Workshop we listen im supposed to explain apologize for someone its also terrorizing we meet with global newsmakers and talk about the stories that matter does iraq. After months of protests fears of more violence in haiti demonstrators stepped up their demands for the president to resign so whats fueling beyond race and how will the government respond to people speeding things this is inside story the hour we go and welcome to the program. For months now people in haiti have protested in sometimes violent demonstrations that appear to be getting worse a deepening economic crisis and growing fuel and Food Shortages have sent people to the streets there demanding the resignation of president who has so far rejected that call and frequent natural disasters have made things worse for millions of haitians hurricanes that destroy homes and Food Production and severe droughts that dry up the countrys Water Resources but lets take a look at the political crisis which began in july last year when haitis government announced plans to end fuel subsidies as part of an agreement with the International Monetary fund thousands protested demanding president ial benignly step down demonstrations continue despite the government suspending the reforms that would have nearly doubled petrol prices Prime Minister jackie tar resigned and his replacement was fired just 6 months after his appointment and protesters got even more angry after allegations that 4000000000 dollars from a Venezuelan Oil Subsidy Program disappeared we have a lot to get to with our guests in just a moment but 1st this report from manya in Port Au Prince. For weeks protest against haitian president should no noise have paralyzed much of the capital Port Au Prince. Over the weekend in an easy call returned to the city with debris from roadblocks still littering the streets having a motorbike was the most efficient way to get around we visited the shanty town of the poorest slum in the city. There we met 65 year old so lendlease the Living Conditions in her neighborhood are far from sanitary and many of her family members are sick. She tells us she remembers a time when she had steady work and life in the country wasnt nearly as hard but those days are long gone. The way things are going and the country has made things worse for the poor we feel even more mistreated than before theres no one here to help us we have to look at fast selves. There are thousands of haitians who like solenn have been deeply affected by the political crisis theres an ongoing petrol shortage fuel pumps are crowded and with Public Services crippled many people are forced to walk long distances in search of supplies the lot of them out in the pits to do it i have a wife and children and i cant find water ive got 5. 00 to buy water but i dont know where to find it with tensions still high the government continues to call for a National Dialogue to. Violence is not the best way to make your voice heard as a major impact on the countrys economy especially if it means haiti is locked down. Unwilling to negotiate opposition leaders have once again called for mass demonstrations haitis political opposition has vowed to continue to protest for as long as it takes for the president to resign meanwhile its the poorest in the country who are worst affected for them this is a crisis with no end in sight unrelated up in the us is it a Port Au Prince. Well bring in our guests for todays inside story in Port Au Prince we have a. Junior a haitian canadian activists in durham North Carolina in the United States launch of why history professor at Duke University with a focus on the caribbean and haiti in particular also in Port Au Prince economist and professor at university thank you all for joining us thank you so much for being on inside story betty if i can start with you and i want to bring up a photo you tweeted just a little over a year ago in august of 2018 and it reads where is the petrol caribbean money just to remind our viewers petro korea bay was a venezuela Solidarity Program which supplied oil to caribbean nations like haiti at a discounted price so they could use the money that was freed up towards development but billions as weve heard billions of dollars set the program just simply disappeared so this photo is actually what sparked the anticorruption demonstrations that weve seen in haiti over the past year what was your intention 1st of all when you tweeted this photo over a year ago and did you think it would resonate the way they did with haitians. Well i was not expecting better at all when this happened they were. Through i was i was i was sleeping and i couldnt sleep and during the night i just. When i woke up i asked my sister you know i need to take a picture and we took the picture because of all the things that were going on in before. All the protests from july 67 the country and whatnot so way to the picture and it has been exploded. And ever since i started i got back to haiti and i went on the ground. Fighting with people on the ground and i was not expecting that at all. The protests began over the governments plans to end the fuel subsidies but the government ended up canceling those plans because of the demonstrations so why are people still on the streets in haiti today what are the peoples demands those who are protesting there the demands of the people are very simple it is they need to need their basic needs its food water somewhere to sleep its really basic haitians are not asking for much is just you you have the elite bigger that that has all into their hands and all the wealth of the country is divided between among a few people so its been liers that is happening and you have that predatory state thats taking the sticking in captivity so now the people are demanding to live in better condition to live like decent human being this is the very simple thing that they are asking as citizens. In total trains as beth said this has been going on for years are the protesters that were seeing on the streets of Port Au Prince today. Is for the current fuel shortages and Food Shortages but he took Office Nearly 3 years ago but these corruption