Gerard Latortue is losing more support. Even the elite self-proclaimed "Council of Wisemen" are fed up with his incompetence:
Haiti's violence has turned so worrisome that even the so-called Council of Wisemen -- a group of respected Haitians that picked Latortue to head the interim government after the hasty departure of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide last year -- has lost confidence in him.
''It's a failure,'' said Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon and vice chairman of the seven-member council. ''There is no governance.'' He added that the council will soon issue an ultimatum to Latortue: bring the country under control in 30 days or resign.
What leverage the council has is unclear. But Henry's statement carries political weight.
During the weekend, a meeting of about 20 political parties sponsored by the U.N. mission here came largely to the same conclusion about Latortue, although three major parties say they would not go so far as to call for his resignation.
This is what happens when one hails the likes of Louis Jodel-Chamblain as "freedom fighters." Here's someone who will not be missed:
A former rebel who started an armed rebellion against Haiti's former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide last year has died of kidney failure, members of his entourage said on Thursday.
Buter Metayer, 34, had long been ill and died of natural causes on Wednesday, his associates said. Another former rebel leader and Metayer ally, Guy Philippe, claimed Metayer was poisoned but gave no details.
What does the Bush administration want for Haiti? More guns for the police:
The US is working to lift a 14-year-old embargo on selling weapons to Haiti in order to help police cut rising crime and unrest before elections this year.
Washington's ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, said guns were urgently needed to help police guarantee security.
Police officers, many wearing black masks over their faces, fired at demonstrators during the march in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Renan Etienne, central director for Haiti's administrative police, said "bandits" had attacked a police patrol and that "the police returned fire."
"We know that two bandits were killed, but we can't call them demonstrators," Etienne said.
[...]
Five bodies lay on the street, some with gunshot wounds in the back, and at least three people were injured. No police were hurt, Etienne said.
[...]
Several protesters and witnesses disputed the police account and said police fired at them without provocation. One of the injured, 21-year-old Romel Dorisma, said he had not taken part in the demonstration but was shot by police as he walked out of a pharmacy.
"I saw the police open fire. I got shot in the leg and I had to crawl," said Dorisma, who hid under a wrecked car.
A cameraman for a local television station said he saw police put a gun beside one of the bodies and that police summoned him over afterward and insisted that he film the gun. [my emphasis]
It is time for Latortue to go. Haiti has suffered enough under him.
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