People

Here is a picture of former CEP member, Pierre Richard Duchemin. On Sunday, March 6, 2016, following a road accident on National 2, near Leogane, Pierre Richard Duchemin was pronounced dead.

On Sunday, March 6, 2016, the former election adviser, Pierre Richard Duchemin, died following a traffic accident occurred on the highway # 2, up to Leogane. He was traveling in a car with the son of a former councilor. We might remember that about ten years ago he suffered a terrible car accident, in the same locality. That accident cost him a broken femur, broken knee and fractured pelvis. He was a representative of the Haitian Catholic Church in the CEP (Provisional Electoral Council), joined on February 6, 2005. He joined as a CEP member, replacing Julien Roselaure who held the position as the President of the CEP.

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Here is a picture of Prime Minister Nominee Fritz Jean submitting his document for verification in the process of ratification.

Haitian Prime Minister Nominee Fritz Jean has submitted his document to the 7-member parliament committee for verification and justification of his candidature in anticipation of securing the vote of confidence. However, only four of the seven deputies in the commission have approved his document. Earlier, the announcement of Fritz Jean as the new Prime Minister by the interim President Jocelerme Privert was criticized by many opponents as it was contempt of Haitian constitution, because Privert's announcement was made without any confidence vote, without the approval of the presidents of the both houses of the Parliament, and without the confirmation of the eligibility of Fritz-Alphonse Jean as the new Prime Minister.

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Here is a picture surrendering the proble of citizenship faced by President Michel Martelly. US Ambassador Kenneth Merten declaring Michel Martelly a Haitian citizen.

When in March 2012, the snowball rumor about Michel Martelly's nationality transformed into an avalanche, destroying his credibility to hold the president's office, then-U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten (August 25, 2009 - July 20, 2012 ) came to his rescue. Merten said Mr. Martelly is not an American citizen and he does not have a U.S. passport. However, the Haitian legislature was not satisfied with that explanation. About one year ago in early 2011, a bogus U.S. passport was surfaced on the Internet that purported to be Michel Martelly's. Marten's assurances could not impress the members of a special commission of the Haitian Senate responsible to investigate politicians who hold dual citizenship. However, Martelly termed this citizenship controversy initiated by Senator Jean-Charles as "conspiracy", organized by people who can't believe Michel Martelly is going to be the country's President.

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Here is a picture of Francois Duvalier and Haile Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia.

Haile Selassie I (23 July 1892-- 27 August 1975), a member of the Solomonic dynasty was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was also known as the King of Kings. He served as the Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity. His internationalist view helped Ethiopia to become a charter member of the United Nations. He helped to promote multilateralism and collective security and in 1936, at the League of Nation, he condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against Ethiopia. His millions of supporters of Rastafari movement (an Abrahamic belief) used to worship him as the returned messiah of the Bible. This King of Kings met the President for Life, when he visited Haiti in April 1966. He was the only foreign Head of State to visit Haiti during the rule of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc). Like Haile Selassie, President Duvalier was also a patron of the Black Nationalist platform, and a supporter of the Pan-African model of excellence.

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Here is a picture of the new Central Director of the Administrative Policer, Michel-Ange Gédéon who was installed on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.

On February 29, 2016, Michel-Ange Gédéon, the Divisional Commissioner and former head of the West Departmental Office (DDO) has been installed as the Inspector General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH). He will hold his office at the Central Directorate of Administrative Police (DCPA), one of the most important bodies of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), by replacing the former Inspector General, Destorel Germain, who had held the post for the past ten years. The installation ceremony of the new Inspector General Michel-Ange Gédéon was attended by many institutional executives. The new Inspector General, in a note of thanks, thanked the Director General of the PNH to select him for the honorable role and expressed his commitment to fulfill his entrusted mission.

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A quite strong statement from a seating Haitian Senaator and a pastor. Statement from Pasteur, Senator Andris Riché

Senator Andris Riché on 2/29/16: "President Jocelerme Privert et Premier Ministre Fritz Jean sont deux Lavalassies qui ont deja perpétré mile et un coups dans la politique du pays et symbolisent le retour des rats ravageurs, canaille, delinquents en costumes".

Recently, on February 29, 2016, following the announcement of the name of economist Fritz Jean as the new Prime Minister, Senator Andris Riche went back to his atrocious vocabulary before the press to describe how the Lavalas movement was started by the former President Jean Bertrand Aristide. He believes President Jocelerme Privert and Prime Minister Fritz Jean, both are followers of Aristide and members of his Lavalas party which has damaged the Haitian politic severely. He did not hesitate to refer the Provisional President Privert and Prime Minister Nominee Fritz Jean as rats, rabble, delinquents who only dress like humans. Senator Andris Riche from the Alternative for Progress & Democracy party was the Vice President of the Senate following the departure of former President Simon Dieuseul Desras; he was elected as the Senate President in January 2015. This Senator from Grand Anse is a Pastor by occupation. On December 16, 2006, he was kidnapped by gunmen while driving near a dangerous slum, but he foiled the kidnapping attempt by escaping after several hours in captivity.

