PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC—Prime Minister Garry Conille has reiterated his call for gunmen to lay down their arms even as the leader of the coalition gang “G9 a Fanmi e Alye,” Jimmy Cherisier, said his group was prepared to dialogue with the authorities.
“Armed gangs have a minimal time to lay down their arms,” Conille told a news conference on his return to the French French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country following a seven-day visit to the United States.
“The State is not going to wait indefinitely,” he said, adding, “Dialogue will only be considered when the bandits have laid down their weapons and recognized the authority of the State.”
Conille said that the purpose of his visit to the United States was mainly to expose to the representatives of Haiti’s partners the clear vision and the main priorities of his government by the Political Agreement for a peaceful and orderly transition of April 3, l 2024
Last Friday, Cherisier, a former police officer and spokesman for the criminal group Living Together, which is an alliance of two of the most powerful gang coalitions in the country, Gpèp, and G9, appeared in a video, saying, “We have decided to publicly announce that our strategy of laying down arms to facilitate national dialogue and promote peace is already written in black and white on our agenda.
“We are prepared to appoint a credible and coherent Haitian citizen in the diaspora to facilitate dialogue to put an end to this mafia war and facilitate the path towards peace in the country, denouncing…the political mafia and economy that is holding the country hostage,” said an impeccably dressed Cherisier, who is also known as Barbecue.
His latest video is in stark contrast to one aired a few days ago when he said his group was prepared to confront the Kenyan troops, whom it described as “invaders.”
Kenya is spearheading the United Nations-sanctioned Multi-national Support Mission to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country that has been wracked with political and socio-economic problems, highlighted by criminal violence ever since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
Kenya has offered to send about 1,000 troops to stabilize Haiti alongside personnel from several other countries, including The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, and Jamaica. The first batch of 400 Kenyan troops arrived here last month.
In his video on Friday, Cherisier said, “We want peace because we want to destroy war. We want dialogue because we want peace.
“It is only through national dialogue that the Haitian State will be able to regain control of the country’s territories, as required by the Constitution,” he added.
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