allegations have dante t. For a very long time now for many years why is he to blame for the Current Crisis. That take it its a combination of different factors corruption actually is going too far and every time you have a new scandal and it looked like all yll under fire and of people and make people angry. But also we have the highest inflation for that to float for the last 11 years we have the highest currency rated growth for the last 20 years we do worse it could mimic. A growth since did earthquake so the dish here is a particular catastrophic economic year enemy more people game and the same time how can see you now ready to give gas subsidies when you. When you bang port you giving money to congressmen to vote for Prime Minister to do this kind of action and development make it more difficult for people to accept and also to trust the government so its laid against war bad but getting worse but how is driven armories responsible how did he benefit from the old system of subsidize feel official investigation have implicated not just him but other officials under previous administrations as well last year he she didnt give the answer regarding to lou questions because he did it a porch to bob a very deep he change of government last year after put us into the light but it was not the point so because right now we have a systemic crisis is not government crisis is not just inflation it presses a systemic crisis we do is no way you can keep so many people in poverty in extreme poverty in a country where it was so so theres inequality the enforced ration so you cant theres no way you could keep the system going. As it was before with the same people actually people do sources of the country and he came to usable it in a do not thing to balance that day and thats why people are so angry wanted him to resign you know haunted why in North Carolina International Media has focused on the familiar story of corruption and mismanagement in in haiti an all too familiar story but what lies beneath all this in your view what are the root causes side but i imagine that they extend beyond the current government do they not well certainly and i think you know that as my colleagues have said this is in a way kind of a long term process systemic questions coming to a head and i think just a situation that has been building for quite a long time obviously the basic questions about Food Security food supply water supply both in the Port Au Prince but also in the cities throughout the country that have seen protests recently and in the countryside i think thats fundamental and also the sense that there is there hasnt been a kind of real cool little response to the demands on the part of people to have transparency to have kind of responses to questions about where where the money has gone and so that that combination thats really greasing frustrations i think many movies came into power he certainly made promises as many governments have about addressing agriculture which really is i think maybe that key or one of the hes to the question how to increase Food Production within the country how do decrease and dependence on foreign food and there are questions like that that are fundamental that have huge impact throughout the country that simply have not been addressed and sustained way and i think again as my colleagues have said i think people are looking for someone who will provide the solutions for the beginnings of solutions its obviously a very complicated situation but at least a kind of honest engagement with the solutions and an honest with with long and troubling histories of the lack of transparency on the part of the government basically allahabad. Someone is that could solve this crisis in the heart i just want to get your thoughts on whether this crisis the Current Crisis that haiti is experiencing now is different from other crises the country has experience i mean as weve said its not the 1st sign that haiti has gone to such turmoil but do you sense that its different this time around and that that could be a game changer it does feel like a very different moment i mean i feel like were not really unsure and most of the by talk to very unsure about where this is heading obviously there are earlier periods in the early 1990 s. Or the 2000 when there has been significant political crises and demonstrations we are coming in a period where theres been now several change of president s that have been that have gone through with elections complicated in trouble election but nevertheless elections and transfers of hours that went through without a major violence as there had been in earlier and earlier coups and so forth but i think the real question is how the Youth Movement in particular in the country and how that transfers into perhaps a political project that can be articulated at the level of the parliament and leadership and what the what the next steps need to be to make that a reality will will i think be the big question and determine whether theres a more positive direction or whether a more negative direction or lets what that question to me on bow in Port Au Prince is about how do you feel these protests are making a difference have they made a difference since they began over a year ago and what is the plan of the Youth Movement where are they going to take this well the the haitian people are not grueling to another. What i say i like currently this is the economy is bankrupt the country is chaotic you have gangsters everywhere. We want change you want something new we want. Like my colleagues leadership we and the problems really its you have the leader keep that they are so attached to their. Interests economic interests and you have the International Community was like looking at the opposition here doesnt really trust the opposition because theyre really steamed their state their hands are staying in the corruption and the future guarding money and whatnot so its even as the u. S. We dont we dont see the change but not only thing that we and the reverse that you we have to engage our because but everybody nationwide even in the just for a day no longer trust this government or the