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Here is a picture of Prime Minister Nominee Fritz.

Prime Minister Nominee Fritz Jean now has to legalize his appointment by securing a vote of confidence in the Parliament by securing 16 votes in the Senate and 60 votes in the Lower House. The task looks difficult, because there is no political group in both houses with absolute majority that can make him through. Currently, the Senate is composed of two groups. The majority opposition (G15) on his side has 15 Senators, including the President of the Upper House of whom the President may not vote. Thus, he has to convince two Senators from the minority group (G9) to cast vote in his favor. The Lower House is again composed of three major political groups such as, 48 Deputies from Parliamentary Alliance for Haiti" (APH) or G48; 33 Deputies from the "Parliamentary Group at the Listening of the People"; and 11 independent deputies from the" Group of independent deputies" (GPI). If Fritz wants to get 60 votes, he has to convince some of his hardcore opponents from G 48.

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Here is a picture of Jean Max Bellerive who was named Chief of Staff to President Jocelerme Privert.

On February 29, 2016, the Provisional President Jocelerme Privert appointed former Haitian Prime Jean-Max Bellerive (under the presidency of Rene Préval), for the role of his Chief of Staff. His other political advisors appointed by him are: Jean-Marie Chérestal (former Prime Minister under Jean-Bertrand Aristide) as a private advisor; Raymond Jeanty (one of the right arms of former President Préval) as director of the National Palace; Daly Valet, former campaign manager of Moïse Jean-Charles, in charge of the national dialogue file; Joanas Gué, Harry Adam, former director of the UCLBP (under Martelly administration), Senator Kelly C. Bastien (Senate candidate - Vérité), former deputy Jean David Génesté are also part of the President Privert advisers. Bellerive (born 1958), the son of a prominent doctor was born in Port-au-Prince. He completed his studies on Political Science and International Relations from Switzerland, France, and Belgium. On 30 October 2009, he was nominated by Haitian President René Préval to replace former Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis. As the 14th Prime Minister of Haiti, he held the Prime Minister's office between 11 November 2009 and 18 October 2011. On 14 May 2011, he resigned as Prime Minister to allow Michel Martelly, the country's new President, to choose his own Prime Minister and Martelly selected Daniel Gérard Rouzier to succeed Bellerive.

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Here is a picture of Police officer Gérald François who was assassinated in Portail Léogane on March, 2, 2016.

On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, Gérald François (38) from the traffic department of the Haitian National Police was cowardly assassinated in Portail Léogane. In the early morning of March 2nd, his body was found at the boulevard Harry Truman (Bicentennial) near the Theatre National in Port-au-Prince, with one bullet injury on the head. Gerald Francois (with 18th Promotion) was shot by unidentified individuals. According to the judge Fritz Belliard who visited the spot, the police officer had received at least five bullet shots. The news has been confirmed by Garry Desrosiers, the Principal Inspector & Deputy Spokesperson of the National Police of Haiti (PNH). On the same day, another police officer was injured in the city by gunfire and was rushed to hospital. Since the beginning of 2016, four police personnel have been targets of gun attacks, there is a rise in the numbers of robbery around the commercial banks and cases of kidnapping in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. In Haiti, historically, insecurity always follows political instability.

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Here are some pictures of Mr. Jean-Marie Chérestal.

Jean-Marie Chérestal (18 June 1947) was a Prime Minister (2 March 2001 - 21 January 2002) under Jean-Bertrand Aristide's presidency. He submitted his resignation following accusations of corruption and questionable management from his own Lavalas party. He is an agronomist, former Minister of Agriculture, Executive Board Member of Truth. On Monday, February 29, 2016, Provisional President Privert strengthened his executive team by appointing Jean-Marie Chérestal as his private advisor. Privert has also appointed another former Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive (under Préval) as his Chief of Staff. Other political advisors appointed by him are: Raymond Jeanty (one of the right arms of former President Préval) as director of the National Palace; Daly Valet, former campaign manager of Moïse Jean-Charles, in charge of the national dialogue file; Joanas Gué, Harry Adam, former director of the UCLBP (under Martelly administration), Senator Kelly C. Bastien (Senate candidate - Vérité), former deputy Jean David Génesté are also part of the President Privert advisers.

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