Haiti Rocked by Anti-Martelly Protests

Haitian President Michel Martelly faced some of the largest opposition protests of his administration on Monday, with major marches being held in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, the country’s two largest cities. Perceived corruption, rampant poverty and delayed elections were among the demonstrators’ main grievances.

The BBC describes yesterday’s protests as among the largest since Martelly took office two years ago, while Reuters claims that they “surpassed scenes in May this year when deposed former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide made a rare court appearance.” Thousands turned out at demonstrations in both cities, calling for Martelly’s immediate resignation.  In Port-au-Prince supporters of the president organized counter-protests, leading to violent conflicts which were broken up by police and UN peacekeeping forces. The AP reports that at least one person was shot in the resulting clashes.

In response to the protests, the president called for national unity. “If we didn't have our heads together, we wouldn't have a Haitian state,” Martelly told a gathering at the historic site of a decisive battle in the country’s war of independence on Monday.

But the demonstrators are not alone in their dissatisfaction with the current government. Several members of the international community have also made it known that their patience for the delayed vote is wearing thin. Legislative and local elections were supposed to have been held before the end of the year, but the president and lawmakers are still hashing out the details of an electoral reform bill. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have threatened to push for aid cuts to the country because of the delay, and Vice President Joe Biden called for elections to be scheduled last month. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has also tried to put pressure on the government to set a date for elections, announcing that he would withdraw his country's UN peacekeepers from Haiti due to the lack of progress on overdue elections.

News Briefs

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