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Haitian protesters clash with police in new push for president's ouster

By Andre Paultre

 

Protesters march during a demonstration to demand the resignation of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, in the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian opposition leaders led a large and mostly peaceful march in the capital on Friday as they called for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, whom they blame for a deep economic and political crisis in the troubled Caribbean country.

 

Although some violence flared between protesters and police, the mood overall was calmer than in recent rallies, as the opposition appeared to heed calls from the United Nations and Canada to stage peaceful demonstrations.

 

At one point, protesters atop a truck blasting music used microphones to beseech others not to throw rocks at police and businesses.

 

Earlier in the day, clashes had broken out as helmeted police with shields used trucks, water cannons and tear gas to prevent protesters from marching on the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping and justice force near the Port-au-Prince airport.

 

Some protesters set tires aflame and hurled rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails in the streets.

 

Many opposition leaders and disgruntled Haitians have called for Moise's ouster, blaming him for a failing to address problems widespread food and fuel shortages, a weakening currency, double-digit inflation and graft accusations made against public officials.

 

Andre Michel, a political opposition leader, told Reuters this week the demonstration was meant to send a "very strong message" that Moise needs to step down.

 

In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres dated Wednesday, opposition leaders urged the organization to disassociate from Moise, whose government they said helped commit a "massacre" in the poor La Saline neighbourhood in the capital.

 

Moise in late September removed several security officials following the incident.

 

"The country is on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe," the letter stated, noting that shuttered businesses, banks and schools have made Haiti "totally dysfunctional" and more than 100 demonstrators have been injured.

 

The country is still grappling with the fallout from past crises, including a 2010 earthquake that killed some 300,000 people.

 

Protests in the most impoverished country in the Americas last week were among the largest and most violent in months. During some of the unrest, specialized units of the U.N.-backed Haitian National Police were ransacked and looted and two police vehicles set on fire.

 

Anti-government demonstrations turned especially violent in February, when the United Nations said 41 people were killed and another 100 injured. Police say at least five people have been killed in clashes in the past few weeks, but Moise has given no indication he intends to resign.

 

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland this week condemned all violence in Haiti, and the U.N. reiterated earlier calls for calm.

 

(Reporting by Andre Paultre, Writing by Dave Graham and Daina Beth SolomonEditing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-05

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[Stargeezr]

I am glad that people from other countries came to Haiti and helped build schools

and repair a lot of places after their last Hurricane and earthquake troubles.

  I seen a doc show with Sean Penn and it showed me just how a lot of the people 

from Haiti were not great workers, or could be trusted to fix up their own country.

  Corruption was there for a long time in the past, and will be for our life times.

I do hope some day the people in government will try to not be so corrupt and

truly help the population of this countrr.

Geezer