PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC—The union representing the Haitian National Police Union (PNH) is calling on the government to institute a state of emergency (SoE) and suspend all unnecessary activities, such as carnivals and other festivities, throughout the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
In a statement, the SPNH-17 said the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), the government, and the National Police Superior Council (CSPN) should provide the police with the necessary means to reconquer areas taken over by criminal gangs.
The SPNH-17 has given the authorities until March 12 “to provide clear signs that the country is on the path to security” warning that “if no concrete measures are taken, we will consider that the authorities have abandoned the population and the police in the hands of criminals.”
The SNPH-17 said it is calling on the CPT, the government, and the CSPN to “immediately” undertake a number of measures, including declaring “a state of security emergency throughout the territory and suspending all unnecessary activities such as carnivals and other festivities.”
In addition, it wants all police officers, “especially those who worked with former officials and who are on site, to make them available within two days until further notice” and “release funds for security operations, namely money for intelligence, risk bonuses and food for police officers on the ground.”
The union wants to place care units and ambulances in each area where operations are taking place to assist police officers and military personnel who may be victims during the interventions.
It is also calling for the reorganisation of the police and the “establishment of leaders who can make good decisions and support police officers on the ground.”
The union gave no indication of what would happen next if the authorities did not implement the measures being called for.
Last week, the international human rights group Amnesty International said relentless gang violence in the Haitian capital and surrounding areas has resulted in a brutal attack on childhood in the country.
It said since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, violence by armed gangs has escalated significantly in Haiti, claiming an estimated 5,600 lives last year. Gangs control the majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince, while more than 5.5 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance.
and then  is calling on the government to institute a state of emergency (SoE)){kind=link}