Page 23 - DIVA_1_2008_No.32

Interview with Peter Schmitz,

Chief of Staff,

United Nations Mission in Haiti

For quite a long time, Nations peacekeeping inside the capital, Port au became, in a way, a
Haiti was known to be mission in Haiti. We Prince, where would use catalytic event for the
a chaotic country with used hear a lot about the impoverished environ- Government to give us the
lots of problems and a the violence in Haiti. ment as a base to launch green light to start
complete absence of How would you charac- their kidnapping schemes, operations in the Cite de
government or to extort money from Solcil [one of the major
and
terize the situation
governmental institu- today? businessmen in the neigh- shanty towns in the capital].
tions. However, since borhood. The first operation was
the UN mission was set Today the situation is much launched on 22 December.
up, things have signifi- better. I recall how difficult The situation began to In a relatively short time
cantly improved, and the situation was when I change gradually after we frame from December 2006
we were curious to joined the mission in first successfully assisted to February 2007, we were
know more about what November 2005. There the Haitian Government in able to clear out all the
the UN has really done. were up to 150 kidnappings holding presidential and gangs from Cite de Soleil.
per month -- at the peak of parliamentary elections in
So, during his short this crime wave, as many as 2006. A result of this, The way we did it was
stay in the city of 240 were kidnapped -- President Preval was basically to go for the base
Calvin, Mr. Peter which obviously made the elected and a legitimate of these gangs and dislodge
Schmitz, the Chief of population very apprehen- Government was establis- them from there. Given the
Staff of the Mission in sive, had expectations were hed. Following the narrow alleyways and the
Haiti granted us an high that MIINUSTAH, the elections, the kidnapping many escape routes in the
Nations
went
down
shanty town, initially we
rate
interview to tell us United
about what can be Stabilization Mission in immediately, but it picked were not able to arrest
as
characterized up later in 2006 and beca- many of the gang leaders.
Haiti, would do something
another success story. about it. me particularly upsetting to However, Haitians live in
everybody when a whole very close communities. As
Q: You are the Chief of Most of the violence ema- bus of schoolchildren was a result, the moment fugiti-
Staff of the United nated from shanty towns kidnapped in December. It ve gang members turned up
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