International Community so haitians have come they have to come with their change they have to change their country for themselves and their all know how how do you go about achieving that change that youre calling for bear i mean opposition politicians have been calling on young haitians to take to the streets is that really the solution because theres a risk that these young haitians will get killed how do you achieve change without violence. Thats the thing that theyre all the gorki the only way to go through them is to die violence im not saying that they have to go through violence im not im a pacifist except this is the only way unfortunately so me personally what i would say. So you get rid of is no you get rid of this parliament you get rid of everyone that thats implicated in this. Scandal and you do a transition the transition we might take when you win year 2 years 3 years you create a commission thats going to focus on the pitch will carry the trial thats very important to send an example once and for all you. More than lies the same mistake you invests in people that not mediocre or incompetent in india the probably gotten ration you reinforce the Justice System these are the these are the key elements because we cannot go through this before nor have a strong Justice System and one of the other thing thats very important is the constitution the constitution is in favor of the parliament series so we have to change that there are the members of parliament so we have to change it sees that fortune in the concept yes lets ask about his thoughts on this. Says you have to get rid of everyone in the car and then starting with have anomalies of course but hes indicated that hes not interested in leaving power right now how do you achieve that change at the youth in haiti economy for. I think the 1st thing is to say that thats where we are now to engage do you feel because the youve been so outside of politics or d the challenges and thats weight here its very important the social media in Technology Help us to connect to people in make information more accessible for all and then it because now we have a generation of people who are leading this country not. Corrupt and they not didnt have any interest in the country so we have to make sure that we educate and we prepare eluded to reason of the leaders with conscious government as well national or i log the government has called for a National Dialogue s. M. L. Why is not why is that not a good start because nobody trusts the government when you say you have a dialogue but people people know its not choose not to censor dialogue so we have we face in the confidence crisis nobody trusts the president nobody is joe the government every time he calls for dialogue nobody responds because they know hes not sincere its been 2 years is giving so many broken promises and lies so they dont trust him they dont trust him on the u. S. A cell supports todays of anomalies despite these growing protests against his government and against him how far do you see washington supporting him if these demonstrations continue. I mean i think thats one of the interesting things about this moment is that the disc the general disengagement or the are far less engagement from the United States for clear reasons i think we can understand just in terms of that the Current Administration and their focus and so forth has meant meant that theres a kind of very different context i think that there is a support for movies but the extent to which the u. S. Is kind of playing a role as an arbiter in the way that they have for decades in many cases much more directly in the political context actually provides a certain kind of opening i mean i think the key is that you have a lot of people who are really engaged who really want to be engaged who just really would like to see positive change in the country and the key is how to get a feedback loop in place where. They find ways to engage politically that begins to bear fruit i think people understand that will take time but there really does need to be a different relationship between the Political Class who and and the kind of broader population and an articulation of sovereignty on the part of the people that that bears fruit obviously most of these key problems in the country can only be dealt with on a infrastructural level with state and vestments and that is the key and for a very long time for many reasons including the actions of the International Community the focus on kind of humanitarian aid and n. G. O. S instead of on state and sort of strengthening all these things are kind of accumulated and i think theres been lots of mistakes to share all around by both inside and outside the country. The hope would be to figure out a way so that the ideas that you use have which i think you know are kind of key and this is a major populations is a very Young Country right this is the core of the population or younger people thats going to be really icky to find the key to open up their political participation and move forward theres a bad end in Port Au Prince of anomalies was elected without much Popular Support in 2016 do you think another election could solve the crisis and bring about a more Representative Government for haitians cant go through a another election. Thats why we were pushing this transition we have to clean up a little more. International here and in our in our lives. Who are here. Ok let me ask you about the opposition in haiti opposition leaders there have pledged that they would be no peace until your anomaly steps down and they have been telling the population dries up but i wonder though what alternatives are they offering. They do prison out there but that doesnt mean people chose them out either so when i talk about confidence crisis not not only nominally for the government but a lot of people dont chose the opposition leaders neither because most of them have been in power years ago or couple of decades the decade ago and its not necessarily convincing tentative and thats why some people are not as a seriously. Likely to really go for the present president a resignation but as same time i