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Haiti spruces up for Martelly swearing-in
Haiti spruces up for Martelly swearing-in
11 May 2011
By Clarens Renois
AFP
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, still shattered after last year's earthquake, is sprucing up as best it can ahead of this weekend's swearing-in ceremony for president-elect Michel Martelly.
Women with brooms fanned out along Port-au-Prince's Avenue Panamerican that links the capital to the suburb of Petion-ville, in a frenetic effort to clear away weeks of accumulated refuse ahead of Saturday's inauguration.
The sweepers are an essential element of the city's facelift, as Haiti prepares for its first major political celebration since Port-au-Prince was leveled by the powerful January 2010 quake.
"With the arrival of President Martelly, we want to give a new look to the capital," explained one of the workers, who said that the mounds of collected garbage would be incinerated.
It is, however, a Sisyphean labor. No sooner have the women cleared away debris than it reappears in the road, forcing them to repeat their efforts, sometimes several times over.
In addition to sweeping and scrubbing, there is lots of re-painting going on in many neighborhoods, with building facades scrubbed of political graffiti and commercial advertisements.
The cleanup effort is being carried out, by and large, by volunteers. One group, "Haiti Propre" or "Clean Haiti" discreetly toils day after day to rid the city of trash and to restore the charms hidden beneath tons of the rubble and refuse.
"Our capital is beautiful; We have to stop treating it like an enormous trash can," said one of member of the group, who said he hopes to introduce similar efforts elsewhere in Haiti.
Meanwhile, the Haitian capital has become a major construction site, with dozens of workers laboring to erect installations for viewing the inauguration, and to construct a dais from which Martelly will to address the Haitian people and numerous dignitaries, including a dozen invited heads of state.
Haitians are praying for a fresh start under Martelly, whose ubiquitous picture beams down from posters plastered across Port-au-Prince.
His swearing in Saturday is the latest chapter in Haiti's tumultuous political history. After weeks of uncertainty about the election result, Martelly last month was declared Haiti's president-elect after winning 67 percent of the vote in a historic run-off.
But he faces a challenge to forge true national unity, with just slightly more than one million out of more than 4.3 million eligible Haitian voters actually casting ballots.
A popular former carnival singer, Martelly has made the recovery of his devastated country a top priority, after the earthquake killed some 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless.
He also faces the challenge of forging alliances that will allow him to govern, with parliament controlled by outgoing President Rene Preval's political coalition.
Down the Avenue Panamerican a bit, Jean-Marie Duplessy, who heads up a club of Martelly supporters, has placed a portrait of his hero between pictures of two other political figures he greatly admires: US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He has a separate message for each of the three leaders.
For Obama: "Help us but let us live in peace," he said, similar to what he has to say to the French leader: "Don't exploit Haiti. Help us to get ahead."
Duplessy said his message for Martelly, is to offer the support of the club's entire 45-strong membership for the rebuilding effort.
"We are ready to work together, for the love of Haiti," he said.
Once Martelly takes office on May 14, he has vowed that his first six months will focus on moving hundreds of thousands of quake survivors out of squalid tent cities, tackling a resistant cholera epidemic and boosting agricultural production.
He also plans reforms of Haiti's dysfunctional education system, which he hopes will lead to armies of newly trained teachers, and construction of new schools.
In a public market in his hometown of Petion-ville one recent day, a truck blared tunes by "Sweet Micky," as Martelly is lovingly known by his fans.
Some like John, a university student, are skeptical that even a figure who benefits from as much goodwill as Martelly can change decades of endemic corruption, dictatorship and cronyism.
"He can't do anything by himself. He's going to have to tackle (Haiti's problems) with the help of everyone together," he said.
Another supporter said she is hopeful about Martelly's vow to introduce long-overdue school reform. But she also is prepared to hold his feet to the fire.
"I hope he's not deceiving us," said Martelly-backer Marie-Rodele, 22.
"If he does like all the other presidents," she said, "we will be the first to ask him to go."
11 May 2011
By Clarens Renois
AFP
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, still shattered after last year's earthquake, is sprucing up as best it can ahead of this weekend's swearing-in ceremony for president-elect Michel Martelly.
