Caribbean leaders were expected to recognize Haiti's US-backed interim government at an annual summit starting yesterday despite lingering concerns over the removal of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Several leaders in the region say it's time to move forward, now that they have persuaded the Organization of American States to investigate what Aristide calls his Feb. 29 "kidnapping" by the US, a charge Washington flatly denies.
"We were all troubled when the elected president had to leave the country under some strange circumstances," Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell told parliament on Friday. "However, the reality is that Haiti continues to be a member of the international community and the people there do need our support, so we have to find ways of compromising."
Haitian Foreign Minister Yvon Simeon said he was to meet with seven Caribbean prime ministers on Saturday night as a step toward possible recognition by the Caribbean Community.
Following a meeting with foreign ministers, Simeon said he was optimistic about renewing ties.
"There have been a lot of misunderstandings and misinterpretations. We're willing to clarify these for CARICOM," he said.
Simeon said Haitian interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue would be willing to come, if invited. Most other leaders in the 15 member bloc were attending.
Latortue had a cordial telephone conversation with Community leaders on Friday, an official said on condition of anonymity.
The community withheld support for Latortue's government during a March summit in St. Kitts, expressing concern about the circumstances of Aristide's departure and Latortue's praise for armed rebels who still control much of Haiti's countryside.
Latortue had been expected at the summit but did not attend in protest at Jamaica giving Aristide temporary exile, saying the move would destabilize the country of 8 million.
But Aristide left Jamaica for South Africa on May 30 and Latortue, who had said he was suspending Haiti's membership in the community, has since made conciliatory statements.
"A lot of things are happening behind the scenes," Trinidadian Prime Minister Patrick Manning said recently, noting he had met with Latortue at an international summit in Mexico in May. "What the entire Caribbean is trying to do is to move on."
Aristide left Haiti on Feb. 29 on a US-chartered plane as rebels advanced on Port-au-Prince. He charges he was kidnapped by US and French agents, but US officials say they acted at his request.
His departure ended a three-week rebellion that left an estimated 300 dead. US-led troops sent to stabilize Haiti were replaced last month by a Brazilian-led peacekeeping force.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
RSS