Haiti rioters set deadline to install PM

Jean Rene Frazil, an organizer of last month’s street demonstrations, told Haitian President Rene Preval and parliament that renewed protests could be more violent than last month’s unrest across the impoverished Caribbean country.

“Preval and parliament have no more than one week to install a new prime minister and a new government,” Frazil, 28, told Reuters. “Otherwise, we’ll take to the streets again and it will be much worse than what happened during the past protests.”

Parliamentary leaders were not immediately available for comment on the threat.

At least six people were killed in April in a week of unrest that spread from Les Cayes to the capital, Port-au-Prince, and other cities. Five of the deaths occurred in Les Cayes, where rock-throwing protesters clashed with U.N. peacekeepers and looted businesses and food warehouses.

Days later, the Senate fired Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, blaming him for failing to increase national food production and lower the cost of living.

Preval nominated a possible successor, Inter-American Development Bank senior adviser Ericq Pierre, on April 27. He must be ratified by parliament.

Haiti was among a number of poor nations struck by food riots as prices for rice, beans, flour and other staples skyrocketed due to rising demand in Asia, diversion of food crops for biofuels, bad weather and market speculation.

The unrest shook Preval’s efforts to establish a stable democracy in Haiti, ravaged by political upheaval and brutal dictatorships since it overthrew French rule in a slave revolt more than 200 years ago.

On April 12 Preval announced a plan to lower the price of rice by about 15 percent. But hungry Haitians, many of whom live on less than US$2 a day, said the move was not enough.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	1st execution in U.S. since end of moratorium

NEXT ARTICLE
Saddam feared getting ‘VD’ from prison guards

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit