Six people were killed and at least five injured in anti-corruption protests in Haiti. Local residents oppose an open investigation into the disappearance of billions of dollars associated with the state program.
Thousands of Haitians marched in the capital of Haiti, Port-AU-Prince and other parts of the country, with protest marches, demanding to call to report people who abused the funds of the program of preferential supply of Venezuelan oil Petrocaribe, and to demand the resignation of the head of state, reports Al Jazeera.
According to the organizers of the protests, 11 people were killed, 45 injured, 75 were detained.
President Jovenel Mois called for a dialogue with opposition groups seeking his resignation for his inability to investigate corruption.
Clashes with police broke out on Sunday after demonstrators blocked the streets and set fire to tires.
Four people were injured in clashes in San Marcos, North-East of the capital, and dozens were arrested, police said. Clashes were also reported in small protests across the country. Police said they had deployed more than 3,000 officers in the capital, cap Gaiten and small towns and villages.
Tensions in the Latin American nation have increased dramatically as an investigation by the Haitian Senate revealed that at least 14 former government officials in the administration of former President Michel Martelli had found embezzlement .
The Senate report, which was published in August, accused two former Prime Ministers and former government officials of abuse of power and counterfeiting arising from the use of funds under the Venezuelan-sponsored Petrocaribe program.
“Tired of the system»
The demonstrators demanded that officials involved in the alleged abuse of public funds be tried. “Haitians are tired of the system, they want the system to change, including for the benefit of the community,” said one of the Protestants Samuel Louis. “It’s the reason they chose to invade the street today,” he told the Associated Press news Agency.
According to the world Bank, Haiti is the poorest Latin American country, with nearly 60 per cent of its population living below the national poverty line at $ 2.41 a day . An impoverished country that remains extremely vulnerable to natural disasters is still recovering from the devastating effects of hurricane Matthew in 2016.
