Photos

Here is a picture of Jocelerme Privert.

After the fall of Aristide in February 2004, Privert was imprisoned between April 2004 to June 2006 on charges of assisting the killing of Aristide's political opponents in Saint Marc (some 60 miles north of the capital) who orchestrated the armed rebellion that ousted Aristide. Privert was arrested in the midnight from his home as a political prisoner. However, the charges against him were dismissed and he was released after 26 months of imprisonment during the rule of Rene Preval due to lack of evidence.

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Jocelerme Privert, interior minister of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was arrested. He was accused in the mid-February 2004 in the killings of several suspected Aristide opponents in St. Marc.

Earlier, he was a cabinet minister (Minister of Interior) under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Secretary of State for Finance, adviser to former President Preval and CEO of Tax, among other charges. Privert is certainly a change in style from Martelly. Privert's swearing in ceremony was dominated by Martelly's rival left-wing Fanmi Lavalas (The Flood) crowd.

Privert is a native of Petit Goave, became the Directorate General of Taxes (1995-2001), Secretary of State for Finance (2001-2002) and Minister of the Interior (2002-2004).

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Here is a picture of Jocelerme Privert, former interior minister under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Jocelerme Privert, the former President of the Haitian Senate (14 January 2016 - 14 February 2016) and Senator for Nippes Department (26 April 2011 - 14 February 2016) was elected as the interim president of Haiti. He will lead a caretaker government that will fill the void left by President Michel Martelly after the end of his term. His priority would be to ease the tensions of suspended election and to hold the overdue presidential election on April 24, 2016 and install a new President on May 14, 2016, all within his 120-day term. Jocelerme Privert is an experienced politician and administrator with 35 years of experience in public service.

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Here is a picture of Jocelerme Privert and Laurent Lamothe.

The installation of Privert as an interim president was an unprecedented event; it happened without any protocol. Nobody was sure about the identity with which Privert was present then in the Assembly, whether he was there as a senator, or a candidate or the President of the Assembly.

Jocelerme Privert was an adviser to former President René Préval. With his expertise and contribution on Haiti's most important relationship with Venezuela, he earned a nickname "Mr. PetroCaribe". His proficiency on tax systems and profound understanding of the State administration, stand both on academic knowledge and great practical experience. However, he does not possess good knowledge of the laws. On April 4, 2004, Privert was falsely accused of involvement in the La Scierie massacre in Saint-Marc and was imprisoned for 26 months, but quietly, he has been able to remake his image.

With his new responsibility, Privert's main challenge will be to find a consensus on the aspiring participants, because most of the opposition political parties are demanding complete cancellation of the October 25, 2015 election. They are not even happy with his selection. He has to find out a consensus prime minister and government who will need to help him constitute a credible nine-member electoral council.

Privert has taken took oath as the provisional President of Haiti on the night of February 13 to 14, 2016, and has promised that he will do his best to conduct the new election as soon as possible.

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Here is a picture of Jocelerme Privert on the night of February 13 to 14, 2016 taking the oath of office as new Provisional President of Haiti.

On 14 February 2016, Jocelerme Privert (February 1, 1954) was elected by the Haitian politicians as the interim Haitian President to fill the vacuum after departure of former President Michel Martelly on February 7, 2016. His other contenders for the post were Edgard Leblanc Fils and Dejean Bélizaire. Privert received 77 votes (13 Senate + 64 Lower House) to defeat Leblanc with 56 votes (10 + 46) *. Bélizaire received only 2 votes. On February 14, the parliament of Haiti met in the National Assembly and elected Jocelerme Privert as the interim president.

Earlier, before the departure of Martelly, an agreement was signed with the proposition that the interim President will hold his office for 120 days and remain responsible to organize the overdue presidential election on April 24, 2016 and install a new President on May 14, 2016. Overruling the Haitian constitution on deals between the executive and legislature, the agreement was signed by Martelly, Privert, and the Speaker of the House and it was brokered by the OAS members.

