UPDATED
Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated at home: interim PM
AFP
Published July 7, 2021 -
In this file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, centre, leaves the National Pantheon museum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. — AP
Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home early on Wednesday morning by a group of armed individuals, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced.
Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.
Moise's injured wife was in the hospital, according to Joseph, who urged the public to remain calm, and insisted the police and army would ensure people's safety.
“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Joseph said.
Moise had been ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree, after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed in the wake of disputes, including on when his own term ends.
In addition to the political crisis, kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months, further reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.
Haiti also faces chronic poverty and recurrent natural disasters.
The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years. Most recently, Joseph was supposed to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.
Multiple crises
In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Supported by Moise, the text of the constitutional reform, aimed at strengthening the executive branch, has been overwhelmingly rejected by the opposition and many civil society organisations.
The constitution currently in force was written in 1987 after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship and declares that “any popular consultation aimed at modifying the Constitution by referendum is formally prohibited.”
Critics had also claimed it was impossible to organise a poll, given the general insecurity in the country.
Moise had been accused of inaction in the face of multiple crises, and faced steep opposition from swaths of the population.
The United Nations Security Council, the United States and Europe have called for free and transparent legislative and presidential elections to be held by the end of 2021.
Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home early on Wednesday morning by a group of armed individuals, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced.
Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.
Moise's injured wife was in the hospital, according to Joseph, who urged the public to remain calm, and insisted the police and army would ensure people's safety.
“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Joseph said.
Moise had been ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree, after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed in the wake of disputes, including on when his own term ends.
In addition to the political crisis, kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months, further reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.
Haiti also faces chronic poverty and recurrent natural disasters.
The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years. Most recently, Joseph was supposed to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.
Multiple crises
In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Supported by Moise, the text of the constitutional reform, aimed at strengthening the executive branch, has been overwhelmingly rejected by the opposition and many civil society organisations.
The constitution currently in force was written in 1987 after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship and declares that “any popular consultation aimed at modifying the Constitution by referendum is formally prohibited.”
Critics had also claimed it was impossible to organise a poll, given the general insecurity in the country.
Moise had been accused of inaction in the face of multiple crises, and faced steep opposition from swaths of the population.
The United Nations Security Council, the United States and Europe have called for free and transparent legislative and presidential elections to be held by the end of 2021.
Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated and his wife wounded early Wednesday June 7th in an attack at their home, the interim prime minister announced, an act that risks further destabilizing the Caribbean nation beset by gang violence and political volatility.
Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by mercenaries on Wednesday at his home in Port-au-Prince, officials said. File Photo by Jean Marc Herve Abelard/EPA-EFE
July 7 (UPI) -- Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home on Wednesday and his wife was injured in the attack, Haitian officials said.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said a group of armed attackers shot Moise and his wife after midnight on Tuesday at their home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.
It's believed some of the attackers spoke Spanish, Joseph said in a statement. The interim prime minister condemned the attack as "inhumane" and "barbaric."
"The country's security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti," Joseph added. "Democracy and the republic will win."
The Haitian Embassy in Canada also announced Moise's death.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, during an attack on his residence by mercenaries," the embassy tweeted. "Our hearts go out to the presidential family and to the whole nation."
Some protesters have recently demanded Moise's removal, The New York Times reported. Haiti was devastated by a severe earthquake in 2010 and hasn't fully recovered, even after receiving billions in reconstruction aid.
With poverty and hunger increasing, Moise's government has been accused of corruption and denying basic services to Haitians.
Haiti recently saw increases in COVID-19 deaths and awaits its first vaccine delivery from the international COVAX program. The country held carnival celebrations and eased restrictions earlier this year and is one of a handful of nations that have not begun vaccination programs
Haiti's long history of violence, invasion and repression
Issued on: 07/07/2021 -
But Haiti has suffered cycles of violence, invasion and repression for most of its subsequent history, including the dynastic Duvalier dictatorship.
President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers overnight, stirring fears of another bout of turmoil.
Here are some key events in Haiti's political history.
1492 – Spain colonises the island of Hispaniola after the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Two hundred years later Spain cedes the western half to France. Plantations worked by slaves of African origin produce sugar, rum and coffee that enrich France.
1801 – Former slave Toussaint Louverture leads a successful revolt and abolishes slavery.
1804 – Haiti becomes independent under former slave Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who is assassinated in 1806.
1915 – United States invades Haiti, withdrawing in 1943 but keeping financial control and political influence.
1937 – In the worst incident of long-standing rivalry with neighbouring Dominican Republic, thousands of Haitians in the border area are massacred by Dominican troops on the orders of dictator Trujillo.
1957 – Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier takes power with military backing, ushering in a period which sees widespread human rights abuses.
1964 – Duvalier declares himself president-for-life. His dictatorship is marked by repression, enforced by the feared Tonton Macoutes secret police.
