Riots in Haiti: strong reactions from the population after the intervention of the Prime Minister
Barricade in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to protest against rising gasoline prices and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
AP - Odelyn Joseph
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
After the protest movements which turned into scenes of looting and vandalism throughout the territory last weekend, the Haitian Prime Minister calls for calm.
Sunday, September 18, Ariel Henry addressed the Haitian people asking them to keep calm and protect the property of others and the institutions of the country.
Citizens accuse him of "
throwing oil on the fire
".
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With our correspondent in Gonaives,
Ronel Paul
In his address to the nation, the prime minister said the looting scenes had nothing to do with rising fuel prices.
Ariel Henry denounced the misdeeds of armed people who took to the streets, looted shops and international organizations.
A speech that Master Frantz Mon Fils considers irresponsible.
“
We see that he sees the population, especially the young people behind their barricades, as thieves.
A young person who demands better living conditions, academics who demand better learning conditions, teachers and all layers of society who rise up and you call them gangs.
I think it's Ariel Henry who controls the gangs
,” he said.
“
This address to the nation has no effect
”
For Odiel Petit-Frere, a young entrepreneur, this address to the nation is downright null and void.
“
In the current situation, we were waiting for the Prime Minister to announce the withdrawal of his decision to adjust the price of fuel.
Or maybe his resignation because when you run the country badly, you put the lives of citizens at risk
,” he said.
In no case, the speech of the Haitian Prime Minister will have contributed to calm the anger of the population, informs us Fritz Desir, spokesman of the political party Haiti in action.
For him, Ariel Henry made an irreparable mistake by increasing fuel prices by more than 50%.
“
Today, this address to the nation has no effect.
On the contrary, it gives even more impetus to the mobilization of the Haitian people.
»
Indeed, a small group of demonstrators had again taken to the streets on Monday to demand the departure of Ariel Henry.
Otherwise, they will continue to block and loot.
►Also read: Haiti: Prime Minister Ariel Henry comes out of silence after a week of riots
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