Blinken says Haiti’s transitional council will take over soon

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that a proposed transitional council for Haiti, aimed at enabling a political transition and bringing stability to the troubled Caribbean country, has not yet been finalized, but expressed confidence that it would happen in the coming days.

Blinken told a news conference in Austria that most Haitian social and political stakeholders have appointed representatives to the seven-member committee, but said “some” have yet to be appointed. He expressed confidence that they would do so soon.

Blinken attended an emergency meeting on Haiti in Jamaica earlier this week led by regional trade group Caribbean Community. It was at that meeting that it was agreed to establish the Transitional Presidential Council, consisting of seven voting members and two non-voting observers.

Blinken said that under the deal, the council would appoint an interim prime minister. The council will work with the interim leader to appoint an inclusive council of ministers, including a national security council and an electoral commission to oversee the new elections.

“This is a Haiti-led deal,” Blinken said. A related but separate issue is security, he said, saying humanitarian aid, economic development and holding elections would not be possible if there was severe insecurity in Haiti.

Blinken said the international community has been working for months to form a multinational security force led by Kenya and other African and Caribbean countries to support Haitian police. He said the plan was moving forward but would not be implemented until a transition committee was formed.

The secretary of state said he expected that to happen in the coming days, but said in Haiti, “There are challenges every day in this process — political challenges, security challenges — and we are working hard to address them.”

Blinken’s comments came a day after Suriname’s foreign minister and CARICOM official Albert Ramdin told The Associated Press that progress was being made on the formation of a transition committee, saying most stakeholders had appointed representatives.

“It’s all up to the Haitians now because they want a Haitian-led solution,” Ramdin said. “They should pick up the ball and run with it and take responsibility for their own destiny.”

Under pressure from the United States and other regional countries, unpopular and unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on Monday that he would step down once a transitional council is in place. The White House confirmed Thursday that Henry was in Puerto Rico.

Blinken’s comments came a day after a powerful gang leader in Haiti threatened political leaders who were set to participate in a planned transitional council for the country’s governance.

In a seven-minute audio message widely shared on the WhatsApp platform on Thursday, gang alliance leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier threatened politicians who will sit on the transitional council.

“Don’t you have any sense of shame?” Cherizil said, taking aim at politicians he said wanted to join the committee. “You have brought this country to what it is today. You have no idea what is going to happen,” he added.

“I will know if your children are in Haiti, if your wife is in Haiti … if your husband is in Haiti,” he said, apparently threatening the family. “If you’re going to run the country, all your family should be there.

“We will continue to fight for the liberation of Haiti,” former police officer Cherizier told Spanish-language network W Radio.

On Thursday, the United Nations said it was working to provide airlifts of aid to Haiti.

“It’s moving some supplies. It’s also pulling out some U.N. staff and bringing in other U.N. staff,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general.

In Washington, the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to confirm career diplomat Dennis Hankins as ambassador to Haiti. The confirmation marks the country’s first appointment to a diplomatic post in nearly 2 1/2 years.

The United States said its embassy remains open and continues limited operations focused on assisting Americans in Haiti and “supporting Haitian-led efforts to ensure a peaceful transition of power.”

Other embassies, including Canada’s, have similarly reduced their embassy staff in the country due to security concerns.

Meanwhile, Britain said it would increase security in the nearby Turks and Caicos Islands, a British overseas territory.

VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report. Some of the information in this report comes from Reuters and AFP.