Recall of facts :

Friday, September 2, an incident broke out when Rosemila Saint-Vil, the mayor of the commune of Arcahaie (Inite Patriotik) went to Bercy to launch the construction of a triumphal arch wishing welcome to visitors at the entrance of the city (a campaign promise). She says she invited Wills Thomas Mayor of the commune of Cabaret (Famni Lavalas), this activity went wrong when gunmen, with faces covered are arrived in several cars and disarmed his security guards and wounded one of the police officers who accompanied her.

Rosemila Saint-Vil accuses Wills Thomas to be at the origin of this action. The mayor of Cabaert rejects these charges pointing residents opposed to the project, claiming also that the upper Bercy, belongs to the commune on the basis of an agreement back to 2006 between the authorities of the time.

For her part Rosemilia Petit-Frère St-Vil, said to be in her right explaining possess documents, issued by the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities, on the delimitation of the commune. Also she says that the Head of State would have called her Friday evening to threaten to revoke her cartel... However, at the Palace nobody is able to confirm or deny this information...

Government reactions :

Following the incident, the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities "condemns in the strongest terms the behavior of municipal authorities of Cabaret and Arcahaie" It reminded the municipal authorities that it is not in their allocation to set the geographical coordinates of a commune and announces the opening of an administrative investigation around this conflict, in order to establish responsibilities and refer the masterminds and perpetrators of the violence front the justice.

For his part, in a note, the de facto President Jocelerme Privert condemns the reprehensible behavior of two local officials that led to the unfortunate incidents of the weekend. He states having "instructed the authorities concerned to take without delay the appropriate measures to guarantee the right to move for everyone, the respect for property and physical integrity of individuals throughout the national territory," and urges local authorities concerned to avoid repetition of such acts stressing that "the clashes between elected officials and their supporters are only tarnish the image of our institutions and the country."

Current situation :

Yesterday, Tuesday, at the initiative of the National Federation of Mayors of Haiti (FENAMH), acting as a mediator, a delegation of the Ministry of Interior and the 2 elected mayors, Arcahaie and Cabaret, met and found a provisional agreement. The Mayor of Arcahaie agreed to suspend its project to erect a triumphal arch at Bercy pending the formation of a Technical Commission by the Ministry of the Interior to clarify the boundaries of the two communes. The two mayors also pledged not to undertake any movement likely to affect public peace in the area.

SL/ HaitiLibre