PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Several dozen police officers led hundreds of supporters in a violent protest Wednesday against poor working conditions and low pay for Haiti’s national police force.
The
protesting police wore civilian clothes and covered their faces but told an
Associated Press reporter that they were off-duty officers. They were greeted
and embraced by on-duty, uniformed officers patrolling at the protest.
The
police protesters fired dozens of shots in the air from what appeared to be
their 9 mm service pistols, and led hundreds of supporters in an hours-long
march around Haiti’s National Police.
The
protesters burnt several cars and floats being prepared for carnival, which
starts this week. They set fire to the offices of Samuel Madistin, a lawyer and
adviser to President Jovenel Moise who has spoken out against a group of
officers’ proposal to unionize the force.
Five
officers who tried to unionize were fired Monday by the head of the force.
On-duty police did not appear to be trying to stop any part of Wednesday’s
protest.
Protester
Jean-Yves Noel said he was marching in solidarity with a good friend who earned
about $200 a month as an officer but often went several months without payment.
“I wish
you could see how he is, the conditions he lives in,“’ Noel said.
Haiti’s
police force has received extensive training and support from the United
Nations but officers complain that a months-long standoff between Moise and his
opposition has strained resources make already poor working conditions
unbearable.
