WASHINGTON: Garry Conille, a medical doctor by teaching who after briefly served as Haiti’s perfect secretary, says he never hesitated to returning home to take up the blog once again.
Despite what he called an “extremely complicated” position in the group- plagued Caribbean state, the president of Haiti’s transitional authorities pledged on Tuesday to sell” transparency” to his countrymen as he takes on the challenge of restoring order.
Conille, who has spent a number of years working for the UN, including a stint as UNICEF’s local chairman for Latin America and the Caribbean, sat down for an appointment with AFP while in Washington.
He also had a conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the first members of a Kenyan-led international pressure tasked with aiding the enslaved Haitian police in their fight against strong equipped gangs.
Conille, 58, claimed that his transitional authorities inherited an “excessively hard condition.”
Gangs power 80 percentage of the money Port- au- Prince and almost 600, 000 individuals are displaced, he said.
” Infrastructure almost is non- observable, ministries no more actually have offices, staff are really bored and the police need help”, he told AFP.
Conille also notices hints of hope, he praised the spirit of cooperation that led to the resignation of polarizing prime minister Ariel Henry.
Despite difficult negotiations, a government was named, to offer Haitians some relief from the political, security and humanitarian crises wracking the country, and organizing the first elections since 2016.
Haitian responsibility
Conille stated that the second contingent of the Kenyan-led force should arrive in the” coming weeks,” but he did not provide more information, citing security concerns.
Security is urgently needed in Haiti, where the situation abruptly deteriorated at the end of February when armed groups staged coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, claiming they wanted to overthrow Henry.
But Conille sought to reassure his people, who are scarred by the bitter memories of past foreign interventions, that the current deployment will support Haiti’s national police.
” The responsibility for reestablishing security is first and foremost a Haitian responsibility”, said Conille, who last served as prime minister in 2011- 2012.
The international force” will not replace police,” according to the statement. He said it’s a “real quick solution” that will allow us to strengthen the capabilities of our own police and army so that these two organizations can perform their duties more effectively.
Haitian authorities will be fully in charge, and work alongside the international policing mission, he emphasized.
Conille continued,” We have established a police-armed task force that is considering possible solutions to help us move forward with the security issue.”
Trust
Much of Port- au- Prince is now in the hands of gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting, and kidnappings. Supplies have been attacked and supplies have been looted at hospitals and clinics. Food insecurity has soared.
Conille claimed he was aware of Haitians ‘ “impatient” nature and that he wished to see progress on the ground as soon as possible.
He continued, though, that time was needed to put the necessary structures in place so that the country could advance while protecting law enforcement and regaining territory that gangs had previously controlled.
He said he hoped the gang scourge could be resolved “definitively”.
Transparency is our best ally in this kind of a situation, Conille said, noting that Haitians had long ago abandoned their trust in national institutions and were actively seeking out the transitional government to improve their living conditions.
” We will communicate regularly. We’ll clearly explain our actions to them. We’re going to share with them as well when things do n’t work out”, Conille said.
The prime minister said that holding polls would be” the very definition of a successful transition” in relation to the path to elections, which are scheduled for February 7, 2026.
The government “is working now” on nominating members of a provisional electoral council, Conille said.
” We are already working on putting together the tools and a system to move quickly.”
