Haitian-Americans took to the United Nations offices in Manhattan over the weekend to call on the US to revoke its support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
Thousands of supporters showed up in New York, donning placards and banners to oppose the US-backed regime.
“This is about letting the United Nations be aware that Haitians living outside Haiti, in the diaspora, we’re not satisfied with how they’re supporting the president of Haiti,” protestor Natalie Turner said to the Haitian Times. “They’re backing him despite the fact that he’s failed [his] country.”
Turner’s emotions reverberate across social media. Many agree that the Biden administration needs to cease its support of the Caribbean leader.
Violent protests have erupted in Haiti as protestors call for Moïse to step down, angered that he failed to put an end to the rampant kidnappings and gang activity on the island. The leader’s five-year term ended last month, but he says he will not step down, arguing that an interim government occupied the first year of his five-year term.
The US agrees with him.
But he insists that the country has thrived under his leadership. He claimed to have brought electricity, irrigation, and roads to towns nationwide in a televised address to the nation.
“The battle I’m waging is not for myself, it’s for you,” Moïse said. “I’m not here to lie to you today, I’m here to tell you the truth. … My brothers and sisters in the opposition don’t let pride, revenge, selfishness keep you from working with me.”
“I am not a dictator,” Moïse added. “My term ends Feb. 7, 2022.”
The opposition vows to continue its fight to oust him.
“We want the international community (to) understand that the Haiti people won’t back down on their demands. Jovenel Moise must leave the national palace for a peaceful transition that can lead us to the elections,” opposition leader André Michel told CNN.
