Haiti

(Quelle: Reuters AlertNet) Haitian President-elect Rene Preval said in Brasilia on Friday there was more optimism and security in Haiti after the Feb. 7 presidential election, but the country's police and judiciary were still weak and it would be irresponsible to withdraw U.N. forces. '(Preval) told me the troops there should only leave when he manages to set up the police because you can't have a vacuum,' Lula said.

(Quelle: Reuters AlertNet) Haiti's electoral authorities on Saturday brought forward slightly the date for runoff elections to pick senators and legislators. Originally due to take place on March 19 and then rescheduled for April 23, the second-round vote will now take place on April 21, a Friday, ostensibly to allow officials the weekend to prepare for classes on Monday the schools that will be used as voting centers.

(Quelle: Reuters AlertNet) A group of former soldiers threatened on Monday to stage violent protests to force Haiti's government to come up with years of back pay they say they are owed. The threat was emblematic of some of the many challenges facing President-elect Rene Preval, who was declared winner of a chaotic election in Haiti last month and will soon lead an impoverished nation awash in firearms where the rich and poor are divided by hatred.

(Quelle: ISN) Haiti’s electoral commission announced on Friday that the second round of parliamentary elections set for 19 March would be delayed because of complaints from the first round. … A new date for general elections has not been set, but has said that preparations will take at least three weeks. The election commission is blaming the delay in part on demonstrations that took place during vote-counting for the first round, when Preval supporters accused the commission of manipulating the results to keep him from winning an outright victory in the first round.

(Quelle: Reliefweb) The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti said Thursday the security situation in Port-au-Prince had improved due to help from police, and noted a sharp drop in crimes and kidnappings. … Damian Onses-Cardona, spokesman for the United Nations force known as MINUSTAH … said the capital's security had already been strengthened before the February 7 general elections, particularly by the presence of UN forces in the streets of the violence-prone capital.

(Quelle: BBC) Haiti's President-elect Rene Preval has said the constitution permits the return of ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, now in exile in South Africa. He was speaking after Mr Aristide said he intended to return to his country as soon as possible. The ousted leader said his supporters had voted for his return by electing Mr Preval, his former ally. But the US state department said Mr Aristide's return would serve no useful purpose and could destabilise Haiti.

(Quelle: UN News) After updating the Security Council on the election process in Haiti, the United Nations top envoy to that country welcomed President-elect René Préval’s invitation for Haitians to join together in a national dialogue. … Besides supporting such national dialogue, Mr. Valdés said that upcoming priorities for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) – now that its mandate has been renewed – include the professionalization of the police force, so that it is able to confront the security situation in the Cite Soleil, the gang-ridden inner-city neighbourhood of the capital Port-au-Prince.

(Quelle: ISN) The head of Haiti's official election commission has fled the country in fear for his life after unidentified attackers burned down his farmhouse, news agencies reported. Election commission head Jacques Bernard told the authorities on Friday, a day after his farmhouse was burnt to the ground, he had received death threats and requested tighter security in the aftermath of tense presidential elections earlier this month.

(Quelle: Washington Post) Preval, whose plans are vague and whose ambitions are understated, will be forced to confront the problems of a nation with almost no functioning judicial system, corrupt and inept law enforcement, deep poverty and abominable public sanitation. Then there are the violent gangs that rule urban slums, the kidnapping rings and a flourishing drug and money-laundering trade. … Preval hopes to attract foreign investment to Haiti, but he acknowledges that it 'will not happen tomorrow morning.'

(Quelle: BBC) The Caribbean regional grouping, Caricom, says it is ready to re-admit Haiti following the presidential election there earlier this month. The group's secretary-general, Edwin Carrington, said Haiti now had a democratic government which could sit down with Caricom and discuss re-entry. … Caricom suspended Haiti's membership after the ousting of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide two years ago.