Women with brooms fanned out along Port-au-Prince's Avenue Panamerican that links the capital to the suburb of Petion-ville, in a frenetic effort to clear away weeks of accumulated refuse ahead of Saturday's inauguration.
The sweepers are an essential element of the city's facelift, as Haiti prepares for its first major political celebration since Port-au-Prince was leveled by the powerful January 2010 quake.
"With the arrival of President Martelly, we want to give a new look to the capital," explained one of the workers, who said that the mounds of collected garbage would be incinerated.
It is, however, a Sisyphean labor. No sooner have the women cleared away debris than it reappears in the road, forcing them to repeat their efforts, sometimes several times over.
In addition to sweeping and scrubbing, there is lots of re-painting going on in many neighborhoods, with building facades scrubbed of political graffiti and commercial advertisements.
The cleanup effort is being carried out, by and large, by volunteers. One group, "Haiti Propre" or "Clean Haiti" discreetly toils day after day to rid the city of trash and to restore the charms hidden beneath tons of the rubble and refuse.
"Our capital is beautiful; We have to stop treating it like an enormous trash can," said one of member of the group, who said he hopes to introduce similar efforts elsewhere in Haiti.
Meanwhile, the Haitian capital has become a major construction site, with dozens of workers laboring to erect installations for viewing the inauguration, and to construct a dais from which Martelly will to address the Haitian people and numerous dignitaries, including a dozen invited heads of state.
Haitians are praying for a fresh start under Martelly, whose ubiquitous picture beams down from posters plastered across Port-au-Prince.
His swearing in Saturday is the latest chapter in Haiti's tumultuous political history. After weeks of uncertainty about the election result, Martelly last month was declared Haiti's president-elect after winning 67 percent of the vote in a historic run-off.
But he faces a challenge to forge true national unity, with just slightly more than one million out of more than 4.3 million eligible Haitian voters actually casting ballots.
A popular former carnival singer, Martelly has made the recovery of his devastated country a top priority, after the earthquake killed some 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless.
He also faces the challenge of forging alliances that will allow him to govern, with parliament controlled by outgoing President Rene Preval's political coalition.
Down the Avenue Panamerican a bit, Jean-Marie Duplessy, who heads up a club of Martelly supporters, has placed a portrait of his hero between pictures of two other political figures he greatly admires: US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He has a separate message for each of the three leaders.
For Obama: "Help us but let us live in peace," he said, similar to what he has to say to the French leader: "Don't exploit Haiti. Help us to get ahead."
Duplessy said his message for Martelly, is to offer the support of the club's entire 45-strong membership for the rebuilding effort.
"We are ready to work together, for the love of Haiti," he said.
Once Martelly takes office on May 14, he has vowed that his first six months will focus on moving hundreds of thousands of quake survivors out of squalid tent cities, tackling a resistant cholera epidemic and boosting agricultural production.
He also plans reforms of Haiti's dysfunctional education system, which he hopes will lead to armies of newly trained teachers, and construction of new schools.
In a public market in his hometown of Petion-ville one recent day, a truck blared tunes by "Sweet Micky," as Martelly is lovingly known by his fans.
Some like John, a university student, are skeptical that even a figure who benefits from as much goodwill as Martelly can change decades of endemic corruption, dictatorship and cronyism.
"He can't do anything by himself. He's going to have to tackle (Haiti's problems) with the help of everyone together," he said.
Another supporter said she is hopeful about Martelly's vow to introduce long-overdue school reform. But she also is prepared to hold his feet to the fire.
"I hope he's not deceiving us," said Martelly-backer Marie-Rodele, 22.
"If he does like all the other presidents," she said, "we will be the first to ask him to go."
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Identifier et sanctionner les auteurs de la tentative de coup d’Etat parlementaire du 9 mai 2011
Haïti-Politique-Editorial
Le « Kase fèy kouvri sa » doit cesser et le règne de l’impunité prendre fin !
Identifier et sanctionner les auteurs de la tentative de coup d’Etat parlementaire du 9 mai 2011
mercredi 11 mai 2011
(Read the original article here)
La tentative de coup d’Etat parlementaire du lundi 9 mai dernier ne devrait pas être classée sans suite. La pratique du « Kase fèy kouvri sa » nous a déjà joué de très mauvais tours. Si on y a recours encore une fois, de le cycle infernal des calamités sociales et politiques continuera à se perpétuer.
