Pres. Ali’s comments on Haitians ‘hypocritical’ – MP Walton-Desir

Feb 28, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Amanza Walton-Desir has described statements made by President Irfaan Ali about the state of affairs in Haiti on Sunday at the opening of the 46^th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM held at the National Cultural Centre as “hypocritical”.

President Ali said, “Anything that impedes the interests of the people of Haiti is of immense concern for the leadership of this region. We are committed as a region to ensuring that the people of Haiti can also realize their full potential… we owe this to the people of Haiti”.

However, Walton-Desir who attended the meeting as the Parliamentary Opposition’s representative expressed dismay at President Ali’s address, where he emphasized the importance of supporting the people of Haiti.

“What hypocrisy! My incredulity did not however preclude me from recalling the treatment of our Haitian brothers and sisters at the hands of Irfaan Ali and his Administration,” the Opposition MP said.

Walton-Desir highlighted what she believes to be a contradiction between Ali’s rhetoric and his government’s treatment of Haitian nationals in Guyana.

She reminded that former President David Granger, acting in accordance with the decision of the Heads of Government taken at the 39th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in July 2018, which “recognized that Haitian nationals are entitled to an automatic stay of six months upon arrival in CARICOM member states subject to the rights of CARICOM member states to refuse entry to undesirable persons and to prevent persons from becoming a charge on public funds”, in January 2019, had signed an Executive Order allowing Haitian nationals to travel to Guyana without requiring a visa and allowing an automatic six months stay upon arrival in Guyana. 

However, Walton-Desir pointed to President Ali’s decision in June 2021 to revoke the Immigration Order passed under the previous administration, reintroducing a visa requirement for Haitian nationals.  President Ali justified the policy shift as a measure to combat human trafficking and smuggling.

“But Guyanese will recall that prior to the order issued by President Ali, 26 Haitian nationals, after being held in State custody in grossly inhumane conditions, were unceremoniously dumped on the streets of Georgetown in the wee hours of the night on December 9th, 2020. Guyanese also remember that on the 27th January 2021 the Chief Justice of Guyana quashed the deportation order secured by the government against those same 26 Haitian nationals. The court found that the Ali government breached the rules of natural justice, as well as constitutional protections enshrined in Article 139, which provides protection of the right to personal liberty, and Article 148, which provides protection of freedom of movement,” the Opposition MP said.

Further, she highlighted that the Communiqué issued at the conclusion of the 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, 3-5 July 2023, sets out that “the Conference agreed to work towards the free movement of all CARICOM Nationals within the Community by 31 March 2024. They acknowledged that there are certain basic guarantees that should be afforded to all CARICOM nationals exercising their right to freely move and remain indefinitely in another Member State of the Community. In this regard, they agreed that any appropriate amendments to the Revised Treaty to Provide for the attendant rights of CARICOM nationals exercising their right to free movement within the community and accommodate the concerns of all Member States would be completed in the intervening period”.

The opposition member also drew attention to the contrasting treatment of Venezuelan migrants, who receive more accommodation despite similar challenges. She said, “But it is perhaps the juxtaposition of the treatment of Haitian nationals against the accommodation of Venezuelan (non-CARICOM) nationals that provides the best evidence of the rank hypocrisy of Ali and his government.”

She called for transparency regarding the government’s handling of migrant statistics and criticized the Government’s treatment of the Haitians compared to the Venezuelans.

In fact, Walton-Desir, noted the government’s vocal support for accommodating Venezuelan migrants escaping crisis in their homeland, echoing her agreement with such sentiments. However, Walton-Desir urged the Ali Administration to elucidate the differential treatment towards Haitian migrants, questioning the rationale behind the unfavourable policies imposed on them.

Moreover, the MP mentioned that Former Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge echoed these concerns, highlighting Guyana’s citation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for restricting Haitian travel rights.

She stated, “There is no doubt that there has been important progress in the movement towards regional integration, but we all agree that there is significant work still to be done. The free movement of Haitians within CARICOM continues to be a challenge. Despite being a full member of CARICOM since 2002 and a signatory to the CSME since 2006, Haitians still do not qualify for free movement within CARICOM.”

In conclusion, Walton-Desir urged President Ali to reflect on his administration’s policies and prioritize consistency and inclusivity in regional migration frameworks.

In a message to President Ali she stated, the admonition “dance a yard, before you dance abroad” remains appropriate.

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• Amanza Walton-Desir, CARICOM, Haitians, Irfaan Ali, Member State of the Community

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