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Haiti’s President Says He Will Not Resign; Opposition Parties Call For Further Demonstrations

Haiti President, Jovenel Moise.

Haiti’s President Says He Will Not Resign; Opposition Parties Call For Further Demonstrations

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, October 16, 2019 (CMC) – Embattled Haitian President, Jovenel Moise, says he has no plans of encouraging another 1986, when then-President, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, fled the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country after protracted opposition-led demonstrations against his administration.

Moise, speaking for the first time, publicly, for nearly a week, said that it would be “irresponsible” on his part to step down, in light of persistent demonstrations, being staged by opposition parties, for his removal from office, amidst claims of corruption.

“It would be irresponsible on my part for me to stand here, today, to sign and submit a letter of resignation and say ‘I am leaving’, and leave the country like this, and the system regenerates itself,” Moïse told an impromptu news conference on the grounds of the National Palace.

The crisis in Haiti was triggered by the publication, in January 2019, of a report on the Venezuela-funded PetroCaribe Oil initiative, under which Caracas provided oil and other petroleum products to Haiti, under a preferential agreement.

Moise has denied any wrongdoing and, last week, named former prime minister, Evans Paul, to head a team that would hold discussions with all stakeholders and, on Tuesday, he reiterated a call for the all stakeholders to meet to discuss a way forward.

“However long it takes, I am ready for dialogue. We don’t want to have another 1986,” he said, noting also that the economic situation in the country is also as a result of the failure to have his government ratified by the Parliament.

“Parliament spent eight months refusing to give us a government,” said Moïse, who came to office in 2017.

Moïse said Haiti is “worse off” than it was from 2004 to 2015, the years following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“You didn’t vote me to come fight with anyone. You voted me so that I could come fight against a system. It would be difficult for anyone, who became president today, to confront this system, because it has the capacity to regenerate itself,” Moise said, as he defended his term in office so far.

But opposition leaders immediately rejected Moïse’s bid for talks, saying his offer was “not credible” and called for more street protests.

In a statement, the anti-corruption organisation, Nou Pap Dòmi, said Moise “must resign”.

“He has no credibility and has long lost our trust. Our position remains the same: a corrupt president can’t govern our nation,” the statement added.

Opposition leader, André Michel, said the latest statements, by Moise, lacked credibility.

“Mr. Jovenel Moise does not have the moral authority to attack the guards of the exclusionary system that we are fighting today, because his election campaign was betrothed by these people,” Michel said, adding that during the 2016 elections, Moïse “had at his disposal more economic means than all the other candidates together”.

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