Jimmy Cherizier, known as “Barbecue” (barbecue, in Portuguese) and one of the leaders of the Haitian gang collective called Viv Ansam, says that the group is open to dialogue to end the violence that is plaguing the country.
“We believe in dialogue, we are in favor of dialogue. We are ready for all solutions as long as Haitians are at the table [de negociações]we are ready to sit down and talk to everyone, because we are not proud of what is happening in this country”, said Cherizier in an interview with British broadcaster Sky News.
The gang leader explained that armed groups resorted to violence to end a system of a “corrupt political class” that does not represent them and stressed that they will not lay down their weapons until a new system is established.
“As long as Viv Ansam is not at the negotiating table… the same system will regenerate again. And we can say okay, we will sit down and be part of the solution, but until we are at the table, the country will never be at peace,” she warned.
As for Kenya's plans to lead a multinational force into Haiti as part of a UN-backed mission to restore order, Cherizier said any foreign presence would be met with force.
“If the Kenyans come, they will commit massacres in poor communities, because the oligarchs and corrupt politicians will tell them where to go, under the pretext of capturing criminals”, he assessed.
“We will not allow that. If the Kenyan military or police come, we will consider them as aggressors. We will consider them invaders and we do not have to collaborate with the invaders who came to trample our independence,” he warned.
Surrounded by several heavily armed men with their faces covered, the criminal leader admitted that some of the group's actions are “evil”, such as kidnappings, adding that the leaders of the Viv Ansam collective speak several times a day and have agreed to stop doing so. that.
However, he warned that “in the coming days things will get worse compared to how they are now”.
“Weapons will be laid down when necessary. Right now, we have not reached the point where we have to lay down our weapons, because people here don’t want to listen to reason,” he pointed out.
“We heard about dialogue for more than two or three years, we asked everyone to sit down and talk to the armed people and no one listened to us”, he highlighted.
Source: CNN Brasil
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