Friday, before a major police operation against gangs in Village de Dieu (bicentenaire, South of Port-au-Prince), Lucmane Dellile, the Minister of Justice and Public Security launched from the Residence of Prime Minister Jouthe, an ultimatum to residents of this area to avoid collateral damage "I am addressing residents of Village de Dieu, we tell them if you are not part of gangs and crime, you have 72 hours to leave the area. Otherwise, we will not be responsible for what will eventually happen," adding without further details "We will soon liberate the population."

An ultimatum in full pandemic of Covid-19 which made react the same day the Office of the Protection of the Citizen (OPC), which expressed its serious concerns, whereas this ultimatum does not offer any accompaniment or alternative "which concerns thousands families, largely made up of women, children and the elderly."

The OPC wonders "how families living in the village de Dieu, an area completely controlled by bandits without faith or law, can in 72 hours leave this area safely [...]"

While supporting any operation aimed at dismantling the armed gangs operating in the country, particularly in the biventenaire area, the OPC recalls that "the authorities have an imperative obligation to respect and protect the fundamental rights of the human person in all circumstances."

The Office encourages the authorities concerned "[...] to make public security a real State issue with serenity, a sense of responsibility but also and above all within the framework of a strategic operation plan."

HL/ HaitiLibre