International Relation

Here is a picture of both Haitian President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent lamothe as they arrive at the National Palace Carondelet in Quito, Ecuador. the two Haitian authorities will be holding talks with his Ecuadorian president, Rafael Vicente Correa SEM.

A Haitian delegation which included President Michel Martelly and his Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe traveled to Quito, Ecuador earlier in November to be likewise met and hosted by Ecuadorian members of government. The meeting held at the National Palace Carondelet was meant to help fortify the bonds between the two country as Ecuador has been offering technical, political, humanitarian and economic aid to Haiti. President Martelly spoke directly with President of Ecuador Rafael Correa about the shared interests of education of the Haitian police force, migration and commercial flights between the two countries.

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Here is a picture of President Michel Martelly and Barack Obama in Washington DC.

For the first time, the U.S President Barack Obama met the Haitian President Michel Martelly on February 6, 2014 at the Oval office, Washington DC. The visit served as an opportunity for both the Presidents to discuss how the United States can continue its support to the Haitian government's effort to promote economic growth and strengthen democracy. The U.S President had said that he is satisfied with the recovery efforts of Haiti from the devastating earthquake and Martelly's sincere effort in holding the overdue election, but added that the progress had been very slow, may be of the complicated processes involved. He confirmed U.S.'s support on matters relating to improving the conditions of human rights, judicial reform and controlling corruption in the country. President Martelly thanked him for standing by the side of Haitian people. As per Ros-Lehtinen, a Congresswomwn and Representative from South Florida, Martelly took careful notes of every matter discussed and addressed every relevant question.

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Here is a picture of the Haitian President, Michel Martelly, as he was greeting the Haitian Community in France In October, 2014. He also took the opportunity to visit the place where Toussaint Louverture died at Fort de Joux

Haiti's President, Michel Martelly, was greeted with much warmth when he stopped on the final leg of his tour of Europe in the northern suburbs of Aubervilliers, France, where he met with hundreds of members of the Haitian diaspora living near Paris. They thanked the President for his support of the Universal Schooling Program Free and compulsory (PSUGO). The group also heralded the President as being progressive in the initiatives put forward by his administration to bolster the economy and provide the poor with viable means of being economically solvent.

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Here is a picture of President Michel Martelly and his wife Sophia Martelly as they arrive in Germany.

Martelly Discussions in Germany on Haiti Elections and Investment Opportunities

President Martelly was received by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about stalled legislative and local elections in Haiti. Martelly held opposition party members and defiant senators responsible for the delay. Merkel said she hoped elections would happen soon.

Martelly also met with Hugo Kramer, Chairman of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to promote investment opportunities in Haiti's tourism, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors. Kramer said a delegation would visit Port-au-Prince next year to examine investment possibilities.

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Here is the President of the Republic, Michel Martelly as he was in Germany on October 29, 2014. He was hosted during his visit by German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel

Germany Shows Investment Interest in Haiti

President Martelly made a state visit to the House of German Economy for a working lunch. He was accompanied by Minister of Trade and Industry, Wilson Laleau, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duly Brutus.

He promoted the investment opportunities in the Haitian sectors of tourism, infrastructure, and agriculture to German entrepreneurs gathered.

President Hugo Kramer of the German Chambers of Commerce vowed he would send a delegation in 2015 to Haiti to investigate investment opportunities.

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Here is a picture of the Haitian Flag flying in Germany on October 29, 2014 side by side with the Germain flag. This took place during a visit of President Michel Martelly to Germany.

Today, we can all be proud of this. As you can see, the Haitian Flag flying very high there. This is of historical proportion. The Haitian Flag has not always been given this high respect by some Germans. We need to go back in history to December 6, 1897 and read Luders Affair to understand the issue between Haiti And Germany.

Germany bullied the tiny island of Haiti in 1897 in an incident called the Luders Affair, which began when Germany became insulted by Haiti pledging its allegiance to Germany's enemy in the French-Prussian war. Germany began its campaign of humiliation by coercing Haiti to start repaying its debts to German merchants, easily accomplished since Germany held Haitian warships hostage until Haiti's debts were cleared. When the Germans finally returned the warships they had desecrated the Haitian flags with feces.

But the Germans weren't done punishing Haiti yet. A Haitian-German, Emil Luders, was arrested on Haitian soil and convicted, sentenced to 30 days in jail for assault and battery on a Haitian soldier. Luder appealed his conviction and his sentence was extended a year beginning October 14, 1897. Infuriating Germany's Charge d'Affaires, Count Schwerin, he ordered Luders be released immediately, also demanding President Simon Sam pardon Luders.

It got worse for Haiti. Two of Germany's warships, the Charlotte and the Stein, sailed into Port-au-Prince harbor, demanded a 21-gun salute without giving one in return, and extracted $20,000 in ransom money for Luders, and a vow he be allowed to return home. Schwerin also wanted an official letter of apology from the Haitian government. If these conditions were not fulfilled within four hours the German warships would bomb the harbor. The Haitian government had no time to seek foreign aid, so it was forced to fly a white flag at half-mast to indicate its compliance with Germany's demands

Read Luders Affair here:
haitiobserver.com

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Here is a picture of Gov. Deval Patrick as he pays a visit to Sant Belvi Adult Day Center for Haitian elders.

Governor Patrick says Coakley dedicated to Boston Haitian Community

Governor Patrick visited Haitian seniors at day care centers throughout Boston to ask them to vote for Martha Coakley, running against Charlie Baker, who Patrick says pays no attention to Haitian communities.

Jean-Claude Sanon says Coakley "has no connection with the community . . . . That's what lost her in 2010 against Scott Brown and it's going to happen again." But Patrick says Sanon is lying, and Coakley is committed to the Haitian community.

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Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe flew to Washington recently, where he met with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the long-awaited elections in the Caribbean country and the prolonged delay. During the meeting Kerry stated the need for a speedy conclusion to the gridlock caused by the Haitian Senate being unable to vote on the election bill, and Lamothe made assurances that one would be sought. If the country does not have an election by January 12, 2015, the Parliament would be thrown into chaos.

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National Security Agency Spied on Former Haitian Leader Aristide

Fallout from Edward Snowden's release of National Security Agency (NSA) files continues. Ira Kurzban, a Miami Attorney, revealed classified material from the Clinton administration, now available, showed in a 1994 file the NSA had been listening in on former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phone calls.

Kurzban said the media considered hijacking Aristide's conversations to ". . . violate the U.N. charter and international law . . ." Public knowledge at the time; it did not change the government's behavior.

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Progress Report on Haiti Public Health. President Martelly spoke before the UN 69th General Assembly on the progress made in the public health sector in Haiti.

He talked about ". . . efforts to reduce the incidence of diseases such as AIDs, malaria, and vector-borne diseases. . ." He cited statistics on lowered maternal mortality and live births that dropped more than 50%.

He also said 200-plus health centers were renovated or newly-built and training for medical professionals continues to be provided.

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