Haiti two killed in protest

On June 12 Haitian president René Préval finally responded to a bill Parliament has passed to raise the minimum wage from 70 gourdes ($1.74) a day to 200 gourdes ($4.97). The pay hike, the first since 2003, cleared the Senate on May 5. In an official letter to the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Préval repeated claims of Haitian business associations that the wage increase would jeopardize the subcontracting sector, the free trade zone (FTZ) factories that assemble goods largely for export. He proposed an increase to 125 gourdes for that sector, and called on Parliament to be open to negotiations on the measure. (Haiti Press Network, June 17; Radio Métropole, Haiti, June 18)

Students from the State University of Haiti (UEH) continued the militant protests in Port-au-Prince that they began on June 3 to demand that Préval make the full wage increase official by promulgating it in the government gazette, Le Moniteur. Early on the morning of June 17, students used burning tires to create barricades near the Medical School and other parts of the university. As on previous occasions, Haitian police and police agents from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the protesters. The students seized a MINUSTAH police car and set it on fire; the agents fled the vehicle. Protesters also burned a bus and smashed windshields with rocks. UEH protests began earlier in the year over curriculum changes, but the demands now include the minimum wage increase and the removal of MINUSTAH, a Brazilian-led 8,000-member military and police operation that has been in Haiti since June 2004. (Radio Métropole, June 17, 18; AlterPresse, Haiti, June 17)

Anger at MINUSTAH intensified on June 18 when supporters of the Lavalas Family (FL) party of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide (1991-1996 and 2001-2004) accused Brazilian soldiers of the shooting death of an unidentified young man outside the Port-au-Prince cathedral. Lavalas supporters had attended a funeral service there for Father Gérard Jean-Juste, a well-known Catholic priest and Aristide sympathizer. According to witnesses, the MINUSTAH soldiers had been firing in the air, although it is not clear why. An angry demonstration followed in which protesters smashed windshields; the action ended with protesters carrying the young man's body to the National Palace, the president's official residence. (AlterPresse, June 18)

Jean-Juste, who died in Florida on May 27 after a long illness, had run a popular food distribution service at his church in Port-au-Prince and was a founder of the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami. He was imprisoned in July 2005 by the interim government that was put in place after Aristide was forced from office in February 2004; Jean-Juste was released in January 2006 to undergo treatment for leukemia and pneumonia in the US.

At least one person died in clashes during a runoff for a third of the Senate seats on June 21. The victim—identified as Jean Pierre Wilfrid, a supporter of the social democratic Fusion party—was reportedly killed in an altercation with supporters of the Lespwa ("Hope") party of President Préval. (AlterPresse, June 21)

Its been awhile I just returned from Haiti

I just returned from Haiti it was a eventful trip there was alot of unrest in this country. I am all ways amazed at how we as a nation have so much but we do nothing for a country that has nothing but misery and starvation. while we drive on these sad roads people will come up to the van to sell us nasty water or weeds they have picked or anything else. when you hand them something as simple as a granola bar or a little snack they are so grateful for it. where people in our country just take it for granted.But there are those that do make it out of this country to become something. There is a young man on the show so you think you can dance that has come along way.he was a orphan on the streets of Haiti and knew it was a legit way of making some pennies to live and now he is a wonderful dancer. so we can all pray that some way some how there will be a change for this country.

Madonna get's Mercy

Pop singer Madonna has reportedly convinced judges to overturn their decision, and let her adopt second Malawian child. Two of the three appeal judges were said to have given a thumbs up to the application, while the third was allegedly 'in complete unison with them. The Queen of Pop, whose two-year application to adopt the three-year-old Mercy James was turned down in March, apparently heard the news from her attorney Alan Chinula. "The paperwork is being typed up now. All recommendations are in favour of the adoption taking place. Mercy should start packing her bags. She''s off to America," the Sun quoted a source as saying. A close friend of Madonna added: "She's ecstatic. She made a promise that she wouldn't give up on Mercy and, believe me, she could move mountains when she's this determined."  Madonna’s adoption bid was rejected by a court because she was not a Malawi resident, a requirement that was waived when she adopted three-year-old David Banda from the African country in 2006. The ruling is reportedly slated to be announced soon at Malawi's Supreme Court of Appeal.

$121 Million Strategy

The World Bank on Tuesday approved a new four-year, $121 million lending strategy for Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, that focuses on economic growth, jobs and reducing the impact from natural disasters.

"With this new strategy, we are supporting Haiti's own efforts to put the difficult events of last year firmly behind it, and return to a path toward longer term growth and development," said Yvonne Tsikata, the World Bank's Country Director for the Caribbean.

"The country faces great opportunities, as well as huge challenges, and it needs strong and sustained support from the World Bank Group and other international partners."

The United Nations has some 9,000 peacekeepers in Haiti, which has long been afflicted by political instability and violence and was heavily damaged by hurricanes last year.

It is beset by high poverty, poor basic services and unemployment levels, while deforestation has left the country almost treeless.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was named on May 18 as U.N. special envoy to Haiti in a move to attract investment to the country.

The World Bank said its lending plan provides assistance through a mix of investment projects and development policy measures. At the same time, the Bank said it aims to stimulate private sector development with help from the International Finance Corporation, the Bank's private-sector lender.

IFC said it had identified agricultural and textile manufacturing sectors as potential growth areas for Haiti.

"We are working with the government and investors to identify key feasible actions and priorities that will together have the greatest growth impact," said Atul Mehta, IFC director of the Latin America and Caribbean department. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Gary Hill)