I. GENERAL SITUATION
In his speech at ceremonies commemorating the 207th anniversary of creation of the Haitian flag, the head of state, René Préval, emphasized the main thrusts of government action until the end of his term. The president called on his countrymen to make January twelfth a historic date. Recalling that 18 May 1803 had marked the starting point of the march toward independence, Mr Préval called for 12 January 2010 to serve as a starting point for remaking the nation. He also appealed for patience, offering assurances of increased efforts to help the victims of the earthquake. The Haitian president intends to continue the relocation programme for the homeless whether in neighbourhoods or in the camps. Other promises related to expansion of humanitarian and development efforts to the towns. Implementation of several road projects was noted before the head of state also announced preparations for beginning construction of two power plants in Artibonite and Port-au-Prince. (Source: Metropolehaiti.com)
Members of the political parties Alliance, Fusion of Social Democrats, Organization of People in the Struggle and Lavalas who had been members of the Préval government between 2006 and 2008 are maintaining their mobilization efforts to bringing about the resignation of the head of state. These constituent parties of the Alternative movement have joined other political groupings such as Ucadde, Libération and Rasemblé in demanding the formation of a transitional government. These political platforms enjoy the support of several popular organizations close to Lavalas. The mobilization effort has, however, striven to be as wide as possible by bringing together both supporters and opponents of Aristide. Over the past three weeks, opposition leaders have organized anti-Préval demonstrations in Gonaïves, St Marc, Miragoâne, Cap Haïtien, Jacmel, Marigot, Léogâne, Petit Goâve and Les Cayes. In addition to street protests, an action was launched in front of the Supreme Court to call for cancellation of the emergency law. (Source: Metropolehaiti.com)
II. SECURITY AND PUBLIC ORDER
During the last 48 hours the overall security situation in Haiti has remained stable, despite several demonstrations and marches. The security environment continues to be characterized by a low level of criminal activity.
On 15 May at 1900 hours in the Delmas 33 area of Port-au-Prince, unidentified assailants attempted the kidnapping of a 19-year-old woman from a vehicle. Following activation of the vehicle’s alarm system, however, the perpetrators fled. No further details have been received.
Also on 16 May at 2035 hours in Quanaminthe, four unidentified suspects kidnapped a 44-year-old man from his house, also taking money in US and Dominican currency and a motorcycle. On 17 May at 2230 hours the kidnapped was released after a ransom of $13,000 American dollars. The victim was immediately transferred to Dominican Republic and hospitalized.
On 17 May at 1000 hours in Cap Haïtien, unidentified gunmen shot at the tribunal and the town hall in Limbé locality. The suspects also sprayed graffiti demanding the departure of the local representative of the Haitian Government. No loss of life was reported. On the same day in Torbeck, an unidentified 26-year-old man raped a 16-year-old girl and fled the scene. Also on 17 May, four bodies were discovered. The first, at the intersection of Tiremasse and Magasinde l’Etat Avenues, belonged to an identified 34-year-old male who had sustained gunshot wounds. On Dr Aubry Avenue, an identified 30-year-old male body was found, which preliminary investigation revealed to be the victim of a lynching by the local population. On Saint Martin Avenue, the corpse of an identified 30-year-old male was found with signs of violence. And in Cité Soleil, the male body of an identified escaped prisoner was discovered with gunshot wounds.
Five demonstrations were also reported on 17 May. In Miragoâne, two demonstrations with approximately 200 participants demanded the departure of the president, accusing him of violating the constitution, while an unknown number of people protested the lack of electricity. In Les Cayes, 70 citizens requested assistance from the local authorities. Around Fort National in Port-au-Prince, 400 people not only called for the departure of the president, but also the return of former President Aristide. Several gunshots came from a building, resulting in one demonstrator being shot in the chest. The victim was transported to hospital. Finally, in the Champ de Mars area of downtown Port-au-Prince, 800 people peacefully demanded the departure of the president and the return of former President Aristide, with no significant incident reported.
On 18 May, several demonstrations and marches were reported as part of the commemoration of Flag Day, some of which degenerated into violent protests against the government. A recapitulation of actions reported by MINUSTAH military, UNPOL and HNP from their monitoring of demonstrations across the county appears below.
- In Cap Haitian, 200 people demonstrated by throwing bottles and stones. MINUSTAH military elements, UNPOL and HNP controlled the situation. No physical or material damage was reported.
