St Kitts And Nevis Appeals To The International Community To Help Haiti
St.. Kitts and Nevis has appealed to the international financial community not to turn its back on Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Describing the situation in that Caribbean independent nation as "serious," St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas said at a time when the mandate of the Summit of the Americas is being looked during the celebrations marking the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Pan American Health Organisation, "this is as good a time as any, if not the best time, to reflect on the (humanitarian) situation in Haiti."
He told OAS Radio in an interview that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) made a bold decision a few years ago in Barbados at a Caribbean Heads of Government Summit "to embrace Haiti as a member of the Caribbean Community and agreed and approved her application to membership of CARICOM."
"We continue to fulfill our own obligation and our mandate, by lending technical and capacity building support to the Haitian situation by ensuring that we stood beside her during these last very difficult years and months of trying to get back to a path of democracy," said Prime Minister Douglas.
He pointed out that when all other organisations left Haiti, "CARICOM remained engaged with Haiti so that she would not fail."
"We continue to do our path to the best of our abilities, but what has been extremely shocking and what has come out of these discussions since we are here to celebrate the 100th anniversary celebrations of PAHO, is that the international community, especially the international financial institutions, have turned their backs on Haiti," Prime Minister Douglas said.
"Haiti more than ever before needs the full financial support and backing of the international financial institutions if she is to pull herself out of abject poverty and if democracy is to prevail in aita," St. Kitts and Nevus Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. DHaiti," St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas said in Washington.
Dr. Douglas, said he does not subscribe to the view that the international financial institutions have withdrawn their support because they believe that democracy is not moving as fast as it should be moving.
"We know that the political problems in Haiti to some extent are not necessarily those within the control of the those who are in government, because you have the continued bickering between the Opposition and Government and naturally, this is going to result," Prime Minister Douglas told OAS Radio in an interview.
"I am not going to say that Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide is an angel, but for God sake, I think he is trying his best and I believe that the International Financial Institutions should recognize what is happening in Haiti and come to the assistance of the people of Haiti and give them the chance for democracy to survive and to flourish and for the people themselves to improve their living conditions," said Prime Minister Douglas, adding: "We are very disturbed with the abandonment of Haiti."