Last Updated on February 25, 2020, 7:11 AM AST by Anthony Morris
A soldier wounded in the gunfight between the newly reconstituted army and the protesting policemen died today.
The policemen have been protesting over the issues of raise in pay and better working conditions. On Sunday, the protest turned into a gunfight when the protesters came and stopped outside the army headquarters which faces the city palace.
It was reported that three injured men were taken to the hospital on Sunday.
Haiti’s government cancelled the Mardi Gras celebrations on Sunday in the capital, Port-au-Prince, due to the gunfight between protesting off-duty national police officers and members of the army.
The Armed Forces of Haiti have condemned the gunfight on Monday.
They said that they bitterly deplore such acts and such can only be done by individuals who want to destroy their country.
The protesting officers said in their press statement that they condemn the violence and also that the fact is that these acts were done by the people who pretended to be police officers with an ill will. It was further said that it was an attempt to discredit the legitimate efforts to unionize the force.
Members of the National Police Force, have been protesting in the capital as well as other major cities every week for over a year.
They demand that they should be allowed
Also, that they can not survive on 19000 Haitian gourdes which become around $200, per year. Above that, they do not have any health or life insurance.
Earlier, the angry protesters had burned down some wooden stands on the Carnival route after the officials fired five police officers involved in the unionizing effort.
The officers said that the police should not be counted on for providing security during the Carnival if their senior officers don’t care about them enough to allow them to form a union.
As a result of the protests and gunfight, the Haitian government has cancelled the Carnival in the capital to avoid any more bloodshed.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
