After three days of meetings, the chief of a regional mission is hopeful, but not necessarily confident that Haiti’s political crisis can be resolved before the scheduled end of the president’s term this weekend.
At outgoing Haitian President Michel Martelly’s request, the Organization of American States (OAS) authorized the special mission to Haiti following the indefinite suspension of a runoff election to choose a successor before the Sunday constitutional deadline for him to leave office.
Since arriving on Sunday last week, the OAS representatives have met with Martelly and officials of his administration, lawmakers, judges and others.
Photo: Reuters
Ronald Sanders, an Antiguan diplomat who is the leader of the mission and chairman of the 35-nation OAS’ permanent council, said he was impressed with the “remarkable intelligence” of the Haitian officials, but he would not go so far as to say he was confident that they would agree on a workable solution in the next few days.
“If I am to believe what people have said to us about their determination to save their country and to take it forward, then I believe there’s great hope that they will reach a solution,” he said on Tuesday in an interview.
Sanders said Haitian senators have proposed a plan that would see Martelly step down on schedule on Sunday. The presidency would remain vacant for a short term, with a consensus prime minister running the country until a new president could be elected.
He said he heard that 10 people were being considered to be the caretaker leader.
However, some opposition figures are eager to derail any agreement that involves Martelly.
“Martelly has no role he can play. The proposition being discussed is like something in a game by playing children,” said Samuel Madistin, who finished 10th in the opening round of the presidential election.
Madistin now acts as spokesman for an opposition alliance that includes Jude Celestin, who came in second and won a spot in the suspended runoff against Martelly’s preferred successor, first-place finisher Jovenel Moise. Celestin was boycotting the runoff.
The opposition alliance wants a transitional government led by a Haitian Supreme Court leader to ensure a commission verifies disputed election results from rounds in August and October last year.
Madistin has also said the OAS mission was “not welcome” in Haiti.
Haiti had been scheduled to hold a presidential and legislative runoff vote on Jan. 24. However, the electoral council canceled it, for a second time, amid violent protests and allegations that the first presidential round was marred by fraud favoring Moise.
Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul remained in his post late on Tuesday after a day of contradictory media reports about whether he had resigned to make way for an interim government.
He is reportedly one of the leading candidates to become the short-term caretaker leader, although various opposition factions would refuse to accept him.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was