Agence France-Presse September 3, 2010
A growing use of weapons and cocaine trading through quake-stricken Haiti threaten stability ahead of key November elections, the United Nations said Thursday.
A new report on the impoverished Caribbean state, where a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12 killed 250,000 people, said criminal gangs are increasing their grip on many of the 1,300 camps where most of the estimated 1.3 million homeless are still based.
Presidential and legislative elections are to be held on Nov. 28 and the report said “the electoral period may bring to the fore new threats to stability.”
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) “has noted an increasing number of weapons in circulation, especially in traditionally high crime areas of the capital.
“In addition, there is a risk that campaigning for the forthcoming elections — particularly the legislative — may be tainted by financing from illegal activities, including the drug trade, which continues to be a destabilizing factor in Haiti.”
The MINUSTAH report said incidents of kidnapping for ransom have increased since the quake and illegal airstrips and isolated beaches on the northern coast are again being used for narcotics trafficking.
Haiti is a major transit point for cocaine and other drugs sent to the United States.
“Drug trans-shipment through Haiti is an underlying problem, that if unchecked, will undermine all efforts by the government and the international community to build state institutions and political stability,” the UN said.
The report said the cocaine trade has “reportedly increased” since the quake because of the weakened government and in spite of heightened air and land patrols by UN forces.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
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COMMENT:HAITIAN-TRUTH.COM
Preval controls Haiti’s gangs.
This was an original cornerstone of his presidency, in 2006, when he hosted all gang-leaders at a formal palace dinner. Since then, key gang leaders answer directly to President Preval and are immune to police or MINUSTAH actions.
Now these gangs have moved to control the tent cities where no police are to be found.
The cocaine traffic has, according to MINUSTAH people, increased 300 percent since the earthquake.
Kidnaps have increased.
Gang related violence has increased.
Preval and his team are involved with all of this, each item useful in their effort to derail or control the electoral process.
Who are behind Preval, Alexis, voltaire, Celestin, Anacacis, Crystallin, Neptune, Privert, Marcellus, Samba Boukman, Latortue, Herivaux, Jean-Charles, Joel Joseph, Bastien,Lambert?
All these men are acting freely in the same way than Aristide and his former gangs in killing,dealing, murdering, and so on.But, noyhing happened to them in fact. Even Aristide in out of the country, it.s like a joke, because he is more powerful than ever to lead Haiti. As an example, after Aristide left Haiti in 2004, from South Africa, he ordered his gangs leaders to put the country under fire, war,kidnaping. As a matter of fact, everyone knows what happened to Haiti since then.
For anyone who wants to be involved in politics in Haiti, you have to contact Aristide to receive a refferral to be successful.Who is the boss? Now, whay do you see? All the Lavalas leaders become very wealthy, powerful,untouchable in Haiti and outside of Haiti. So what?
You know the rest.
Even the Earthquake of January 12, 2010 came to back them up. How many members of this government have lost their lives in the earthquake? How many gangs leaders have lost their lives in the earthquake?
Everyone of them had left office, house, location to be in a safe palce at the time of the earthquake. So what, students, teachers, professionals,midle class people have lost their lives in the earthquake as a sacrifice of the development of Haiti.
I know the time will come for everyone to render account for what the have done in Haiti sooner or later. WE need to keep faith in our Lordm which had liberated us from Slavery in 1803.
He will do the same in 2010-2011.