- After the president was assassinated two weeks ago, the new Prime Minister of Haiti took office on Tuesday.
- Ariel Henry promised to improve the terrible security situation in the country and organize long-delayed elections.
- Henry’s swearing-in was seen as a crucial step in holding elections in accordance with the requirements of many Haitians and the international community.
After the assassination of the Haitian president two weeks ago, Haiti’s new prime minister, Ariel Henry, took office on Tuesday, promising to improve the country’s terrible security situation and organize long-delayed elections.
Since President Jovenel Moise was murdered in his residence in the early hours of July 7, Henry has been appointed as the head of the new government in an attempt to stabilize the country on the brink of chaos.
Henry was appointed to the position by Moise a few days before his death, which was seen as a crucial step in the demand for elections by many Haitians and the international community.
After the president was killed by an armed commando, the acting prime minister, Claude Joseph, declared a “siege state” and called him responsible, launching a power struggle in this violent and impoverished Caribbean country.
“One of my first tasks is to reassure people that we will do everything we can to restore order and safety,” Henry told Haiti’s 10 million people on Tuesday.
“This is one of the main issues the President wants me to solve because he understands that this is a necessary step if we are to succeed in the credible, honest, transparent, and inclusive elections of the organization he cares about.”
Before the inauguration in Port-au-Prince, people solemnly paid tribute to Moise, including speeches, dancing and music on the stage, with a bouquet of white flowers and a huge portrait of the assassinated president.
With the help of the FBI, the Haitian authorities are still investigating the unknown motives behind Moise’s assassination.
More than 20 people, many of them veterans from Colombia, were arrested in connection with the murder.
In the new government, Joseph, who agreed to abdicate and cede the post to Henry, resumed his post as foreign minister.
The 53-year-old Moise ruled Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree after the legislative elections in 2018 were postponed due to multiple disputes (including when his own term ends).
In addition to the presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was originally scheduled to hold a constitutional referendum in September, which was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the power struggle after Moyes was killed, when ambassadors from the United States, France, and the United Nations unofficially supported the 71-year-old neurosurgeon, the balance tilted to Henry.
Haiti has no working council, no viable succession procedure, and was in deep political and security crisis when Moise was killed.
The Haitian police charged a Haitian doctor with ties to Florida, Christian Emmanuel Sanon (Christian Emmanuel Sanon), who was the mastermind of the conspiracy and possessed “political goals”.
“All criminals, perpetrators and sponsors must be identified and brought to justice,” Henry, who has served in multiple ministerial positions, said in his speech.
“And I hope that exemplary and dissuasive judgments will be pronounced. The country’s expectations of its leaders will not be lowered. We never have to relive such tragedies.”
“The solution to the Haitian crisis must come from Haitians,” he added.
“Everything can be negotiated, except for democracy, elections and the rule of law.”
Henry also thanked international partners for bringing the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine, which arrived in a country with scarce health resources last week.
The United States, which exerts extensive influence in Haiti, welcomed the new government. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken stated that this is “a positive and necessary step to respond to the needs of the Haitian people and begin to restore the democratic system in Haiti.”
Moise will rest in peace in the northern city of Cap Haiti on Friday. His widow, Martin, was seriously injured in the attack and was treated in a Miami hospital before returning home over the weekend.
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