Uruguay - Haiti Observer Blog

As increasingly gruesome political tension once again begins to raise its head in Haiti, the Uruguayan government is considering pulling out those of the United Nations' military troops that are theirs. Announcement of this possibility was made by the Secretary of State for Uruguay, who stated that they would continue to watch the escalating situation and judge how to go from there. If a withdrawal is decided upon, they are considering the move to be a complete, swift removal of their troops stationed in Haiti on a peace mission. Still, while they assess the situation, the more conservative plan for a gradual withdrawal is still on the table.

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Uruguay deployed peace keeping force in Haiti since when chaos erupted at the end of Jean-Bertrand Aristide's presidency in 2004. It was a part of United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Uruguay has contributed almost 1,000 soldiers to the 9000 strong U. N peace keeping mission in Haiti. The force has been under intense scrutiny for years and is blamed for many reasons.

Last year at Port-au-Prince, the protesters clashed with the police while demanding withdrawal of this peace keeping force from the country. They were angry over an alleged sexual assault over an 18-year-old Haitian man by peacekeepers from Uruguay.

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Is he trying to say that Haiti is a basket case and that nothing worth while can be accomplished there?

You can interpret however you want, however Uruguay president Jose Mujica no longer wants to take any part in this mess.

He said recently that he plans to remove his country's nearly 1,000 peacekeeping troops from Haiti.

According to an interview on a local TV station, President Jose Mujica stated that he made that decision because of the lack of democratic progress in Haiti.

Let me tell you Mr. the President "You can never change Haiti". "Haiti will change you, or at least your conception as to what is logic"

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The government of Haiti (GOH) is in hot water over allegations it has misappropriated a $3.4 million paid by Uruguay.

Five soldiers from the Uruguayan unit were charged in the sexual assault of a young Haitian soldier, Johnny Jean.

The GOH did not deposit the check into the Treasury, and hasn't been able to offer an explanation of where the money went. But Minister Pierre Richard Casimir of Foreign Affairs claims he received the money and transferred $1.8 million of it to the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation for the Jalousie project. But Minister of Justice and aide to Prime Minister Lamothe, Brunache, disagrees, and says the funds for the Jalousie project came from the Petrocaribe loan.

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In a declaration, Defense Minister for Haiti stated that Haiti will soon have her own armed forces. He gave indications that the armed forces will be formed before the end of Presidential term of Michel Martelly. The Minister stated that it was one of the promises made by the President during the election campaigns and the President intends to keep the promise.

Defense Minister, Jean Rodolphe Joazile stated that Haiti currently has the support from other countries which include Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil and France. He mentioned that the first recruits for the Haitian armed forces will originate in the countries supporting the decision. The minister also explained that the individuals who are hopeful to be recruited to the Haitian armed forces are from different backgrounds and that they will be arriving in Haiti by the end of this year.

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