Fear shutters Haiti as it marks assassination
Schools and businesses across Haiti shuttered their doors on Monday and large numbers of police patrolled the streets as the country braced for a grim anniversary.
Monday marked not only seven months since President Jovenel Moise was slain at his private residence but also the end of his term, with opponents demanding that Prime Minister Ariel Henry step down, arguing that his administration is unconstitutional.
“We’re in a situation where fear is taking over peace,” Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., said. “Our country cannot continue to live that way.”
Thousands of people opted to stay home on Monday, afraid that even greater violence would erupt as Haiti’s political instability deepens, kidnappings spike and gangs grow more powerful amid a crumbling economy. Lionel Fortune, a 33-year-old law student, was among the few who ventured outside and waited a long time for a public bus to materialize on the empty streets.
“This country has totally deteriorated,” he said. “You don’t know who you can count on, who you can trust to lead the country to the right path.”
Henry, the prime minister, has promised to create a provisional electoral council soon to pave the way for elections that he says will occur by the end of this year as his administration tries to improve security conditions.
Haiti currently has only 10 elected officials since it failed to hold legislative elections in October 2019 amid political gridlock and protests, with Moise ruling by decree for over a year before his death. Since then, numerous opponents have challenged Henry and nominated their own leaders, moves that the prime minister has not recognized.