By Joseph Guyler C. Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, (HCNN) – Haiti’s newly-appointed presidential Council is finally scheduled to take office in an inauguration ceremony on Thursday, which could mark a turning point in the Caribbean country’s struggle to end its current plight.
Leslie Voltaire, a member of the Presidential Council of Transition (CPT), said the new governing body will do all it can to rally Haitians from all walks of life to the cause of peace, security and an orderly democratization and development process.
“The Council will be installed on Thursday and this will mark an important step towards solving the political impasse,” Voltaire told the Haitian-Caribbean News Network, on Wednesday. “Representatives of the Supreme Court, the diplomatic Corps, and other important guests are expected to attend the inaugural ceremony,” Voltaire told HCNN.
Many had believed the inauguration was going to be celebrated in the building which was occupied by late former president Jovenel Moise, and which has come, over the past several months, under repeated attacks from neighboring gang members.
Council members have opted for the Villa d’Accueil (Welcome Villa), a sumptuous mansion-like building, in the peaceful area of Musseau, in the Capital.
“That’s where former president Boniface Alexandre was sworn in, in 2004 after the coup that ousted then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide,” Voltaire reminded.
However, while encouraging steps have been taken on the political front, criminal gangs continue to wreak havoc, as they claim their seat around the negotiating table.
Many Haitians would favor talks with the armed groups toward achieving peace, but there’s now a growing sentiment of reprobation of the idea, particularly because gang members continue with their criminal activities.
“If they want the population to show understanding and to provide forgiveness for their wrongdoing, they first need to stop all criminal activities,” said Jacques Dorsaint, a university law professor.
Members of the National Committee for Disarmament, Dismantling and Reinsertion (known by its French acronym CNDDR) have, over the past couple of weeks, voiced their readiness to act, but the absence of proper authorities to facilitate such initiatives has been an obstacle, a source close to the CNDDR told HCNN.