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Here is a picture of former Deputy Arnel Belizaire as he is thinking about taking over the National Palace with 120 soldiers

Arnel Bélizaire Wants the Popular Sector in the Provisional Government
Former MP Arnel Bélizaire does not want that the National Palace remains vacant for a long time. The former parliamentarian has appealed for 120 eligible men who would join him within 48 hours to occupy the National Palace and install a President to fill the vacuum. He does not consider this move a 'Coup', because, there is no President is in the office to drive out. This was as per the news dated February 11, 2016.

We might remember that as per government records, Arnel Bélizaire and eight other persons escaped from the National Penitentiary, the civil prison in Port-au-Prince, on 29 February 2004, 19 February 2005 and 12 January 2010. They were held in custody in connection with the "commission of crimes "and" revaluation of convicted cases, such as murder, kidnapping, rape, theft, armed robbery and conspiracy. Arnel and other eight other individuals who were accused or convicted of these charges were, Yves Jean Charles, Jean Michel, Jean Pierre Jules Rilien, Sergot Charléus, Robenson Mervil, Bourjo Jordany Dubuisson Beloved, Edzaire Bellabe, and Valdo Jean.

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Here is a picture of thr Administrative Complex in Verrettes that burned down.

On January 27, 2016, a group of protesters set fire to the Administrative complex of Verrettes. It is a complex where along with several other government offices, the office of BEC (Communal Electoral Offices), a wing of the BED (Bureau Electoral Départemental) is located. BED is a decentralized body of the CEP (Provisional Electoral Council). BED executes the operational plan of CEP through the actions of BEC under its dependence. Verrettes is a commune in the Saint-Marc Arrondissement, in the Artibonite Department. It is an uneventful, peaceful city which had remained unaffected so far by Haiti's political turmoil. The fire was deliberately set by some unknown assailants on the night of January 27th.

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It is an open fact that Haitian people have paid too dearly for the autocratic ruler Michel Martelly's inept administration. For last one year, he has ruled the country by Presidential decree. He never tried to understand the importance of compromise or the necessity of a national political consensus. Jude Celestin, the most popular presidential candidate, described the last election under his rule as a 'total farce' which does not reflect the desire of the common people. Ultimately, he has announced his scheduled departure on February 7. However, on February 6, before leaving his office, he installed Me Jules Cantave, the President of the Court of Cassation and the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), as the new Provisional President of Haiti through an agreement. However, as per G8, this agreement attempts to validate the 2015 election disregarding the general consensus and protests of the common people. It seeks to postpone a crisis that needs an immediate solution.

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Here is the picture for Sweet Micky - Ba'l bannann nan (kanaval 2016).

The President of a country should be the guarantor of social cohesiveness, never an instigator of denigration or lynching his countrymen publicly as opposition. At a time when the country was passing through a crisis, as a President, instead of devoting every moment to solve it Martelly was found releasing his carnival meringue targeting the journalist Liliane Pierre-Paul. Undoubtedly, it is a shame for a man of his stature to display own displeasure and disrespect in such a vulgar manner. Liliane is not only a star reporter; she is the President of the Association of Haitian Media and one of the prides of Haitian society. As a regular host of the Radio Kiskeya, she had always remained vocal against all irregularities and election frauds, especially targeting Martelly's PHTK platform. However, if Martelly likes to mark the end of his government in this manner, not in a cohesive tone, it would be typical of his character.

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There is no doubts now that President Michel Martelly will be leaving office on February 7th, 2016 as the constitution requires.

On January 25, 2016, Martelly confirmed his departure on February 7, on the first day of Haiti's carnival. On the same day, in an interview with Venezuelan TV channel Telesur, the Prime Minister Evans Paul said, now it is clear that there would be no elections before his departure on February 7. Martelly's announcement to leave was a shift from his earlier announcement where he had said, he will only leave power to people who have been elected in an election. It was said at a time when holding the election was perhaps one of the most impossible events in the world. During a speech on the inauguration of the new Interior Ministry building on January 4, 2016, he had said he doesn't want to stay in power even one day more. He will leave with no regret, no desire and no attachment.

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