I ACCUSE !

• An open letter to the nation by Député (Congressman) Jerry Tardieu

It now takes 100 gourdes to buy one US dollar. After two years of President Jovenel Moise’s term, the buying power of the Haitian people has been reduced by half. In the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere, Haitians have lost half of their buying power and have become three times poorer in seven years. In 2011, when Michel Martelly was sworn in as the 47th president of Haiti, it took 40 gourdes to buy one US dollar.

In the face of the arrogance and amateurism of the current government, I accuse !

I accuse President Jovenel Moïse, Head of State in charge of ensuring the proper functioning of our institutions, for having endorsed the administrative mismanagement and financial wrong doings that have caused a record deficit and an economic collapse.

I accuse the President of having weakened, if not destroyed, our public institutions and plunged our country into social, financial, moral, insecurity and institutional crises, and soon to be an electoral crisis.

I accuse our Head of State of dishonoring the presidential function due to his participation in the dilapidation of the PetroCaribe Fund, as reported by the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (Cour supérieure des comptes et du Contentieux administratif –CSC/CA). President Moïse is accused of being at the center of “an embezzlement scheme.” His private companies illegally benefited from public work contracts. These accusations have aggravated the already severe lack of confidence in this president and have deepened the crisis to a point of no return.

I accuse the President of being incapable of rallying the forces of the nation around the table for an inclusive and open dialog without preconditions. He has lost all credibility and no longer has the power of convocation to do so.

I accuse the government of having financed armed gangs in order to control certain neighborhoods, believing that such practices would keep him in power. As a result, human rights organizations have denounced massacres in underprivileged neighborhoods where citizens are victims of rape, murder, robbery and kidnapping.

I accuse the President of having used his majority in Parliament (PHTK and allies) to have them endorse his erroneous decisions that have led to today’s multifaceted crisis. I am also warning the President of the Lower House, Gary Bodeau, against a last-minute maneuver by the presidential majority, threatening to resign to allow Jovenel Moise to illegally govern by decree and avoid an eventual impeachment procedure due to latest CSC/CA report.

I accuse the President of having ordered the General Director of the National Office of Identification (French acronym ONI) to sign a fraudulent contract with the German firm Dermalog for issuing new electoral ID cards in complete violation of public bidding laws. This shameful act has forever jeopardized our fledgling democracy by casting serious suspicion on any election that would be held by this government.

I accuse the President of having refused to heed the multiple requests that he put Haiti before his personal and political interests. Having refused to resign when he should have and when a change in government could have been constitutionally organized in an orderly and peaceful manner, Jovenel Moise has chosen to bring the country to the brink of explosion. In these difficult times, he persists in a deafening silence, confirming thereby his disdain for the citizens to whom he owes an explanation.

The crisis has lasted too long ! The time has come for our society to wake up and find a definitive solution, one by which the President and the international community will have to abide.

For this to happen, two important steps must be taken immediately :

The first is that, upon invitation from Religions pour la Paix (a moral entity benefiting from a certain credibility), all vital sectors of civil society will meet in a patriotic forum to discuss a preset agenda ― without any interference from the Executive Branch — as well as the format and length of a National Conference.

The second is the National Conference itself, where a political agreement will have to be found regarding the term of the embattled president, who has lost the confidence of the entire population. The roadmap of such a National Conference will include, but not limited to, the PetroCaribe hearings, the formation of an independent Electoral Council, the organization of elections, a constitutional reform and an emergency economic plan. From this National Conference will emerge a consensual Prime Minister with the capacity and credibility to inspire confidence and govern the country until the next elections.

I am, therefore, making a solemn plea to the associations representing the most vital sectors of the country to fulfill their patriotic duty at this moment of unprecedented national crisis where there are very few people with moral authority left. They will ensure the mediation between the political forces in order to propose a Haitian solution benefiting from popular approval.

Fellow countrymen and women, the time for fatalism has come to an end. It is now time for a collective awakening! Together, let us light the torch of hope. We owe it to future generations.

Député (Congressman) Jerry TARDIEU Pétion-Ville, June 2nd, 2019

cet article est publié par l’hebdomadaire Haïti-Observateur, édition du 5 juin No.23 P.12  et se trouve à : http://haiti-observateur.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/H-O-5-juin-2019.pdf