Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille on Tuesday told gang leader Jimmy Cherizier alias Barbecue to first lay down his arms if he wanted to hold talks with the government.
In a press briefing, Conille insisted that dialogue could only take place if the gang leader stopped engaging in illegal activities.
The Prime Minister clarified that dialogue was not possible over what he claimed to be the gangs looting and killing citizens.
“Lay down your arms, recognize the authority of the State before any other arrangement," Garry Conille told Barbecue.
Barbecue had initially warned that as long as his team, the Viv Ansanm Coalition, was not invited to the negotiating table, the country would not know peace.
Conille’s statement came minutes after the Kenyan police arrived in the Caribbean nation for the much awaited Nairobi-led peacekeeping mission.
During the presser, the Haitian Prime Minister underscored the importance of the peacekeeping mission, claiming gang rampage had crippled economic activities and everyday life.
According to the Prime Minister, the Haitian people have been clinging on hope that the peacekeeping mission would restore order in the troubled country.
"This multinational mission will be the last one to help the county stabilize so it can renew its political personnel and return to an effective democracy," Conille said.
The deployment of the Kenyan police to the war-torn nation comes weeks after Kenya and Haiti signed an agreement that paved the way for the deployment.
Gandy Thomas, the acting representative of Haiti to the United States and the Kenyan ambassador to the US, Lazarus Amayo, were among those present during the signing event.
While confirming the deal, Dupouy reiterated that the signing of the legal agreement was an important step toward accelerating the deployment.