1971 – Duvalier dies and is succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude, or "Baby Doc". Repression increases. In the following decades, thousands of Haitian "boat people" flee by sea to Florida, many dying on the way.
1986 – Popular revolt forces Baby Doc to flee Haiti to exile in France. Lieutenant-General Henri Namphy takes over.
1988 – General Prosper Avril takes over from Namphy in a coup.
1990 – Avril declares a state of siege amid protests but resigns ahead of elections under international pressure.
1990 – Former parish priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist champion of the poor, wins Haiti's first free election. He is ousted in a coup in 1991.
1994 – U.S. troops intervene to oust military regime and Aristide returns. U.N. peacekeepers deploy in 1995 and Aristide protege Rene Preval is elected president.
1999 – Aristide is elected president for a second term despite disputed results.
2004 – Political unrest forces Aristide to flee but the country descends into violence.
2006 – Preval wins election.
2008-2010 – Series of protests, triggered by food shortages, a cholera outbreak and then over elections.
2010 – A catastrophic earthquake kills between 100,000 and 300,000 people, according to various estimates, causing widespread damage in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere. Despite an international relief effort, the country is all but overwhelmed, exacerbating political, social and economic problems.
2011 – Michel Martelly wins second round of presidential election.
2012-14 – Frequent anti-government protests fueled by corruption and poverty. Demonstrators demand Martelly resign.
2017 – Jovenel Moise, a banana exporter-turned-politician, is declared winner of 2016 presidential election.
2019 – Moise steadily amasses power and rules by decree after Haiti fails to hold elections due to political gridlock and unrest.
Thousands take to the streets chanting "No to dictatorship" and calling for Moise's resignation.
(REUTERS)
Issued on: 07/07/2021 -
Haiti's President Jovenel Moise (centre) marks the 215th anniversary of Toussaint Louverture's death, at the National Pantheon museum, Haiti, April 7, 2018. © Dieu Nalio Chery, AP
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Haiti became Latin America and the Caribbean's first independent state of the colonial era and the first Black-led republic when it threw off French rule in the 19th century.
Haiti became Latin America and the Caribbean's first independent state of the colonial era and the first Black-led republic when it threw off French rule in the 19th century.
But Haiti has suffered cycles of violence, invasion and repression for most of its subsequent history, including the dynastic Duvalier dictatorship.
President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers overnight, stirring fears of another bout of turmoil.
Here are some key events in Haiti's political history.
1492 – Spain colonises the island of Hispaniola after the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Two hundred years later Spain cedes the western half to France. Plantations worked by slaves of African origin produce sugar, rum and coffee that enrich France.
1801 – Former slave Toussaint Louverture leads a successful revolt and abolishes slavery.
1804 – Haiti becomes independent under former slave Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who is assassinated in 1806.
1915 – United States invades Haiti, withdrawing in 1943 but keeping financial control and political influence.
1937 – In the worst incident of long-standing rivalry with neighbouring Dominican Republic, thousands of Haitians in the border area are massacred by Dominican troops on the orders of dictator Trujillo.
1957 – Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier takes power with military backing, ushering in a period which sees widespread human rights abuses.
1964 – Duvalier declares himself president-for-life. His dictatorship is marked by repression, enforced by the feared Tonton Macoutes secret police.
1971 – Duvalier dies and is succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude, or "Baby Doc". Repression increases. In the following decades, thousands of Haitian "boat people" flee by sea to Florida, many dying on the way.
1986 – Popular revolt forces Baby Doc to flee Haiti to exile in France. Lieutenant-General Henri Namphy takes over.
1988 – General Prosper Avril takes over from Namphy in a coup.
1990 – Avril declares a state of siege amid protests but resigns ahead of elections under international pressure.
1990 – Former parish priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist champion of the poor, wins Haiti's first free election. He is ousted in a coup in 1991.
1994 – U.S. troops intervene to oust military regime and Aristide returns. U.N. peacekeepers deploy in 1995 and Aristide protege Rene Preval is elected president.
1999 – Aristide is elected president for a second term despite disputed results.
2004 – Political unrest forces Aristide to flee but the country descends into violence.
2006 – Preval wins election.
2008-2010 – Series of protests, triggered by food shortages, a cholera outbreak and then over elections.
2010 – A catastrophic earthquake kills between 100,000 and 300,000 people, according to various estimates, causing widespread damage in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere. Despite an international relief effort, the country is all but overwhelmed, exacerbating political, social and economic problems.
2011 – Michel Martelly wins second round of presidential election.
2012-14 – Frequent anti-government protests fueled by corruption and poverty. Demonstrators demand Martelly resign.
2017 – Jovenel Moise, a banana exporter-turned-politician, is declared winner of 2016 presidential election.
2019 – Moise steadily amasses power and rules by decree after Haiti fails to hold elections due to political gridlock and unrest.
Thousands take to the streets chanting "No to dictatorship" and calling for Moise's resignation.
(REUTERS)
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