The Vesey Republic Supports Chérizier's Call for Talks
Today, New Black Nationalists in America's settler state endorsed Jimmy 'Babekyou' Chérizier's offer to observe a cease-fire and open talks with CARICOM, and the Haïti Transitional Presidential Council (TPC).
Further, we implore Mr. Chérizier to consider setting a date in April or early May to convene a public hearing on Haïti's future with or without the participation of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community) and the TPC Kingston Group.
The TPC Kingston Group would likely be a no-show. But that would only confirm what many Haïtians believe and know from years of bitter experience: the nine-member TPC is more concerned with squabbling over power for their political parties and being loyal supplicants to Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, and Emanuel Macron's imperial projects than to serving their nation's 12 million people.
On March 30 Caricom sent an urgent letter to Ariel Henry, Haïti's illegally installed Prime Minister in exile. CARICOM urged him to publish the names of the seven voting members, two observers, and the decree appointing them as the Transitional Presidential Council to lead Haiti in the official state journal Le Moniteur.
CARICOM Chairman Ali's letter emphasized the importance of officially getting the TPC installed. Until that process is completed, U.S. Sec. of State Blinken's Kenyan-led Black Caribbean Mercenary Brigade, aka the Multilateral Security Support Mission (MSS) cannot be deployed to invade Haïti.
The despised Henry and his resigning Council of Ministers rebuffed the request. They insisted a framework document outlining the creation, organization, and functioning of the Presidential Council directly from CARICOM was needed. They also questioned the competence of the new TPC designees to draft the framework document, which they believe is the government’s responsibility.
So, there you have it: the blind leading
the blind. And the irony of this adolescent
carnival is that Henry and his Council of
Ministers, and CARICOM and its stepchild,
the Transitional Presidential Council all
exists in violation of Article 149
On the other hand, Mr. Chérizier and Viv Ansanm have the responsibility to inform Haïti's people how food, water, and fuel services can be restored and distributed from Port au' Prince across Haïti.' Increasingly they must also articulate their vision for establishing a political order that prioritizes the needs and political participation of Haïti's most disadvantaged and working people.
In that light, an open public hearing could be held to solicit proposals, commentary, and information from various constituent groups and representatives of political parties not participating in the CARICOM/TPC Kingston Group process.
The purpose of the public hearing would be threefold.
1. To hear what concrete deliverables constituent groups and political parties want from a new Haïtian government. Parties and groups not participating in the CARICOM/TPC process but supporting their goals should be allowed to speak. Those who are barred from participating in the TPC project like the convicted felon Guy Phillipe, who led a coup to overthrow the legitimately elected Aristide government should also be allowed to speak.
2. To receive input on a political process to conduct new national elections for the president and the national legislature.
3. To receive recommendations and specific action plans on how food, water, and fuel deliveries can be fully restored and distributed across Haïti' immediately.
A broad-based public hearing could also gauge the potential level of support and unity Chérizier and Viv Ansanm can build among the diverse constituencies, political parties, Haïti's middle class and the diaspora.
There is much the Haïtian people have to say and share that is rich in content and practical in its application. But they aren't being heard. They need to be heard. For this reason, Cherizier's proposal to convene a public hearing without pre-conditions with an open mic format could be another step that helps change the political dynamic on the ground in Haïti.
The public hearing should demonstrate Chérizier and Viv Ansanm's democratic character and their confidence in the Haïtian people's ability to discern the authenticity of the participants' rhetoric, views, and programs.
It must also be said that if CARICOM and the TPC designees decide to participate in a public forum, it does not preclude Chérizier and Viv Ansanm from also holding a closed-door session with them. Certain things require private discussion, but there must be transparency with the public to build trust.
From the Vesey Republic's perspective, Chérizier's proposal for a temporary cease-fire and talks with CARICOM and the Transitional Presidential Council comes at a critical moment. The Biden administration's neocolonial project to create an emergency replacement government and muster a Black mercenary army to invade Haïti are both faltering.
