Political turmoil and protests in Haiti linked to US meddling

A protester throws a burning tire at a police officer during a demonstration on February 14, 2021 in Delmas near Port-au-Prince.

Amidst the simmering political turmoil in Haiti with protests against President Jovenel Moise stretching into their third week, the US meddling is blamed for the chaos in the poor Caribbean nation.

At the heart of the largescale demonstrations, which analysts say bear the hallmarks of the 2011 Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt, is a disputed election result and President Moise’s term limit.

Moise says his five-year term is slated to end in 2022 – a stance backed by Washington and some international organizations – while Haitians argue that he was supposed to step down this month, on February 7.

“We are back to dictatorship! Down with Moise!” protestors were heard chanting amid chaotic scenes.

They also raised slogans against the Moise government’s foreign backers. “Down with Sison,” they shouted, a reference to the US envoy to Haiti, Michele Jeanne Sison.  

The new US administration has fully thrown its weight behind Moise, with a US State Department spokesperson saying a new leader should replace Moise in February 2022.

“In accordance with the OAS (Organization of American States) position on the need to proceed with the democratic transfer of executive power, a new elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends on February 7, 2022,” Ned Price said earlier this month, practically giving him a free hand.

Haitian opposition and civil society groups have denounced the US for supporting the government of Moise, saying they will not back down on their demands.

“We want the international community (to) understand that the Haiti people won’t back down on their demands. Jovenel Moise must leave the national palace for a peaceful transition that can lead us to the elections,” opposition leader André Michel was quoted by US media last week.

Stung by the criticism, Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said she was “alarmed” by the Moise government’s “authoritarian and undemocratic acts,” after axing of judges and a spree of attacks against journalists.

Tempers cooled down and it was business as usual after Haiti’s envoy to Washington Bocchit Edmond, said he had a “constructive meeting” with Chung about the situation in the country.

The US’s interference in Haiti, dubbed as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, goes back a long way.

In 1915, the US military invaded Haiti, and occupied the country for twenty years on the flimsy pretext of “bringing peace” to the country. The military occupation also attempted to revive mercantilism in the Caribbean, with focus mainly on Haiti, which had devastating effects on the country.

In 1994, after the country’s first democratically elected leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup, the US military again invaded the country between 1994-1997 on the excuse of “establishing peace” and “restoring democracy.”

When Aristide rose to power again in 2000, a nexus of Haiti and US militaries abdicated him four years later and flew him to South Africa, where he continues to live in exile.

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