Debate in Haiti over Army Reestablishment
Haiti’s political circles and society are involved in heated debate after a special Senate Commission set up by President Michel Martelly recommended the reestablishment of the Armed Forces.
“The Commission says the new Armed Forces will secure territorial integrity but it will also operate in case of natural disaster,” said Martelly when announcing an action to mark the 150th anniversary of Haiti’s independence from France in 1804.
Several sectors dissent out of fear of returning to the 8,000-troop army dismantled by then President Jean Bertrand Aristide in 1994.
At present, the functions of the army are carried out by the UN Mission for Stabilization of Haiti (Minustah), which is accuse dof sex rapes and spreading the cholera epidemic that infected more than 500,000 people last year.
Although countries like the United States and Canada have threatened to stop helping Haiti describing the UN force as a waste of money under present-day circumstances, President Martelly says he wants to reconcialiate the Armed Forces with people and adjust it to the curent situation to boost national development.
Cardinal Denounces Corruption in Honduras
High levels of corruption increased poverty in Honduras, denounced Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez, who urged politicians to walk in truth, seek the common good and refrain from creating more divisions.
“I wonder where the money of the Strategy of Poverty Reduction is, why some people do not want to live in transparency and clarity, why we have to hide things, because sometimes latent corruption is there,” said Rodriguez.
During a television interview on TV program Frente a Frente, the archbishop of Tegucigalpa said that during his visits to poor communities, he has realized that poverty increased far from being reduced.
Rodriguez urged President Porfirio Lobo and all government officials to take “concrete and positive” steps against corruption and for the common good of the public during 2012. He also regretted that there are officials who accept “a government job with the primary desire to get rich by any means and then retire and spend the rest of the days without working.”
Rodriguez said it is sad to see Honduras assuming the role of “beggar” each year requesting resources to adjust its own general budget of the Republic.
The latest actions of the U.S. government represent a message to the Honduran authorities, Rodriguez said, referring to the exclusion of the resources of the Millennium Challenge Account and the withdrawal of Peace Corps volunteers of the main trade and military partner of Honduras.
Ban Ki-moon to Prioritize Sustainable Development in New Term
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, confirmed on Tuesday the promotion of sustainable development as the first of his priorities during his second term as head of the worldwide organization.
The other main issues for his five-year plan are prevention of crises and natural disasters caused by humans and the search for a safer world.
He also mentioned other points such as what he called aid for transition countries and peoples and the promotion of gender empowerment (women and men).
Ban Ki-moon began his second term as the UN head on January 1, which will run until December 31, 2016.
In statements to the UN news center to mark the start of its new mandate, he called for strengthening unity to address the major challenges the planet is facing, like climate change and poverty.
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