- In Gonaïves, 200 people peacefully protested against the Haitian Government and the extension of the presidential mandate.
- In Jacmel, 1,200 people celebrated Flag Day by demanding the decentralization and reconstruction of Haiti. Stones were thrown, but no injuries were reported.
- In Les Cayes, 300 people protested against the extension of the presidential mandate, accusing the head of state of disrespecting the constitution, and further demanding the return of former President Aristide.
- In Miragoâne, two demonstrations and two marches comprising a total of 2,500 participants celebrated the holiday peacefully, though in protest at the national government.
- In Jérémy, 2,000 people peacefully demonstrated.
- In Port-au-Prince, approximately ten peaceful marches or demonstrations occurred, with 50-100 participants in each. No serious incidents were reported.
In other incidents, on 18 May at 0700 hours in the Courbe de Limbé area of Cap Haïtien, unidentified armed assailants attacked and looted a WFP truck loaded with humanitarian aid. The suspects fled the scene after the assault. The truck was travelling without escort.
Also on 18 May at 2100 hours, a MINUTAH military patrol approached an HNP vehicle parked along Magnolia Ave near Simon Pele in Cité Militaire where were found four male occupants, all in civilian dress, carrying weapons and wearing bullet-proof vests. When the patrol commander ordered them to descend from the vehicle, the driver menacingly got out with a gun in his hand. In accordance the rules of engagement the commander fired a warning shot in the air, moving the driver instantly to put the weapon back inside the vehicle. After proper identification, the person carrying a gun was determined to be HNP Police Chief from the Commissariat in Cité Soleil. The other three occupants were civilians, however, not HNP officers. The patrol released the police officer, but took the three civilians to the HNP Commissariat in Delmas 33 for proper disposition. At about 0000 hours, the Chief of the HNP Commissariat in Cité Soleil arrived at the Delmas station requesting and obtaining the release of his civilian companions.
In the last 48 hours, UNPOL and HNP conducted 658 joint patrols and 71 checkpoints throughout the country. A total of 52 arrests and two escapee arrests were reported. MINUSTAH military conducted 1,524 security operations involving 9,580 troops and 14 maritime patrols sailing 282 nautical miles.
III. HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS
Mobile telephone operator Digicel has teamed up with several manufactures to distribute over 50,000 handsets and over $2 million in credits to a variety of NGOs and other non-profit organizations in Haiti. Thanks to handset manufacturers LG, Alcatel, Nokia, Samsung, RIM, ZTE and SIM card supplier Gemalto, over 30,000 phones have already been distributed to over 150 organizations by Digicel. These organizations include the International Organization for Migration, World Vision, Save the Children, Concern, Fonkoze, UNICEF, Partners in Health, Catholic Relief Services and Médecins sans Frontières, to name a few. Earthquake researchers, mobile health clinics, sanitation and shelter specialists, as well as hospital and orphanage staff have also received handsets and credits. These donations have helped to provide reliable and efficient communications between the organizations and their counterparts throughout the country.(Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Digicel-and-Leading-Mobile-iw-1613425629.html?x=0)
As of 8 May, the Internally Displaced Persons Surveillance System (IDPSS) provided an update revealing a total of 136,898 clinic visits through week 18, with 31,139 cases (22.7%) presenting reportable conditions. The total number of clinic visits by children under five with reportable illnesses stood at 13,230, representing 42.5% (or nearly half) of the total number of reported diseases. Acute respiratory infections (ARI) remained the most commonly reported illness, with an overall prevalence of 9.6% of total reported clinic visits since February 2, 2010, followed by suspected cases of malaria, acute watery diarrhoea, fevers, suspected typhoid and bloody diarrhoea. During the past two weeks, 2,141 (11.2%) cases of ARI were reported, with the percentage of ARI cases at the IDPSS sites increasing slightly to 12.0% of all clinic visits during the last reporting week. (Full report at:
http://groups.google.com/group/haiti-idp-surveillance-system/files&sort=date)
On 15 May, WFP distributed humanitarian aid for 2,502 families in Caracolie locality. MINUSTAH police and military personnel assisted HNP officers in conducting security operations during the distribution.
IV. JOTC
The Joint Operations and Tasking Centre (JOTC) continued to respond to requests for assistance from humanitarian partners, as well as to provide administrative support to the Coordination Support Committee (CSC) Planning Task Force and the PMCC. To date, 743 requests for support have been received and 473 completed. Most of the requests pertain to the provision of security and engineering support.
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