As protests continue on the Caribbean island of Haiti, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, states that gangs are progressively taking over the monopoly on physical coercion, making it more difficult for the government to function.
Tuesday, protestors lauded Dessalines, the leader of the anti-slavery struggle, and said that foreign forces should not be sent to Haiti. They also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The United Nations Security Council had a split vote on Monday about the deployment of an international force to Haiti in response to deteriorating security and an outbreak of cholera, which occurred after armed gangs seized control of the key port and halted fuel delivery.
Gonsalves, speaking on St. Vincent state radio on Wednesday, said;
“The gangs are more and more in control and the state clearly doesn’t have a legitimate monopoly on physical coercion at the moment, making the legitimacy of the government problematic.”
“We have to do something about it and make sure that whatever we do, we do it in our capacity. We can’t allow our aspirations to run ahead of our capacity and we have to make sure that we have the interests of the Haitian people at the forefront,” Gonsalves stated.
“The government of SVG will not be taking sides with anyone, whether the existing Haitian government or any country from outside. We want to see order, humanitarian assistance, and a transitional unity government that will help to prepare for elections. “
Gonsalves stated that the security, humanitarian, and political issues in the French-speaking Caribbean country must be addressed simultaneously.
“While you are dealing with the security issue and you deal with the humanitarian issue, you have to deal at the same time with the political question. They have to ride in tandem, “Gonsalves said.”
The Haitian government had been awaiting a response to Henry’s recent request for the international community to help set up a “specialised armed force” to quell the violence, which has worsened in the power vacuum created by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The United States and Mexico said on Monday they are preparing another UN resolution that would authorise “an international assistance mission” to help improve security in crisis-racked Haiti so that humanitarian aid desperately needed by millions of people can be delivered.
Petrol stations remain closed, hospitals have slashed services and businesses, including banks and supermarkets, have cut their hours as everyone across the country runs out of fuel.
The situation has been worsened by a recent cholera outbreak, with hundreds hospitalised and dozens dead amid a scarcity of potable water and other basic supplies.
