A group of international diplomats has urged the Prime Minister-designate in Haiti to form a government, as political uncertainty continues after the recently murdered of President Jovenel Moise.
In a statement on Saturday, the Main Group called for the creation of a “consensus and inclusive government” in Haiti, which before the assassination of Moses had seen increased gang violence and political instability.
“To this end, he strongly encourages Prime Minister-designate Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form this government,” the statement said.
The Core Group consists of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, the European Union, and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
The group also called for “all political, economic and civil society actors in the country to fully support the authorities in their efforts to restore security.”
The murder of Moses on July 7 it will worsen the already unstable political situation in Haiti, as the constitution of the Caribbean nation is unclear who should take over and the president had been leading by decree for more than a year amid defunct state institutions.
Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph has been at the helm of the country with the support of police and the army, although Moise had announced his replacement a day before the president’s death.
Joseph and his allies argue that the designated successor, Henry, never swore an oath, although he pledged to work with him and Joseph Lambert, the inactive Haitian Senate leader.
Leading civil society activists have said that any solution to the current crises facing the country must be led by Haiti. Many do rejected a U.S. push and the UN will hold general elections later this year, saying continued instability makes it impossible to hold free and fair elections.
Haitian journalist and activist Monique Clesca on Saturday rejected the Core Group’s statement.
“This is interference,” Clesca wrote on Twitter. “Worse, this is being done while civil society and political parties come together to decide the way forward!”
Haitian civil society and political groups have formed a commission to try to find a Haitian solution to the crises and Clesca dit Saturday before, people met to develop a draft agreement.
Again, Core Group that takes it for granted #HaitiThe ruler, instead of keeping quiet, is now siding with Ariel Henry to form a government.
This is interference
Worse, this is being done as civil society and political parties come together to decide the way forward.#PersonaNonGrata– Monique Clesca (@moniclesca) July 17, 2021
Magali Comeau Denis, a former Haitian minister of culture and communications and a spokeswoman for the commission, told Democracy Now! last week, Haiti was in “an unconstitutional situation.”
Comeau Denis said the commission aims to “create a broad consensus among all sectors of the population to propose a Haitian solution” to the crises. “There is no other legal response to this exceptional situation,” he said dit.
Robert Fatton, a Haitian policy expert at the University of Virginia, said the Core Group’s statement is very confusing, especially after the UN representative said Joseph was responsible. “More confusion in a very confusing and baffling situation,” he told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, questions persist about the motive for Moses’ murder and who ordered the murder.
Haitian authorities have accused a group of mercenaries, including 26 Colombians and two American Haitians, of opening fire on the president and his wife, Martine Moise, in the early hours of July 7 at his home in the capital, Port -au-Prince.
Eighteen of the Colombians have been arrested, while five are fleeing and three have been killed.
Haitian police said they arrested him last week presumed brain of the operation, a 63-year-old Haitian man living in the state of Florida in the United States, his name was Christian Emmanuel Sanon.
Colombian police chief Jorge Vargas also said Friday that former Haitian Justice Ministry official Joseph Felix Badio he may have ordered the murder. It was not possible to immediately reach Badio for comment, and his whereabouts were unclear.
Moise’s funeral is expected to take place on July 23 in Cap-Haitien, a city in the north of the country.
His widow Martine Moise, who was seriously injured in the attack and is being treated in the US, is expected to return home for the funeral.
