Haiti president suspends fuel price hikes, pleads for calm
Haitian President Jovenel Moise has called on protesters to stop blocking roads and burning tires, following the suspension of a sharp fuel price increase that triggered violent protests and left at least three dead in the Caribbean nation.
In an address broadcast on state television on Saturday, the Haitian leader said he had “corrected what had to be corrected” earlier that day.
“As soon as you speak, I listen. Because you started sending me this message last night, I received it and corrected what had to be corrected,” Moise said. “To those watching me tonight, I ask you all: go home.”
On Friday, Haiti’s Commerce and Economic ministries had announced that fuel price increases, including a 38-percent jump for gasoline and 47 percent for diesel, would take effect at midnight. The announcement drew angry protesters to the streets in major cities across the country, with demonstrators setting up roadblocks and others attacking hotels and businesses.
As a result of the violence, at least three people reportedly lost their lives, namely a police officer, a security guard for a former legislative candidate, and an opposition leader.
Two police stations were also set ablaze, and gunshots were fired during protests in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
“The poor people want to be able to eat,” one masked protester told Reuters as a car blazed behind him. “I want to tell Jovenel that Haiti is not for him and his family. Haiti is for every Haitian. He needs to leave the country and leave the country to us so we can live.”
In a statement on Twitter, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant announced the temporary suspension of double-digit government hikes in prices for fuel, also saying that the government strongly condemned the acts of violence and vandalism.
The decision by the Haitian government to raise fuel prices was part of a framework signed in February with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which requires the poorly-resourced country to end subsidies for petroleum products and enact a range of austerity measures.
American airlines cancel flights to Haiti capital
Meanwhile, US carriers American Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines announced flight cancellations to Port-au-Prince on Saturday, citing civil unrest.
A spokesman for the airline said it was not yet clear when flights would resume.
Mexico asks UN to expel Equador following embassy raid
Nicaragua closes embassy in Berlin after suing Germany over Gaza genocide
2,000 academics condemn Israel’s ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza
VIDEO | Press TV's news headline
Explosion heard near Iran’s central city of Isfahan: Report
‘Iran retaliation against Israel ensured no aggression would go unanswered’
US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
Iran sufficed to strike only part of Israel’s military positions: FM to UN chief
IRGC: Israel’s Dimnoa nuclear reactor not among Op. True Promise’s targets
VIDEO | West Asia awakens
'Stop any further Israeli adventurism,' Iran FM tells Security Council
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
