Thousands march to say ‘No to dictatorship’ as peaceful protest turns violent

A peaceful march to protest against the reinstatement of a dictatorship in Haiti and demand the ouster of President Jovenel Moïse ended in violence Sunday with at least one dead, several journalists injured and police firing tear gas and rubber bullets onto crowds in the country’s capital.

Billows of black smoke from burning vehicle and tires, used to barricade streets, were observed in the hills above Port-auPrince, in the latest clashes marking Haiti’s political crisis over the disputed term of Moïse. Protesters have accused the leader of illegally remaining in office because his term, according to the constitution, ended Feb. 7. Moïse disagrees and said he still has until February 2022. The U.S., United Nations and the Organization of American States’ secretary general support his claim.

In Port-au-Prince, the demonstration began shortly after 11 a.m. at constitutional plaza near the National Palace, and initially moved peacefully through the capital. But three hours later, protesters were forced to seek cover in nearby businesses and street corridors to avoid the toxic fumes of police tear gas and rubber bullets as they tried to deliver their message in front of the office of the United Nations and Organization of American States.

Local radio journalists on the scene reported in some instances, police were unprovoked when they opened fire, and in other instances, they were responding to rock-throwing militants. At least two journalists were injured after being hit with rubber bullets, Radio Zenith said.

The radio’s hosts also reported the death of an unidentified individual in the Delmas 95 neighborhood after his corpse was set on fire with a motorcycle on top by unidentified individuals.

“None of it was necessary,” said Gédéon Jean, a human rights activist who was among the organizers of the protest. “There ware a lot, a lot of people who took to the streets.”

The protest is part of an ongoing standoff between Moïse and his detractors who say his use of executive powers is igniting fears that he wants to return Haiti to a dictatorship. Moïse has been ruling by decree for more than a year after dismissing most of Parliament in January of last year and all of the country’s elected mayors. He has also issued a slew of decrees strengthening the power of his presidency.

Last weekend, after the opposition failed to get him to step down, Moïse announced the arrest of 23 people including a

Supreme Court judge in an alleged coup and assassination plot. The arrests, followed by several other worrying moves that experts say are unconstitutional, led to thousands of Haitians taking to the streets Sunday in Port-auPrince and other cities.

Sunday’s protest was billed as a peaceful demonstration for democracy by civil society and opposition groups, and everyday Haitians as well as notable personalities in the field of human rights and journalism.

They decided to come out, they said, to denounce what they consider to be worrying signs that Moïse wants to reinstate a dictatorship in Haiti 35 years after the country ousted its last dictator, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and ended he and his father’s nearly 30 year reign of terror that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, and caused many more to flee.

Moïse, who came into office in 2017 after a process marked by fraud and violent unrest, has said he is not a dictator. While his detractors protested his autocratic tendencies Sunday and demanded his ouster, he was attending the country’s National Carnival in Port-de-Paix, a city in the northwest.

Every president issues executives orders, but President Biden is really pushing it. Some orders reverse many of former President Trump’s polices, but others are really actions that should be undertaken by Congress. The Keystone Pipeline is an example. Congress should be discussing it and voting on it because it involves so many states.

Biden should review his previous statements during campaign. He made comments critical ofTrump’s use of executive orders.

Is it not about time that Biden finishes a speech and then actually answers questions from the press?

Have we gone from a president with an opinion on everything to one who has opinions on nothing unless it is on a teleprompter?

– Howard Wallach,

Miami