One of the Caribbean Community’s longest-serving and most senior heads of government has called for formal talks with Haitian gang leaders, saying continued attempts to wipe them out rather than engage them will lead to nothing positive.
Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Caribbean nation of Dominica since early 2004, argues that the time has come to sit down with the slew of very violent gang leaders in much the same way as others in conflict-ridden destinations have done, like authorities in Colombia, South America.
“Sanctions are not going to change the attitude of any gang leader or member in Haiti,” he argued during a recent speech, saying that Colombian authorities had not shied away from direct negotiations with the former terrorist group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Those talks have led to a vast reduction in violent and terrorist attacks, and some of the former rebels or terrorists are now parliamentarians and or are in government.
“So, I understand some people who don’t want to engage but are part of society. We do not hate them. We hate their behavior and actions. How do we get them to curtail or to change their behavior and actions? To leave these guys to their own devices and send drones to try to kill them, all you are going to have is to make the situation worse. I am not a Haitian or part of the government. I can only suggest. If there is a problem in society, we have to talk,” he said.
His remarks have come as Haitian media are reporting that the Kenyan government has offered to renew the mandate of its multinational security support mission’s mandate, which has led the rearguard action to beat back the heavily armed rebels with other countries in the past year. The current mandate expires in early October. Local authorities said they would accept the offer but appealed for more financial aid from the international community to help fund the mission.
Meanwhile, the Haitian Times newspaper and the New York Times are reporting that Erik Prince, the founder of a private military gun-for-hire group known as Blackwater or Constellis, is recruiting former Haitian soldiers in the diaspora and ex-fighters from Latin America to take on Haitian gangs starting in the summer.
It is unclear how many from the hemisphere have signed on, but the reporting is that an initial batch of 150 will be recruited to commence operations in the coming weeks.
They (the gangs) are too crucial a player to leave them to their own devices. I am not a Haitian or part of the government. I can only suggest. If there is a problem in society, we have to talk,” he said.
