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Monday, April 14, 2008
Violence has erupted once again in a territory already ravaged by poverty and social instability. In this latest report, angry demonstrators took to the streets to protest yet another rise in the price of fuel and other commodities. During the ensuing food riot, a 36 year old member of the Nigerian Police force, part of the UN peace keeping mission, was shot dead as he attempted to transport food to his colleagues. According to reports, angry Haitians attacked the uniformed officer, who was dragged from his car and later murdered. South Africa's UN ambassador Dumisani Kumalo has said that the 15-member body "condemned in the strongest terms" the murder of the 36-year-old peacekeeper.
Meanwhile, recent events in Haiti have alerted the International community of the severity of the food crisis being experienced in developing countries, as the prices of oil and other staple goods continue to skyrocket. Yvonne Tsikata, the World Bank's country director for the Caribbean said the development agency planned to help Haiti develop a medium-term strategy to improve food security. World Bank President Robert Zoellick has also called for a coordinated global response to tackle the rise in the price of food, and has sough to engage the IMF in these discussions. Meanwhile, the Haitian Senate has fired Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, Haiti's Prime Minister, citing incompetence and inability to devise strategies for dealing with the current crisis.
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