{"id":11639,"date":"2025-08-07T20:24:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T00:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=11639"},"modified":"2025-08-11T20:36:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T00:36:31","slug":"is-it-the-dawn-of-a-new-day-for-haiti-by-raymond-alcide-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=11639","title":{"rendered":"Is it the Dawn of a New Day for Haiti? by Raymond Alcide Joseph"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Is it the Dawn of a New Day for Haiti?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> by Raymond Alcide Joseph<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A<\/strong> flurry of actions about Haiti, both in and outside the country makes one wonder about what\u2019s happening? Would it be that there\u2019s a general awakening regarding the situation of the country buffeted by a multiplicity of crises?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Take, for instance, the Council of Presidential Transition CPT) which issued a communiqu\u00e9 on July 21, about a \u201cstrategic\u201d high-level meeting that was held by the various entities implicated in the issue of security for the nation, which is besieged by violent armed gangs, now in control of about 90% of Port-au-Prince, the capital, according to the United Nations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The CPT communiqu\u00e9 states that \u201ctotal cohesion was reached to mobilize all resources to combat insecurity, because security remains the absolute priority of the State.\u201d That meeting was a major accomplishment when one considers the attendees. Two presidential councilors, Leslie Voltaire and Laurent St.-Cyr, were leading the discussion and the meeting was held in the office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aim\u00e9. Thus, the two branches of the country\u2019s governance were represented. In attendance were the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, members of the government\u2019s Task Force for Security, the leadership of the Haitian Armed Forces (French acronym FAd\u2019H), top representatives of the Haitian National Police (HNP) and also of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti since June of last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The CPT must have awakened from a long sleep, because that 9-headed presidential governance set-up by the 15-member CARICOM, as the organization of Caribbean states is called, in accord with Washington and other international bigwigs, was inaugurated April 25, 2024, with its priorities being restoration of security in Haiti to allow for holding democratic elections before their mandate elapses on February 7, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As widely reported, the security situation in Haiti has worsened under the leadership of the CPT, which feels insecure even in a safe community of the capital. The gang situation around Port-au-Prince is such that there has been consideration of moving CPT headquarters to Cap-Haitian, the capital of the northern department, where security reigns, just as in the southern department, as the country\u2019s mini states are called.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s believed that this latest concern of the CPT regarding security is a ploy to prolong their mandate which is supposed to end within seven months. It will certainly take more than seven months to pacify the whole country in order to organize the democratic elections. Thus, a prolongation of the ineffective governance of Haiti is being attempted for the benefit of the councilors, some of whom are involved in corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Authoritative voices for security and apt governance<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Is it a coincidence that, at this time, the <em>Conf\u00e9rence \u00c9piscopale d\u2019Ha\u00efti<\/em> (CEH) issued a declaration having to do with security and governance? On July 23, that organization comprised of all the 11 Catholic Bishops and the one Cardinal of Haiti issued the document signed by them, in which they denounce the multifaceted crisis causing the downfall of the nation and, adroitly, positioned themselves against the government which has resorted to working on a new constitution which would reinforce executive power, while providing a few crumbs for the citizens. The text of the CEH asserts: <strong><em>\u201cThe time isn\u2019t conducive for the adoption of a new constitution. Today the priority is to security, peace and governance for the wellbeing of the people.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Interestingly, the top Catholic leaders of Haiti which, officially is a Catholic country, agree that something must be done to reinforce the security of the country and bring peace to all. However, diplomatically, they insinuate that the country lacks the governance needed for the wellbeing of the nation. In effect, Haiti\u2019s Catholic hierarchy expresses the sentiments of the majority of the people who call for political change at the top. Unquestionably, the leaders of the international community that have assumed oversight of Haiti have failed with their experimentation of this multi-headed presidency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>AND THE OAS GETS INTO THE PICTURE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All of a sudden, attention is riveted on a plan of Albert Ramdin, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), to deal with the situation in Haiti. In a story, August\u00a0<\/span>1<sup>st<\/sup><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, in POLITICO\u2019s Natsec Daily columm, entitled <strong>\u201cTroubled OAS pitches a new Haiti intervention,\u201d<\/strong> under the byline of Phelim Kine, Mr. Ramdin is mobilizing the35-member-countries of the OAS \u201cto end the chaos in Haiti.