Caribbean Community nations have not abandoned hopes that a multinational peacekeeping force will be deployed to strife-torn Haiti as several others have volunteered to be the lead nation, Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis said this week.
His comments to reporters came just days after a Kenyan court ruled it illegal for authorities to not only lead an international force but to deploy 1,000 soldiers as had been planned to help stabilize the Caricom nation, wracked by gangland violence, of more than 11 million.
The government there has vowed to appeal last week’s surprise ruling saying that they think there is a strong legal case they would win as groups of soldiers have been sent to other missions around the world without let or hindrance in the past.
Phillips, who has been one of the more strident leaders on things Haiti says Bahamas’ resolve to help its neighbor remains firm but admitted that the 15-nation grouping made up mostly of small island states cannot help Haiti alone and need international assistance.
“CARICOM, don’t forget it’s not just The Bahamas, CARICOM as a community do not have the capacity and or the wherewithal to respond to Haiti’s crisis on its own. It needs help. So, if it’s not Kenya, there’ll be some other major country that will come in to assist. CARICOM alone cannot do it. If Kenya is not able to because of their legal strictures there are some other countries that will more likely step in.”
The PM also said that an eminent persons group appointed by the bloc last year to interface with politically warring parties has made significant progress that could lead to fresh elections in the coming months. The group has made several visits to Haiti and has held one session in Jamaica. It comprises former prime ministers Bruce Golding of Jamaica, Kenneth Anthony of St. Lucia and Perry Christie of the Bahamas. Haitian economic refugees account for a significant section of the Bahamian population.
Haiti has had no elected parliamentary official for more than a year, the period for new elections has passed and several major towns and cities also do not have elected officials as well. The country has spiraled into chaos since the early July 2021 assassination of President Joven Moise. Heavily armed gangs have taken control of some parts of the capital and other areas, paralyzing normal life, hence the quest for a stabilization force to restore order. PM Davis and Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell both think that order will in fact be restored with a force.
“There have been previous deployments of Kenyan officers overseas in a number of missions. So, their view is that the decision is inexplicable. The training and planning (of Bahamian troops) goes on and we await the outcome of whatever appeal they make. There are other nations who have volunteered, and well, the Americans are actually leading this, so we’re in touch with them. I think there’s supposed to be a meeting of all of the parties within a couple of weeks,” Mitchell said.
