Haitian gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, alias ‘Barbecue’ has sent a stern warning to Kenya and any external forces planning on making a security deployment to the war-torn Caribbean nation.
‘Barbecue’ maintains that the 1,000 police officers Kenya intends to send on a peace-restoring mission in Haiti would be met with fierce aggression by the gangs since they will be perceived as ‘invaders’ who pose a threat to the lives of innocent Haitians.
“If the Kenyan military or police come, whatsoever, I will consider them, aggressors. We will consider them as invaders and we do not have to collaborate with any invaders that have come to walk over our independence,” Barbecue said in an interview with Sky.
The gang leader further claimed that the peacekeeping troops would catalyse the already existing conflict since they do not understand the context of the rivalry in Haiti therefore resulting in a massacre which would also involve innocent people.
According to him, Kenyan police and other international bodies already have a preconceived notion that they will be fighting bandits and gangs, a perception which makes it impossible for the gangs to reach a dialogue and find an amicable solution to the conflict.
“I believe that just like I said, if Kenyans come, first of all, they will come to commit massacres in the poor communities because the oligarchs and the corrupt politicians are going to tell them where to go…they are going to enter the poor communities on the pretext that they are coming to eliminate gangs and bandits,” he explained.
Despite noting that, together with other leaders, he is willing to have a peaceful dialogue to put an end to blood-shed in the Caribbean nation, ‘Barbecue’ who posed as a ‘people’s hero’ throughout the entire interview session, seemingly blamed the political class for escalated tension.
He says that the gangs could only engage if the plight of the people was put first and that all rival parties be heard at the same level.
“We believe in dialogue, we are for dialogue, but this political class is here now is not here for dialogue because they don’t carry Haiti in their hearts the same way we do,” he stated.
“The political class say they are excluding bandits, that men with guns are not in it…we are ready for all solutions as long as Haitians are at the table. We are ready to sit and talk with everyone because we are not proud of what is happening in this country.”
At the same time, the fierce leader reiterated that he would not be cowed saying, “Every new day that passes we have to come up with a new strategy so that we can advance.”
“But there is no calm. In the days that are coming things will get worse than they are right now because as long as they choose not to put everyone on the table for us to talk it is the same system that will regenerate.”
The remarks by ‘Barbecue’ come amidst surging deaths resulting from gang violence.
This year alone, the U.N. human rights has reported that over 1,500 people have been killed including many children, while dozens have been lynched, stoned or burned alive by so-called self-defence brigades.
By Fred Odanga Azelwa.