New Haiti PM Promises Security         12/13 06:18

   

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Haiti's prime minister held his first press 
conference Thursday since being appointed more than a month ago to oversee the 
troubled Caribbean country reeling from recent massacres as Haitians demand 
government protection.

   Alix Didier Fils-Aim said he and the entire government bow deeply to those 
killed in Wharf Jrmie in Haiti's capital and in Petite Rivire in the central 
Artibonite region, calling them innocent victims preyed upon by gangs.

   Local human rights groups have said more than 100 people, the majority 
between 60 and 80 years old including Vodou religious leaders, were killed on 
Friday and Saturday in the community of Cit-Soleil by a gang leader seeking to 
avenge his son's death. The U.N. high commissioner of human rights put the 
death tally at 184 victims.

   Another massacre was reported on Tuesday night in Petite Rivire with some 
20 people killed, including women and children.

   "This is not acceptable," Fils-Aim said. "No one on earth should be living 
this way. As soon as someone wakes up in the morning, they're scared, and they 
step out...not knowing if they'll make it back home."

   Fils-Aim, a businessman who was appointed to the position on Nov. 10 after 
the previous prime minister was fired, said the government was fighting to 
guarantee everyone's security.

   He did not provide details but said officials are working on strategies to 
move the country forward.

   "If you don't hear from me, it's because I'm working every day on the 
security situation," he said.

   Local media have criticized Fils-Aim for his lack of presence and 
availability since being appointed prime minister by a transitional 
presidential council.

   He said that the justice minister and police need to work together so 
victims of gang violence get justice, reparations and security as he called 
upon the population to remain extremely vigilant and cooperate with police.

   "They need help," he said of Haiti's National Police, which remain 
understaffed and underfunded as it works with Kenyan police leading a 
U.N.-backed mission aimed at quelling gang violence. "One group of people 
cannot provide security. We all have to put our heads together to regain the 
Haiti that we want."

   Fils-Aim called Haitian police "heroes" as the country's finance minister 
noted that the amount allocated for their expenses has been doubled. He did not 
provide further details.

   The prime minister also announced that the government would soon launch 
projects to help citizens reopen businesses that gang violence forced closed.

   More than 5,000 people have been reported killed so far this year in Haiti, 
the majority of them victims by gangs that control 85% of the capital, 
Port-au-Prince.

   Fils-Aim spoke for about 10 minutes and did not take questions from the 
press.

   He is the former president of Haiti's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and 
in 2015 ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate. The businessman studied at 
Boston University and was previously considered for prime minister after Ariel 
Henry resigned in late April following coordinated gang attacks on critical 
government infrastructure earlier this year.

   Gang violence surged again last month, with gunmen attacking once peaceful 
neighborhoods and opening fire on U.S. commercial flights at Haiti's main 
international airport, striking one flight attendant who sustained minor 
injuries.

   The airport reopened on Wednesday, but the U.S. Federal Aviation 
Administration extended a ban on U.S. flights to Port-au-Prince through March 
12.

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