Chérizier's tactical shift to a cease-fire and negotiations is yet another offensive feint that has caught Haïti's oligarchs, CARICOM, and the TPC's Kingston Group off guard. Everyone knows behind closed doors, TPC designees have debated whether they should open a dialogue with Viv Ansanm and other paramilitary groups controlling large sections of Port au' Prince. As we understand it, some of those discussions were quite heated.
By setting a date and extending a formal invitation to CARICOM and the TPC Kingston Group, Chérizier can box them in. If the TPC participates they bestow stature and legitimacy on Chérizier and Viv Ansanm. If the TPC stays away they validate the view that they are the proverbial ancien régime, as Francophone history goes. Either way, Chérizier wins. That said, an open public hearing is not a media stunt or a performative device. It is a dialogue that is sorely needed at this time. Effectively done, it may help turn the tide against yet another bloody foreign invasion of Haïti.
Did Chérizier change his position on CARICOM and the Transitional Presidential Council?
On March 16, Chérizier told Al Jazeera, “We’re not going to recognize the decisions that CARICOM takes. I’m going to say to the traditional politicians that are sitting down with CARICOM, since they went with their families abroad, we who stayed in Haiti have to take the decisions.”
New Black Nationalists are not accustomed to avoiding testy questions. So, let's talk about it. Is Chérizier's proffer for a temporary cease-fire and talks a concession? Is it an admission of weakness? Does it constitute a maneuver to cut a quick and dirty deal to secure amnesty for himself and Viv Ansanm? Is Chérizier trying to work out a deal for no armed resistance in exchange for a carved-out parcel of turf for his exclusive control?
We think not. Chérizier is not offering to put down his guns but to lower them temporarily. His promise to resist the invasion of Blinken's Black Caribbean mercenary brigade remains unchanged.
New Black Nationalists do not interpret Chérizier's offer as a sign of weakness. Rather it indicates that since the February 29 Leap Year Revolt, Viv Ansanm's position has grown stronger. In our view, this is a tactical move, that can become a strategic wedge in the unlikely event the TPC accepts his offer.
There has been a constant refrain in the media that the so-called gangs are uniting now because they fear Tony Blinken's Black Caribbean mercenary brigade will come charging over the hills of Petionville. That may be true of some groups, including some of the newer forces that joined Viv Ansanm. Time will tell.
But Chérizier knows better than anyone the perils of betrayal and befriending summer soldiers. That is built into his predictive model. He is well aware that Guy Phillipe is approaching paramilitary groups and trying to persuade them to put down their weapons in exchange for amnesty because he thinks they can't beat Blinken's MSS mercenaries. Perhaps Phillipe's compadre Jean-Charles Moïse has been feeding that same line to the TPC that he withdrew from one week, only to rejoin the next.
Those who think a foreign invasion force is going to just walk in Port au' Prince and take over, do so at their peril. There is going to be serious bloodshed flowing two ways.
Moreover, internal dissent is growing within Kenya's government regarding its commitment to lead Blinken's crack Black Caribbean mercenary brigade and put 1000 troops in the middle of a firefight. The Kenyans want to protect government buildings and guard infrastructure sites. They want no part of Port au' Prince's paramilitary groups.
In our view, it is CARICOM's Transitional Presidential Council of mostly older men bargaining over positions of power and designating another illegal prime minister in Kingston who look weak, confused, and isolated.
Haïti's people have seen that movie before. They are sick of it, and sick of paying the price for the dysfunctional and corrupt political class that is beholden to Haïti's oligarchs and Washington, D.C.'s imperial leeches.
As New Black Nationalists indicated in our strategic brief, The Barbeque Revolution, since the February 29 Leap Year Revolt, Chérizier and Viv Ansanm have the political momentum. They determine the time and place of battle, and the choice of political, diplomatic, and military weapons. The call for a temporary cease-fire and talks are part of that arsenal.
New Black Nationalists of the Vesey Republic congratulate Mr. Chérizier, Viv Ansanm, and the Haïtian people fighting for a new tomorrow.
