CARICOM’S long-cherished principle of non-intervention, informed by its familiarity with the evils of colonialism and its faith in the idea of sovereignty, faces no greater challenge than the ongoing Haitian crisis.
On March 11, regional leaders announced a plan for the appointment of a transitional presidential council. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he would thereafter resign.
But no sooner had the ink dried, the plan looked set to unravel.
M Henry, who is not regarded as a legitimate leader by some Haitians, said he would be the one appointing the transitional officials. He himself became interim leader after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, but had delayed elections, citing security concerns.
Caricom, and its international partners, said the plan was formulated after engagement with “a wide range of actors including Haitian political parties, the religious community, private sector, the diaspora, and civil society.” But some Haitian politicians voiced disquiet. Dr Irfaan Ali, Caricom’s current chairman, urged all to “give a little.”
But ordinary Haitians have already given too much. The country is in the throes of catastrophe.
A state of emergency was declared after violence erupted in February, with gangsters burning down police stations, raiding prisons and releasing thousands of prisoners.
M Henry was unable to return to Port-au-Prince after seeking assistance from Kenya because airports had been overrun.
Kenya, meanwhile, said its plan to send troops, funded to the tune of US$300 million by the US, will be on hold until a sitting government is installed.
The same gangs that blocked M Henry’s return will not disappear overnight.
“We had no engagement with any gang or any gang leader,” Dr Ali made clear on Monday, as he acknowledged the sinister gang problem – itself tied to business and politics – was a key issue. “The gangs make up a part of Haitian society. That is part of the challenge.”
Caricom has long prided itself on the idea that countries should not interfere with others. Time after time, it has turned a blind eye to anti-democratic developments in neighbouring states, or adopted neutral stances to further economic interests.
The extreme nature of the Haitian situation has forced the bloc to throw that position overboard, upending the notion that countries are truly islands.
But at the same time, Caricom leaders like Dr Ali seem aware of the lessons gleaned from the long and sordid history of foreign intervention in Haiti and the limits of regional power.
The issue, he said on Monday, “is not what we want. It is what the Haitian people want.”
For this reason, Caricom’s plan must be modified to place convening an election at the forefront, alongside restoring order. Otherwise, it will take a miracle for distrust in “transitional” measures to be overcome.
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