think it should be building should be building with with material from everywhere into little tentative to get it because the constitution is not really to hear about do we push it to do and then to achieve a great alternative but for me now it should be really really folks should be focused for and the National Conference and the constitution movies and so does should lead of the 2 men takes to do and after that to go to election like maybe after 3 years ok you know your thoughts i mean youve had the repressive regime of the devalues for 30 years in haiti there was john back hire a seat of course abu haiti seems to be in a perpetual state of fragility what is the way out of these crises of Current Crisis and you mentioned the us being in the past and all the trades are up if not the u. S. Then who today. Well i think the key is actually within haiti right and i think that at sea the best solutions will come from within the country and that in the past the interventions from outside have not helped in general what i think i think its book and in terms of Historical Context very important that weve returned also the constitution this is a constitution that was written and directly after the overthrow of that you say you regime it out of it as a central concern essentially containing the executive because of a 30 year process 70 of an authoritarian executive and so it kind of recalibrated the relationship between the parliament and the executive and did a lot of other things its a constitution that had a lot of positive elements but as as people have mentioned theres also some confusion around it and its not clear that the recalibration has totally worked so i actually think it will be very useful as everyone is suggesting to think about that constitution to think about the political structure in haiti and how it could be improved and i actually think that if that conversation unfolds people will have a sense that thats a very relatively concrete project that can be put into place so that the new political if there are new elections eventually those new Political Class will kind of work in a different way because the impasse is right now are certainly clear and they and they do have a connection to that constitutional question ok i really think the question right now is to think about the future collectively from within the country and to construct that future obviously thats a huge challenge letter as much as the crisis is an opening as it is a crisis its also an opening and let me ask. Whether he thinks that the solution has to come from within or whether intervention from outside at this stage is necessary to resolve this crisis in haiti once and for all. Rice is the been profound but if were talking specifically about Richard Pryor the trial i think its a little bit of both you would have knew you would need to have a special court from the you know ill be chair is from the north like in europe like switzerland. Norway finland and they were cheering people on the ground. For that michel but ultimately for the constitution the referendum emerging the Political Class we we are the youth we are the future we need to engage also like earlier my colleague was talking about that you know you can jeanne that was very bloody and on our on our on earth and this. Made us look the other way every time there was injustice it was going to so we were in we need to spend world stand in unity in as were our family because this this injustice. System its not helping us. Lets leave it there unfortunately we have run out of time thank you so much gentlemen for a very interesting discussion thank you for being on the show today. And at a meal and thank you for watching you can always washes program again any time by visiting our website at aljazeera dot com for further discussion go to our Facebook Page at facebook dot com for slash a. J. Inside story you can of course also join the conversation on twitter handle is at 88 inside story for me 20 back to one whole team thank you for watching and. As governments tale to cut emissions scientists are proposing drastic measures to save the planet. People in power ways technological endeavors to counter humanitys pollutants against the risks of further meddling with the environment to have feel like this is playing god its actually quite unsettling and quite frankly makes me quite anxious. Kalina attacks on our jersey around. If you want to learn above the world might look like very soon regard hungry and hungry as in the extreme example of the predicament the whole world is going through. Since Mass Immigration story we had paunch clashes between the cultures and the problems that the culture of that these. Are should say some brady is or is not comfortable with european culture this is not like food fascist. Triumphal march. Dreams of conquest and love globally try. This is very very uneventful glide towards the precipice without resistance we are past the danger has already happened. It was then just 10 years ago. Now this is it. Tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets in hong kong despite reports china has doubled its military presence there. Pomp and ceremony in china as beijing celebrates the 70th anniversary of the peoples republic. Hello again im Martin Division without you there live from doha also coming up more trouble for donald trump has reports he maggi asked a 2nd foreign leader for help to be able to discredit the mourner investigation. Political chaos in peru after the president is only. The opposition controlled congress which retaliate by suspending him from office has a golden night on the track for african athletes in here uganda and kenya winning titles at the World Championships in daegu. Now ahead of Chinas National Day Hong Kong Police had warned that it would be a very very dangerous situation because of the increasingly violent protests that have gripped the territory for almost 4 months millions of people have taken to the streets to push against what they see as increasing control coming from beijing in this semi autonomous territory scott hyla reports from hong kong
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