Haiti.
Reinforcing Senator Leahy’s position, a group of seven Congresspeople, including Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote a letter today, February 6, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they express “great concern about ongoing developments in Haiti.” They further state that they “believe deeply in democracy and the rule of law . . . we feel it is essential that the United States unambiguously reject any attempt by President Moïse to retain power in contravention of those principles. The time for a Haitian-led democratic transition is now.” AMEN!
Version PDF : special h-o 6 fev 2021