Le problème est qu’on est en présence d’individus et de pratiques qui se situent tout à fait dans le passé. Paradoxalement, l’aspiration au changement est manifeste au sein d’une population pourtant à majorité analphabète.
Se situer dans le passé signifie quoi, aujourd’hui ?
L’exemple de quelques pratiques et comportements, ainsi que de leurs conséquences logiques, devraient suffire à l’édification de tous. Des pratiques et comportements tout à fait contraires au changement et à la modernité dont voici une liste non-exhaustive :
- Recours systématique à des combines politiques consistant en la conclusion clandestine d’accords malsains au regard des lois en vigueur ;
- Mépris de l’opinion publique : refus du débat et du dialogue ; absence de transparence dans les actes posés ;
- Subordination de l’intérêt général à l’intérêt particulier : primauté des intérêts individuels, de clans, de partis sur les intérêts du groupe, de la communauté ;
- Absence de ligne et de conviction politiques : opportunisme cynique, manque de cohérence dans le discours comme dans les actes ; manque de courage politique ; langue de bois ; double langage (Woulem 2 bò) ; inconstance politique se traduisant par un manque de loyauté par rapport au groupe d’appartenance et/ou changement permanent de camp politique ou de chapeau politique, selon les intérêts du moment ;
- Mépris de la Constitution, des lois et de toutes règles : actions ouvertement illégales et arbitraires ;
Dans le cas qui nous préoccupe, celui de la tentative avortée de coup d’Etat parlementaire du 9 mai, outre les pratiques et comportements énumérés, il existe des facteurs aggravants : le fait par des parlementaires d’avoir voulu délibérément étendre la durée de leur mandat constitue une atteinte grave au principe de la souveraineté populaire. Car, agissant ainsi, les parlementaires ont tenté de se substituer au souverain, le peuple, dont ils sont censés être l’émanation, pour déterminer eux-mêmes la durée des mandats.
Le deuxième acte qu’il faudrait définitivement placer sous le vocable de « piraterie parlementaire » c’est l’introduction délibérée dans le texte de la proposition d’amendement de la clause relative aux deux mandats consécutifs pour le président de la république. Une violation flagrante d’un prescrit de la charte fondamentale qui vise à préserver le pays à la fois d’élections dirigées et de la pérennisation au pouvoir d’un quelconque régime.
Le « Kase fèy kouvri sa » doit cesser et le règne de l’impunité prendre fin !
Une enquête devrait être menée pour clairement déterminer ce qui se tramait et identifier qui en étaient les auteurs. Quels qu’ils soient. Si, comme on le laisse entendre, le président élu s’est mêlé de la partie, il devrait publiquement s’expliquer, au nom du changement qu’il prône. De toute façon, qu’il y soit impliqué compromettrait déjà la prétention de sa part d’incarner le changement, à quelques jours de son investiture.
Au nom du changement, il faudrait définitivement bannir le « Kase fèy kouvri sa ». Et, surtout, il faut qu’il y ait systématiquement des sanctions, fussent-elles morales, contre ceux-là qui se seront rendus coupables d’actes attentatoires à l’ordre constitutionnel, à l’équilibre du système démocratique en construction, au prestige et à l’honorabilité des institutions républicaines. Parce que "Chen ki manje ze, pa janm kite » et la démocratie, ainsi que la justice, ne font pas bon ménage avec l’impunité.
Marvel DANDIN
Le « Kase fèy kouvri sa » doit cesser et le règne de l’impunité prendre fin !
Identifier et sanctionner les auteurs de la tentative de coup d’Etat parlementaire du 9 mai 2011
mercredi 11 mai 2011
(Read the original article here)
La tentative de coup d’Etat parlementaire du lundi 9 mai dernier ne devrait pas être classée sans suite. La pratique du « Kase fèy kouvri sa » nous a déjà joué de très mauvais tours. Si on y a recours encore une fois, de le cycle infernal des calamités sociales et politiques continuera à se perpétuer.
Le problème est qu’on est en présence d’individus et de pratiques qui se situent tout à fait dans le passé. Paradoxalement, l’aspiration au changement est manifeste au sein d’une population pourtant à majorité analphabète.
