Forty-three Haitian-American diaspora organizations, 34 political, religious and community leaders, and 66 other individuals wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday criticizing “the unhelpful role the State Department has been playing in Haiti’s election crisis” and calling for a change of U.S. policy. The letter demonstrates the deep concern felt by Haitian-Americans about this crucial issue for Haiti’s future.
“Pushing forward heedlessly with elections on January 24 will only deepen Haiti’s political crisis,” said City of North Miami Vice-Mayor Alix Desulme, one of the endorsers of the letter. “The country does not need another round of debilitating instability, it needs a legitimate government issued from fair and credible elections.”
The letter urges Secretary Kerry to support an independent, Haitian-led investigation, as demanded by Haitian religious leaders and civil society to support the recommendations of a recently appointed Evaluation Commission, which called for major changes to Haiti’s electoral council and the establishment of a political dialogue among the relevant political actors. Meeting these “minimum conditions” for restoring faith in the electoral process must be made the top priority of U.S. policy in Haiti, the letter states, “even if this means postponing the election or briefly appointing a transitional government.”
“All too often, the U.S. has been eager to sacrifice democratic principles for the sake of an elusive ‘stability’,” said Pierre Imbert, former Director of the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants and an endorser of the letter. “We’re asking Secretary Kerry not to make this mistake again.”
“The time when the State Department could hand-pick a president for Haiti is over,” said Eugenia Charles, policy and communication director of the 1804 Institute. “Haitians want free and fair elections that will eventually free our country from systemic foreign domination.”
Source: www.haitilibre.com
