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Haiti to work with Brazil, Ecuador to build new army
Haiti has agreed to work with Brazil and Ecuador to set up a new army that will eventually replace the U.N. peacekeeping force that has protected the Caribbean nation on and off since 1994, officials say.
Haiti’s President Michel Martelly has been pushing the idea of reconstituting the army for almost a year, saying Haitians would prefer to have their country protected by its own troops rather than United Nations soldiers deployed in Haiti.
Brazil’s Defense Ministry confirmed it was prepared to help Haiti in everything it needs to restore its army, including military training and engineering. Ecuador has also pledged its support, a defense ministry official said.
“Brazil will give all its know-how to help Haiti rebuild its army,” a defense ministry spokesperson told reporters.
Brazil, which heads the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, will send a military team to Haiti in the next two to three weeks to assess the situation, the spokesperson said.
Martelly personally requested Brazil’s support during a visit by President Dilma Rousseff to Haiti earlier this year, officials said. An agreement was made in Brasilia last week during a meeting of Haiti and Brazil’s defense ministers.
U.S. and U.N. officials are concerned that restoring the army could undermine international efforts to train and equip a new civilian police force, a key goal of the U.N. mission in Haiti. Critics also point to the Haiti army’s less than stelar human rights record, including a bloody coup in 1991.
