Interview

In Haiti, "the police no longer have confidence in the authorities of the State"

Police force a bus to park to be used as a barricade.

In Port-au-Prince, January 26, 2023. © Odelyn Joseph/AP

Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow

3 mins

As armed gangs continue to expand their grip in Haiti, the National Union of Haitian Police Officers (Synapoha) castigates systematic flaws in law enforcement equipment and training, as well as errors in planning police operations.

Interview with its spokesperson, Francisco Occil.

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Tensions are high in Haiti.

The embassies of France and Spain closed their doors this Friday in Port-au-Prince and the Bahamas is ordering its diplomatic staff to leave the country.

The country's police are angry and have made it known.

Thursday, they tried to invest the residence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and invaded Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince for several hours.

In question,

, a locality in the department of Artibonite.

The last drama of a long series.

Since the beginning of this year, 14 police officers have been killed.

RFI: Six police officers were killed this Wednesday in Liancourt.

How do you explain this very heavy balance sheet?

Francisco Occil: 

The bandits numbered 100 to 150, and they were much better armed than the police.

Moreover, many police officers did not know exactly the configuration of the area of ​​the operation.

For example, a police officer who had been shot and injured did not even know where he was when he called for reinforcements.

And there has still been no response from the national police: the bandits are still in their stronghold.

We couldn't even recover the body of the police. 

Who is responsible for the current situation of insecurity?

For us, the central state is responsible.

Why ?

Because there is no security plan.

We do not see any will to resolve this form of insecurity.

We also call on politicians to assume their responsibilities: many young people who are part of these gangs are armed by politicians to serve their interests.

Time and time again, police officers have been killed in operations and there is no real reaction from the police and state authorities.

So the police are mobilizing to demand specialized forces on gangs in order to combat this form of insecurity.

We demand tanks, armored vehicles that can penetrate these lawless zones.

We demand means so that the police do their job properly.

Finally, the union of Haitian police officers demands support measures for the families of the police officers killed during this operation in Liancourt. 

Is the trust between the police and the government of Ariel Henry broken today?

The police no longer have confidence in the police authorities at the highest level.

They no longer trust state authorities.

And that is what caused the reaction of these policemen against the Prime Minister and the reaction of many policemen in the streets.

As a union, we call on the police to lead this movement peacefully.

We are still armed, still hierarchical: we must demonstrate discipline and professionalism.

But we also demand that the police authorities and state authorities take their responsibilities. 

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