WHAT DO THE GANGS WANT?
“Even if Jimmy Cherizier uses political – even revolutionary – rhetoric, (the gangs) don’t have a political or social plan,” Thomas said.
“What interests them is power and territorial control.”
They have no interest in “legitimate power” under an institutional framework, he said.
The gangs want Henry gone but that does not mean someone like “Barbecue” aspires to political office, Theodat said.
Rather, the gangs want to ensure their domination while continuing to profit from their lucrative illegal activities.
WHAT ALTERNATIVES EXIST?
In the long term, Haiti needs to mobilise more young people, particularly through conscription, to strengthen the police and armed forces, Theodat said.
On the political front, Henry’s return would be “another step into chaos – a total denial of the disorder caused by his usurpation” of power, he said, adding that Haitians ought to be able to choose their own leaders.
But “the government doesn’t want to make any concessions”, Pierre Esperance, executive director of the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), told AFP.
“The international community can help and facilitate a political agreement,” Esperance said, while adding that it should listen more closely to civil society and end its support for a government that has led the nation into gang hands.
Source: CNA