Se situer dans le passé signifie quoi, aujourd’hui ?
L’exemple de quelques pratiques et comportements, ainsi que de leurs conséquences logiques, devraient suffire à l’édification de tous. Des pratiques et comportements tout à fait contraires au changement et à la modernité dont voici une liste non-exhaustive :
- Recours systématique à des combines politiques consistant en la conclusion clandestine d’accords malsains au regard des lois en vigueur ;
- Mépris de l’opinion publique : refus du débat et du dialogue ; absence de transparence dans les actes posés ;
- Subordination de l’intérêt général à l’intérêt particulier : primauté des intérêts individuels, de clans, de partis sur les intérêts du groupe, de la communauté ;
- Absence de ligne et de conviction politiques : opportunisme cynique, manque de cohérence dans le discours comme dans les actes ; manque de courage politique ; langue de bois ; double langage (Woulem 2 bò) ; inconstance politique se traduisant par un manque de loyauté par rapport au groupe d’appartenance et/ou changement permanent de camp politique ou de chapeau politique, selon les intérêts du moment ;
- Mépris de la Constitution, des lois et de toutes règles : actions ouvertement illégales et arbitraires ;
Dans le cas qui nous préoccupe, celui de la tentative avortée de coup d’Etat parlementaire du 9 mai, outre les pratiques et comportements énumérés, il existe des facteurs aggravants : le fait par des parlementaires d’avoir voulu délibérément étendre la durée de leur mandat constitue une atteinte grave au principe de la souveraineté populaire. Car, agissant ainsi, les parlementaires ont tenté de se substituer au souverain, le peuple, dont ils sont censés être l’émanation, pour déterminer eux-mêmes la durée des mandats.
Le deuxième acte qu’il faudrait définitivement placer sous le vocable de « piraterie parlementaire » c’est l’introduction délibérée dans le texte de la proposition d’amendement de la clause relative aux deux mandats consécutifs pour le président de la république. Une violation flagrante d’un prescrit de la charte fondamentale qui vise à préserver le pays à la fois d’élections dirigées et de la pérennisation au pouvoir d’un quelconque régime.
Le « Kase fèy kouvri sa » doit cesser et le règne de l’impunité prendre fin !
Une enquête devrait être menée pour clairement déterminer ce qui se tramait et identifier qui en étaient les auteurs. Quels qu’ils soient. Si, comme on le laisse entendre, le président élu s’est mêlé de la partie, il devrait publiquement s’expliquer, au nom du changement qu’il prône. De toute façon, qu’il y soit impliqué compromettrait déjà la prétention de sa part d’incarner le changement, à quelques jours de son investiture.
Au nom du changement, il faudrait définitivement bannir le « Kase fèy kouvri sa ». Et, surtout, il faut qu’il y ait systématiquement des sanctions, fussent-elles morales, contre ceux-là qui se seront rendus coupables d’actes attentatoires à l’ordre constitutionnel, à l’équilibre du système démocratique en construction, au prestige et à l’honorabilité des institutions républicaines. Parce que "Chen ki manje ze, pa janm kite » et la démocratie, ainsi que la justice, ne font pas bon ménage avec l’impunité.
Marvel DANDIN
Monday, May 9, 2011
Haitian lawmakers vote to allow dual nationality
Haitian lawmakers vote to allow dual nationality
Associated Press
Mon May 9 2011, 12:49 am ET
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitians living overseas will now have more rights in their homeland.
Haitian lawmakers late Sunday amended an article in the old constitution that will do away with a law that bans dual nationality.
That means the 2 million Haitians living in the United States, Canada and elsewhere will have more say in the political affairs of Haiti. They are now able to run for lower levels of office and own land, a senator said.
The amendment won't be official until it's published in The Monitor, a government publication.
Associated Press
Mon May 9 2011, 12:49 am ET
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitians living overseas will now have more rights in their homeland.
Haitian lawmakers late Sunday amended an article in the old constitution that will do away with a law that bans dual nationality.
That means the 2 million Haitians living in the United States, Canada and elsewhere will have more say in the political affairs of Haiti. They are now able to run for lower levels of office and own land, a senator said.
The amendment won't be official until it's published in The Monitor, a government publication.
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