Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 10 February 2020

In this March 14, 2019 file photo, a woman wears a T-shirt
designed with an image of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco
during a memorial Mass to mark the one-year anniversary of
her death, at the Candelaria Catholic Church in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Associated Press
Suspect in slaying Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of

of Rio councilwoman Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. Associated Press

killed in operation Haitian president lays out

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A pointed to police-linked terms for deal with opposition

former military policeman militias.
being investigated for his In March 2019, a year after By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN ponents waged a near-total lockdown of
possible involvement in her death, police arrested Associated Press Haiti's capital for three months last fall.
the 2018 murder of a Rio two former police officers, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — President Protests were accompanied by a con-
de Janeiro councilwoman Ronnie Lessa and Elcio Vie- Jovenel Moise said Friday that he is opti- stant blocking of Moise's agenda in the
and activist was killed by ira de Queiroz on suspicion mistic that negotiations with a coalition of National Assembly. A small group of op-
special forces Sunday in of having carried out the his political opponents will succeed in forg- position legislators blocked Moise propos-
Brazil's northeastern state attack. Lawyers for both ing a power-sharing deal to end months als with tactics ranging from filibusters to
of Bahia. men denied their involve- of deadlock that have left Haiti without a throwing furniture inside the Senate cham-
Authorities had been look- ment. functioning government. ber or calling supporters to block govern-
ing for Adriano Magalhães Months later, Brazil's de- In an interview with The Associated Press, ing party senators access to the building.
da Nóbrega, who is thought parting attorney general Moise laid out his bargaining position in the The country was unable to organize legis-
to be involved in the kill- requested that five people talks that began last week in the mission of lative elections and the National Assembly
ing of Marielle Franco, a be charged with obstruc- the papal envoy to Haiti with political op- shut down last month, leaving Moise with-
prominent activist for Afro- tion of justice. ponents and some civil society groups. He out a constitutionally recognized govern-
Brazilian and LGBT rights, The document cited two said he would accept an opposition prime ment. He says the constitution allows him
and her driver. The assassi- court officials, two police minister and a shortened term in office, to rule by decree with legislative approval
nation shocked many Bra- agents and a lawyer, alleg- but only after adoption of a constitutional but he is choosing not to in order to forge
zilians and sparked protests ing interference with the in- reform strengthening the presidency. national unity.
in several countries. quiry. Moise said his efforts to improve living con- Observers say developed nations that pro-
The state's Secretary for But the mastermind of the ditions for Haiti's 11 million people had vide Haiti with most of its state budget are
Public Security said an elite killings remains unknown. been thwarted during his first three years highly reluctant to keep funding a govern-
squad of officers, known by On Twitter, Franco's former in office by the constitutional requirement ment that could be accused of moving
its acronym BOPE, found partner asked: "Who wins that the National Assembly must approve toward dictatorship.
da Nóbrega in the Bahian with the death of ex-Bope virtually all significant presidential actions. Haiti's 1987 constitution was drafted after
city of Esplanada. Da Nó- Adriano Nóbrega?" He said he would serve only a single term the end of three decades of dictatorship
brega was a former mem- Left-wing party PSOL, to in office so he would not personally benefit and aims in part to prevent the emer-
ber of BOPE in Rio. which Franco belonged, from the powers of a stronger presidency. gence of another strongman by sharply
He was killed after resisting published its own state- "It makes me optimistic to see my broth- limiting presidential powers.
arrest and shooting at po- ment, demanding full ers and sisters from the political opposition, "The 1987 constitution took all the power
lice forces, the Secretary of transparency on the cir- civil society and religious groups," he said. out of the president's hands. The president
Public Security said. cumstances of da Nóbre- "I think we're at a crossroads." has zero power and the people demand
Daily O Globo reported ga's death. It said its Bahi- Moise is a former banana farmer who won everything from the president of the re-
that da Nóbrega'a lawyer, an lawmakers will request a 56% of the vote against three opponents public," Moise told AP in the foyer of his
Paulo Emílio Catta Preta, hearing with the Secretari- in the 2016 election. He made some prog- home in the hills above Port-au-Prince.
would ask for a full inves- at of Public Security, since ress on rural infrastructure projects during Moise said he wants a new constitution to
tigation of the operation. the militia man was a "key his first two years in office. Then the end of stipulate that presidential proposals au-
The lawyer said his client piece to reveal several subsidized Venezuelan oil aid to Haiti fu- tomatically pass if the National Assembly
had been reluctant to sur- crimes." eled chaos in the Western Hemisphere's does not vote them up or down within 60
render because he was Franco was a prominent poorest nation. days.
convinced he would be activist and an outspoken Without the help, the economy shrank, He also wants all political terms to last five
killed in prison to prevent critic of Rio's violent police and investigations found questionable years. Senate terms currently range from
him from collaborating with forces and paramilitary spending of hundreds of millions of dol- two to six years, depending on a variety
investigators. groups, but a year and a lars over the years in aid from the Petro- of factors, leading to constant churn and
Since the early days of the half after the assassina- caribe program run by Venezuela. Protests campaigning in a country where wide-
investigation into Franco's tion, the motive remains began over the Petrocaribe misspending spread insecurity and corruption make
murder, authorities have unclear.q and protests snowballed until Moise's op- elections difficult to organize. q