ARTICLE - FAD'H - MIN. OF JUSTICE - TURN

180 DEGREE TURN OF THE POSITION OF THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE ON THE FORMER FAD'H
(Haiti Libre) -

Tuesday, Mr. Michel Pierre Brunache, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, in a letter to Mario Andrésol, the Director General of Police Nationale d'Haiti (PNH) e asked to "take all appropriate measures to stop these actions that violate the Constitution and laws of the Republic [...] the movement of men in uniform and sometimes armed belonging neither to the Minustry or the PNH is absolutely unacceptable. The police must act with the utmost rigor to stop this illegal situation that disturbs public order."

Friday, the Minister in a statement, made ​​a 180 degree turn and now advocates a dialogue, convinced that it will not be necessary to use force...

"The police is there to restore order, the police is there to enforce the law so we are in a situation where the law is violated [...] the police must be prepared, but I must tell you, that dialogue remains the priority. They are Haitians who are looking for jobs, so dialogue is, and remains the priority [...]

For several weeks, there is a Commission which is maintaining contact with these men in fatigues and who are sometimes armed. This Commission is composed of the Secretary of State for Defence, the Secretary of State for public safety and an adviser to the Prime Minister [...] Dialogue is and remains the priority but at the same time the State must be prepared to restore order, because we want to establish a rule of law, and it does not pass through disorder [...]

[...] I am confident that we will not have to use force, moreover, this morning the Minister of the Interior will travel to Cap Haitien to continue the dialogue which remains the priority for now [...]

[...] If there are men that circulate in the streets in uniform with guns, police have a duty to interpellate them [...] For young people aged 20 to 40, it is certain that they can not be former military. These are young people looking for jobs so, the State may take their case into consideration as any other youth of the country to the extent of the possibilities [...] Among those over 40 there are former military. They sometimes have claims that are just; as their pensions, their compensation and this is another consideration. As I have said earlier, dialogue remains our priority. We will make a decanting between these two groups [...]

[...] there is no ultimatum the police must consequently prepare

However, this openness to dialogue does not seem to have been heard on the side of former military, since Mr. Thiery Mayard-Paul, the Minister of Interior and local authorities, at the head of a delegation who traveled Friday to Cap Haitien, in order to meet individuals who claim to be part of the former FAd'H, and who are currently occupying the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture, had returned to the capital, without being able to carry out its mission. The ex-soldiers who refused to meet with the Minister, continue to maintain their position; namely, the remobilization of FAd'H and the payment of 18 years pension arrears...