Port-au-Prince: Unidentified gunmen killed President Jovenel Moïse, 53, of Carribean nation Haiti in an attack at his home in the outskirts of the capital city here on July 7, 2021. His wife Martine Moïse also got wounded in the attack and was hospitalised. However, details about her condition were still awaited.
“A group of unidentified individuals, some of them speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the president of the republic and thus fatally wounded the head of state,” Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, said in a statement. He said the police and military were in control of security in Haiti. The international airport was shut down and authorities declared a “state of siege.”
Amidst growing Opposition demand for his resignation, Moïse had been ruling by decree for more than a year after he failed to hold elections. The elections were planned to be held later this year. His assassination reportedly threatens to escalate volatility in the troubled nation. The situation is very confusing in the country which clearly had several centres of power – from an interim President to an acting Prime Minister, and another Prime Minister who had been appointed but not sworn in.
In Washington, the United States President Joe Biden expressed his shock and said he was saddened to hear of the horrific assassination of President Moïse and the attack on First Lady Martine Moïse.
“We condemn this heinous act, and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moïse’s recovery. The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti, and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti,” Biden said.
In New York, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned “in the strongest terms” the assassination of President Moïse. “The perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice,” he tweeted. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General was in constant contact with the acting Prime Minister of Haiti, Claude Joseph. Her discussions with the Prime Minister were about how to help Haitian authorities coordinate support for the Government and assist on the continuity issues and also very much a call to respect the rule of law.
To a question that given the prevailing confusion in Haiti, could there be a proper investigation of the murder by the government there, or should an international investigation be considered, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said while first and foremost it was the responsibility of the Government to investigate “this abhorrent crime against the President and against the First Lady, as always, we are ready to assist the Government in any way we can”. As for an international investigation, he pointed out that that would require some sort of mandate. “But right now, the focus is on ensuring the safety of the Haitian people. They need… the situation on the ground is reported calm and, I think, fairly tense, but calm,” he said.
– global bihari bureau