\u201d To that end, Ramdin calls for a \u201c$1.4 billion OAS-led and European Union-backed intervention in Haiti, starting next month [September].\u201d This occurred on Tuesday, July 29, during a \u201cclosed-door speech of the Secretary General to the OAS representatives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In his plan to defeat the gangs \u201csowing chaos in Haiti\u2019s cities\u201d Mr. Ramdin mentions \u201cunimpeded humanitarian aid to the country\u2019s 1.3 million displaced people and restoring order to pave the way to national elections.\u201d Moreover, his plan includes \u201cthe creation of six European Union-funded \u2018forward operating bases\u2019 tasked to resolve the \u2018dire security situation\u2019 in and around the capital Port-au-Prince.\u201d In his speech, Ramdin is said to have \u201cthanked the EU for providing the resources for that initiative, but he did not say what commitment he had received from the EU.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Obviously, the United States is ignored in the Ramdin project for Haiti. Is that due to President Donald Trump\u2019s detachment from what\u2019s happening in Haiti, a country he\u2019s often disparaged. Needless to say, eyebrows have been raised on the evolving diplomatic situation with the European Union showing interest in the project of the hemispheric organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Anyway, it looks like the dawn of a new day for Haiti, which is being embraced by sister countries in this hemisphere, some of which gained their independence with the help of Haiti, the Fount of Freedom, for having been first to defeat slavery at the Battle of Verti\u00e8res, on November 18, 1803, but now finding itself in such abject situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The swearing-in of a new CPT president<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today, August 7, Laurent St-Cyr was sworn-in as the new president of the CPT, based on the rotating arrangement to have a new president every six months. He replaces Fritz Alphonse Jean, who himself had replaced Leslie Voltaire. Interestingly, St-Cyr and Voltaire are the presidential councilors who were in charge of the strategic high-level meeting mentioned in the July 21 communiqu\u00e9, which stated that \u201ctotal cohesion\u201d was reached about what to do regarding security as top priority for the country. Since Voltaire was the first to have declared \u201cwar against the gangs,\u201d is his alliance with St.-Cyr a diplomatic reprimand of Jean, under whose leadership, the gangs have grabbed more territory and caused more harm?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To be noted, in his inaugural speech, President St-Cyr said elections will be held for transfer of power February 7, 2026. Since he\u2019s the representative of the business sector in the CPT and Prime Minister Fils-Aim\u00e9 also is from the same sector, it would appear that the business community in Haiti is showing more responsibility and honesty in accomplishing the task for Haiti\u2019s renewal. In that light, we can say the dawn of a new day for Haiti is not far off.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>RAJ, at raljo31@yahoo.com<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/August-7-2025-FROM-THE-DESK-OF-RAY-JOSEPH.pdf\">August 7, 2025 FROM THE DESK OF RAY JOSEPH<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-11639 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?attachment_id=11643#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"181\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leslie-voltaire.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11643\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11643'>\n\t\t\t\tLeslie Voltaire\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?attachment_id=11642#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"219\" height=\"168\" src=\"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/alix-filseme-pm.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11642\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11642'>\n\t\t\t\tD A Fils-Aim\u00e9\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?attachment_id=11641#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"223\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/laurent-st-cyr-pr.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/laurent-st-cyr-pr.png 223w, https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/laurent-st-cyr-pr-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11641'>\n\t\t\t\tL St-Cyr\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/borrow.bklynlibrary.org\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb11140309__Shaiti-observateur__Orightresult__X6;jsessionid=E6C3A1CDFDAB23856076ED5DC17C954D?lang=eng&amp;suite=def\"><strong>Ha\u00efti-Observateur<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/tm9qt7lg9g.search.serialssolutions.com\/ejp\/?libHash=TM9QT7LG9G#\/search\/?searchControl=title&amp;searchType=title_code&amp;criteria=HA23OBS&amp;language=en-US&amp;titleType=ALL\"><strong>ISSN: 1043-3783<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is it the Dawn of a New Day for Haiti? by Raymond Alcide Joseph A flurry of actions about Haiti, both in and outside the country makes one wonder about what\u2019s happening? Would it be that there\u2019s a general awakening&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,25,57,43],"tags":[5059,1177,1488,4386,2687,5058,5057,4805],"class_list":["post-11639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amerik","category-haiti","category-international","category-raj","tag-cpt","tag-eu","tag-haiti","tag-oas","tag-raj","tag-security","tag-st-cyr","tag-voltaire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11639"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11646,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11639\/revisions\/11646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}