PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s prime minister held his first press conference Thursday since being appointed more than a month ago to oversee the troubled Caribbean country reeling from recent massacres as Haitians demand government protection.
Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said he and the entire government bow deeply to those killed in Wharf Jérémie in Haiti’s capital and in Petite Rivière in the central Artibonite region, calling them innocent victims preyed upon by gangs.
Local human rights groups have said more than 100 people, the majority between 60 and 80 years old including Vodou religious leaders, were killed on Friday and Saturday in the community of Cité-Soleil by a gang leader seeking to avenge his son’s death. The U.N. high commissioner of human rights put the death tally at 184 victims.
Another massacre was reported on Tuesday night in Petite Rivière with some 20 people killed, including women and children.
“This is not acceptable,” Fils-Aimé said. “No one on earth should be living this way. As soon as someone wakes up in the morning, they’re scared, and they step out…not knowing if they’ll make it back home.”
Fils-Aimé, a businessman who was appointed to the position on Nov. 10 after the previous prime minister was fired, said the government was fighting to guarantee everyone’s security.
He did not provide details but said officials are working on strategies to move the country forward.
“If you don’t hear from me, it’s because I’m working every day on the security situation,” he said.
Local media have criticized Fils-Aimé for his lack of presence and availability since being appointed prime minister by a transitional presidential council.
He said that the justice minister and police need to work together so victims of gang violence get justice, reparations and security as he called upon the population to remain extremely vigilant and cooperate with police.
“They need help,” he said of Haiti’s National Police, which remain understaffed and underfunded as it works with Kenyan police leading a U.N.-backed mission aimed at quelling gang violence. “One group of people cannot provide security. We all have to put our heads together to regain the Haiti that we want.”
Fils-Aimé called Haitian police “heroes” as the country’s finance minister noted that the amount allocated for their expenses has been doubled. He did not provide further details.
The prime minister also announced that the government would soon launch projects to help citizens reopen businesses that gang violence forced closed.
More than 5,000 people have been reported killed so far this year in Haiti, the majority of them victims by gangs that control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Fils-Aimé spoke for about 10 minutes and did not take questions from the press.
He is the former president of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and in 2015 ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate. The businessman studied at Boston University and was previously considered for prime minister after Ariel Henry resigned in late April following coordinated gang attacks on critical government infrastructure earlier this year.
Gang violence surged again last month, with gunmen attacking once peaceful neighborhoods and opening fire on U.S. commercial flights at Haiti’s main international airport, striking one flight attendant who sustained minor injuries.
The airport reopened on Wednesday, but the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extended a ban on U.S. flights to Port-au-Prince through March 12.
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