Petition for Haiti – Sign on Letter (Jamaicans & CARICOM)

Dear Jamaicans and CARICOM brothers and sisters:

I am writing this letter to petition the Jamaican and CARICOM governments, and to ask my fellow Jamaicans and CARICOM CITIZENS and those in the Diaspora (Caribbean Community) to call on their governments/CARICOM to not acquiesce to the US and Canada to support the de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the PHTK party and its political affiliates, so that a Haitian solution to the crisis can emerge. We have put together a petition that my fellow Jamaicans and Caribbean brothers and sisters can read and sign so that we can send this petition to our leaders in the Caribbean.

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TO: Prime Minister Andrew Holness

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamina Johnson Smith

Dear Rt. Hon. Andrew Holness and Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith;

We are writing to urge you and your government to take every possible measure to help our sisters and brothers in Haiti restore their democracy by removing international support for the current de facto authorities and allowing a legitimate, Haitian-led solution to emerge.

As you know well, in the last decade of leadership by the Parti Haitienne Tet Kale party (PHTK) and its allies, Haiti’s democracy has been dismantled. Not a single elected office- of the thousands required by the Constitution—is filled. Gangs—some connected to the government– control over half of the country. Corruption and mismanagement have diverted vast sums from public services and generated inflation of over 15% annually for each of the past three years. 4.7 million of our Haitian brothers and sisters now face acute hunger. Haiti is one of the 10 countries suffering the most from hunger. It is the only country on that list that does not have a recognized armed conflict, and the only one outside Africa and the Middle East.

Like all Jamaicans, we are deeply grieved by the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. When Haiti won its independence in 1804, it became the first free Black country, paving the way for independence for Jamaica and others. Haiti was the first country to abolish slavery, paving the way for our own emancipation.

Haiti has been punished for its example of freedom for over two centuries and is still being punished today. Haitians have fought foreign occupation, political interference and economic manipulation by powerful members of the international community, most of whom originally attained their stature through slavery. The current international support for the de facto Haitian government, led by a Prime Minister who was installed not by a Haitian process but by an announcement from the “Core Group” led by the United States, is simply the latest effort to keep Haiti under control.

Participating in international support for a corrupt, repressive and unconstitutional government in Haiti would be a betrayal of our countries democratic standards, and the democratic standards of CARICOM and the Organization of American States (OAS). Even worse, it would be a betrayal of our Haitian sisters and brothers, who have already sacrificed far too much for our freedom.

Haitians are coming together, across party, class and other lines that often frustrate collaboration, to propose broad-based, popularly legitimate paths to a transitional government that would replace the de facto authorities and conduct fair elections. They are confident that if the international community stopped propping the de facto regime up, civil society could force the regime to resign or make meaningful concessions towards fair elections. But the United States and others show no sign of reducing their support for the de facto authorities, so Haitians need Jamaica and CARICOM to help.

Jamaica and other CARICOM countries may be small, but in the past we have played large roles in restoring Haitian democracy. In 1994, Jamaica led the CARICOM component of UNMIH, a successful UN peacekeeping mission deployed to restore Haiti’s elected government. In 2004, Jamaica gave shelter to elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide after he was kidnapped from Haiti aboard a United States plane. Despite substantial pressure from the United States to abandon their principles, Jamaica and CARICOM stood by their principles by refusing to recognize the illegal government and admit it to CARICOM proceedings. This courageous stance, combined with Haitian resistance to the illegal regime, forced the internationally-supported regime to hold elections and allow the restoration of democracy.

Haitians are once again counting on us to stand up for their freedom, and we are imploring you to stand up for democracy in Haiti on behalf of all Jamaicans by:

Refusing to join in any initiative that has the result of supporting Haiti’s illegal, de facto government;

Proposing that CARICOM suspends Haiti from the Organization’s activities until fair elections are held; and

Insisting that the OAS Working Group on Haiti, the Jamaica leads, propose the implementation of the procedures of the Inter-American Democratic Charter applicable to “an unconstitutional alteration… that seriously impairs the democratic order in a member state.”

We call on the Jamaican government to not acquiesce to the US and Canada to support the de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the PHTK party and its political affiliates, so that a Haitian solution to the crisis can emerge. It can do so by announcing that it will support a broad-based, credible, and Haitian-led solution that does not require the agreement of the current regime or any particular actor and adopting policies consistent with this approach. In making this call, we join the thousands and thousands of Haitians taking to the streets – journalists, security guards, doctors, factory workers, mothers, and fathers – who simply want to exercise their right to chart their own course away from corruption and fear, and towards peace and prosperity.

It is laudable that the Jamaican government wants to help Haiti’s democracy and we welcome Jamaican support for a truly Haitian-led solution. However, the primary role for the Jamaican government is very simple: it must let the Haitian people take back their own government. The Jamaican government and by extension CARICOM should not support any particular party or sector or demand that Haitians take a particular path towards democracy. A stable and just Haiti – which is in the interest of Haitians and the US government alike – requires that Haitians lead and own their democratic process.

For a stronger Haiti,