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PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 17, CMC -Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has reiterated his governments’ commitment to ensure the free movement of citizens across the country as the Haitian National Police (PNH) Monday received a batch of 10 armored vehicles.
“There can be no political stability, economic recovery, or social cohesion without the full and complete restoration of republican order,” Prime Minister Fils-Aimé said at the ceremony at the police headquarters where the vehicles provided by the government of Canada and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) were handed over.
Prime Minister Fils-Aimé said that the gradual strengthening of the PNH’s material and operational capabilities is part of a comprehensive plan to create the necessary conditions for holding free, inclusive, transparent, and democratic elections.
Prime Minister Fils-Aimè, who assumed leadership of the interim government following the end of the mandate of the Provisional Transitional Council (CPT) on February 7, used the occasion on Monday to appeal to the population to provide support for the police and the military battling criminal gangs bent on overthrowing the interim gvernment.
Haiti has been without an elected head of state after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his private residence overlooking the capital, Port-au-Prince, on July 7, 2021.
The donation of the vehicles is part of international support aimed at strengthening the operational capacities of Haitian law enforcement in the context of a precarious and deteriorating security situation.
Canadian Ambassador André François Giroux, reaffirmed his country’s unwavering support for efforts to restore security in Haiti.
Earlier this month, the PNH received three tracked armored fighting vehicles from South Korea and the latest donation, brings to 35, including three highly sophisticated tracked armored vehicles specially adapted for difficult terrain and offensive operations against heavily armed gangs.
The first contingents of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which replaces the struggling Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, are expected to arrive in the country in April and its mission is to restore state authority and public order, reduce gang territorial control, secure critical infrastructure, and support the Haitian people as they work toward a return to elected governance and long-term stability.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence is distancing itself from reports of a “union” existing within the ministry, saying “there never has been and there never will be, neither within the Ministry of Defence nor within the Armed Forces of Haiti.
”It is important to reiterate with the utmost firmness that nowhere in the world are there unions within the Armed Forces or Ministries of Defence. These institutions, responsible for national security, territorial defense, and state sovereignty, are subject to strict principles of discipline, hierarchy, obedience, and absolute neutrality, which are entirely incompatible with any form of union pressure.”
The ministry said that “any attempt, whether individual or collective, to falsely claim affiliation with a union, mislead public opinion, disrupt the proper functioning of national defense and security institutions, or obstruct the execution of the sovereign missions of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) will be considered a criminal act.
”Those responsible for such actions will be subject, without warning, to severe disciplinary sanctions and legal prosecution, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” it said, adding that it “reserves the right to take all necessary measures to preserve order, discipline, and national security.”
The Organization of American States (OAS) has meantime announced that its Permanent Council will meet on Wednesday in Washington to analyse the evolving political situation in Haiti and receive the progress report from the Secretary General, Albert Ramdin
(Source: CMC/ag/ir/2026)
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