iciHaiti - UN : «One should subsidize families, not fuels» dixit SG Antonio Guterres

In an interview with Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, on the eve of the General Assembly, journalist Christophe Boisbouvier (RFI) questioned the Secretary General on the rise in fuel prices in Haiti and its consequences.

Christophe Boisbouvier (RFI) : In Haiti, rising fuel prices have been causing riots and looting for several days. You have just called on all parties to defuse the crisis. Should fuel be re-subsidized for the poorest populations, and is the emergency plan of a few million dollars which you have jyou just got the unlock is up to the challenges ?

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations : From the point of view, I would say, of principles, I believe that one should subsidize families and not fuel. It's not exactly the same thing, because it allows families to get the resources they need and it doesn't translate into a profit for fossil fuels. But in the case of Haiti, we have had several meetings of the Security Council and I am convinced that it is absolutely necessary to seriously reintroduce security.

The proposal that I have put on the table is that we really need an international support program for the training and equipping of the police, but that in this perspective we will need to have a robust force, able to put an end to gang action. I believe that we must have in Haiti, in this transition of training and equipping a police force which, for the moment, is ineffective, a force which can really put order in a city and a country completely controlled by gangs. They are not political movements, they are gangs unfortunately also infiltrated by people linked to economic power and political power

IH/ iciHaiti