The Haitian government on Sunday canceled Carnival celebrations after a shooting that confronted police and military in the center of Port-au-Prince that caused at least two dead and nine wounded.
“In order to avoid a scheduled bloodbath, the Government informs the population and the carnivals in particular that it has decided to cancel the Carnival in Port-au-Prince,” the Ministry of Culture and Communication announced in a statement.
The Government describes the events experienced in the center of Port-au-Prince as a “war situation”, with shootings throughout the day and blocked streets.
At this time, the communiqué adds, “it is difficult” to establish a specific number of victims due to clashes between the military and police, some of whom were dressed in uniform and others in civilian clothes.
The Armed Forces recognized that a soldier was killed and another soldier was injured when a group of hooded men, allegedly police, attacked the Army Headquarters with firearms, located in the Champ de Mars area, in the center of the capital.
The Bernard Mevs hospital in Port-au-Prince received the body of a police officer and eight people with gunshot wounds, including three civilians and three agents, a spokesman for the medical center told Efe.
After that incident, policemen dressed in uniforms and civilians faced military shots in the central square of Champ de Mars, located in front of the Presidential Palace and the barracks, according to an Efe journalist.
The policemen returned to demonstrate this Sunday to demand labor improvements, while the military had been deployed in Champ de Mars to do security work at the place, where this Sunday the Carnival parties were going to be held.
Last week, several policemen set fire to the stages that the Government had set up for Carnival, during a demonstration to demand salary improvements and other labor demands.
In its statement, the Government wonders why the police adopt “extremist behavior” instead of sitting down to negotiate with the Executive, who has “outstretched hands.”
“Why reject dialogue and the outstretched hand to solve the difficult problems facing the country, prefer the path of anarchy and offer the population more pain and tears that such a situation will not stop causing?”, The statement said.
Haiti has been experiencing strong socio-political instability since July 2018, due to the weakness of the economy, the corruption accusations that dot President Jovenel Moise and the growing insecurity.
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