Will president or protesters yield?

THE OPERATION dubbed ‘Find Jovenel Moïse’ organised by opposition leaders demanding the resignation of Haiti’s president ended abruptly when he appeared at the National Palace early this week following violent protests in which several people were killed.

Haitians had become so accustomed to not seeing their president in person amid a deepening political and economic crisis that his arrival at the palace Tuesday took protesters by surprise. Only a handful of them were present to pelt his convoy with rocks.

Despite the rarity of his public appearances, the embattled leader has given no indication that he will step down after nearly a month of demonstrations against corruption, spiralling inflation and dwindling supplies of food and gasolene. Opponents scheduled another protest for Wednesday, promising to once again paralyse Haiti’s capital and nearby communities if he doesn’t leave office.

As the stand-off continues, Haitians wonder who will yield first: the protesters or the president.

“It’s a dramatic situation, a chaotic situation,” said Evans Paul, a former prime minister and Moïse ally who privately discussed the crisis Monday with the Core Group, which includes officials from the United Nations, United States, Canada, France and others.

Paul told The Associated Press that those present did not say whether Moïse should remain in power or resign, but dialogue, voiced support for Haiti’s institutions and defended democratic principles.

Paul said he believes Moïse has two options: choose a prime minister backed by the opposition or possibly reduce the length of his presidential term. However, Paul said many problems remain, including the lack of a provisional electoral commission to oversee any vote.

He said that while he has encouraged Moïse to make bigger concessions, “He can’t put everything on the table.”

The opposition has rejected Moïse’s pick for a new prime minister and the confirmation vote indefinitely postponed on September 23 after a senator, who said he was trying to protect himself from protesters, fired his pistol outside Haiti’s Senate, injuring an AP photographer and a security guard.

If Moïse and key officials arrive at a solution, it will likely be announced by a non-partisan group instead of the president to lend it credibility and appease the people, Paul said.