- Flood watch for the south
- Education students urge Haitians to expel peacekeepers
- UN bus attacked, five national staff injured
- Threats against IOM staff in IDP camp
- Venezuela forgives Haiti’s oil debt
I. GENERAL SITUATION
On the eve of the beginning of hurricane season next week, heavy rains accompanied by winds and flooding have marked the end of May across Haiti. In response, the Centre National de Météorologie announced a 72-hour flood-watch alert for the south of the country, covering the departments of South, Southeast, Nippes and Grand’Anse in the face of deteriorating weather conditions associated with a low pressure system in the Caribbean that is producing heavy showers and thunderstorms over the Greater and Lesser Antilles. Torrential rains bring increased risk of floods, landslides and building collapse in the region. With the departments of North and Nippes, as well as Léogâne and Gressier in West, already affected by flooding, the Civil Protection Directorate has activated the national risk and disaster management plan to urge the evacuation of areas most at risk as rivers in spate overflow their banks. Concerns are especially high for many of those displaced after the earthquakes, who have often occupied low-lying land.
Students from the Faculty of Ethnology met with MINUSTAH officials after the incident on 24 May and reiterated their determination to continue demonstrations calling for the departure of the peacekeepers. They also demanded the return of laptops and other items confiscated by UN soldiers, asserting that the provocation had come from the Brazilian peacekeepers. These students have called upon their comrades in other faculties of the UEH to join in the movement and stated their intention to bring the case before international courts. Several social and political organizations, including the Alternative and UNNOH, have expressed their solidarity with the students. Alternative officials described the actions of the peacekeepers as unacceptable behaviour and demanded compensation for the victims. The leader of the National Union of Haitian Education Students (UNNOH) took the further step of urging all Haitians to fight against the presence of foreign troops. An event to mobilize this effort has been planned for 1 June, marking the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the peacekeepers. (www.metropolehaiti.com/metropole/full_poli_fr.php?id=17769)
In recent weeks the finance ministry officials have struggled to finalize two bills that will create and put into circulation new banknotes and metal coins. Earlier this month, the finance minister joined the governor of the Central Bank in a working session with members of the Finance Committee of the lower chamber at which recommendations emerged to replace ten-gourde notes with coins, offering the state significant savings in printing money through the issuance of coins that circulate for more than twenty years. If Haitian legislators vote the two bills into law, new 25, 50, 250, 500, and---for the first time---2,000-gourde banknotes will enter into circulation, facilitating transactions for major retailers. To counter concerns about the time needed for the public to become familiar with these new banknotes, the Central Bank is planning a publicity campaign to be conducted before their introduction. (Source: www.metropolehaiti.com)
II. SECURITY AND PUBLIC ORDER
The overall security situation in Haiti has become volatile, but joint operations, deterrence and operational presence have so far proved successful. In addition, the security environment continues to be marked by a low, but constant, level of criminal activity.
On 27 May at 0714 hours on Route 15 Octobre near the Indian FPU in Tabarre (PAP), a UN bus transporting staff members to work was attacked by an apparently mentally disturbed person who threw stones at the bus, breaking the windows. Five UN national staff members were injured during the attack, two seriously. The injured staff members were transported to the Argentine Hospital, while UN security responded to the scene to conduct an investigation. Also today, unidentified suspects burglarized the house of the driver of the SRSG, fleeing the scene after the incident.
Yesterday, SRSG Mulet, DSRSG Kennedy visited Croix des Bouquets area for an evaluation of the situation four months after the earthquake. HNP supported by MINUSTAH Police provided security during the event. No incident was reported.
Also on 26 May, the local population in the North Department attacked and looted a private truck loaded with sugar in the Carrefour Samari area. A Nepalese FPU patrol responded to the scene and used tear gas to disperse the crowd without further incident. In the same department, a group from the local population threw stones and bottles at an escorted WFP humanitarian aid convoy near the Bonet Dugal warehouse. No further incidents were reported. In Gonaïves an identified man fatally shot another 30-year-old man in the head. The suspect then fled the scene. The same day, also in Gonaïves, a joint HNP-UDMO (departmental public order unit) patrol stopped a black Cherokee vehicle driven by an HNP officer. One of the four passengers, a 40-year-old male, had his hands tied and his mouth covered. The driver explained that he had arrested the detainee but could not produce the arrest warrant. All four passengers were transported to the police station for further investigation. In Jacmel yesterday a traffic accident took place involving a WFP truck. The vehicle rolled back and slightly injured a 24-year-old pedestrian who was taken to hospital. An investigation was opened.
According to the last UNPOL report on developments in IDP camps, three identified individuals have made death threats against IOM staff during the distribution of humanitarian aid cards in the Ressource-Carrefour Vert Camp in Léogâne. The suspects also threatened to set fire to the camp at night but fled the scene soon after. MINUSTAH Police and HNP officers responded to the scene and monitored the situation.
In the last 24 hours, UNPOL and HNP conducted 287 joint patrols and 32 checkpoints throughout the country. A total of 21 arrests were reported, including two escaped prisoners arrested in Delmas 33 and one in Miragoâne. MINUSTAH military conducted 1,025 security operations, involving 5,366 troops and 18 maritime patrols, sailing 206.6 nautical miles.
III. HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Monday that he would write off an undisclosed sum that Haiti owes Venezuela for oil supplies, as part of the ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas) plan to help Haiti. He also announced that ALBA has decided on a comprehensive plan with at least $100 million in funding, along with an immediate donation of $20 million to Haiti’s health sector. ALBA members Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua, Barbuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines would also provide assistance in the form of ‘mobile service stations’ for fuel distribution to be operational within a few weeks. The ALBA plan includes support for such sectors as agriculture, food imports and marketing, as well as immigration amnesty for Haitians living illegally in the member states. (Source: laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=10717&ArticleId=351054)
World Concern is working in the Delmas neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, organizing massive work parties to clear rubble and repair homes. The programme now employs 2,000 people in this effort. Over the past two months, the NGO has repaired or built more than 300 homes and provided grants to dozens of small business owners to restart their livelihoods. A shipment of 500 ‘home-in-a-box’ kits has arrived in Port-au-Prince. About $1,200 is needed to rebuild a family's life, including a new home, an assessment of basic family needs and to provide assistance to re-establish a livelihood. Neighbourhood committees determine priorities in the allocation of new homes or home repairs. World Concern guides the process, providing oversight, supplies and expertise. The focus remains on those most vulnerable, including families affected by HIV and AIDS. (Source:www.reliefweb.int)
In the last 24 hours, MINUSTAH military has conducted five humanitarian assistance missions involving 16 troops. These missions included medical assistance, food and water distributions benefiting 1,030 people and 250 families.
IV. JOTC
The Joint Operations and Tasking Centre (JOTC) continued to respond to requests for assistance from humanitarian partners, the Government and the Project Management Coordination Cell (PMCC). To date, 772 requests for support have been received and 482 completed. Most of the requests pertain to the provision of security and engineering support.
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