Haiti crisis comes to a head

On 11th January, the day on which the MPs' mandate expired, President Preval closed down Haiti's Parliament announcing he would appoint a Prime Minister by decree. The next day, the President's sister, a member of Aristide's political party, was seriously wounded, and shots fired by unknown assailants killed her driver, a former Aristide bodyguard.

Aristide's party and many popular organisations, including Dupuy's National Popular Assembly, support Preval's move to end the stalemate, but many of the deposed MPs and small right wing parties are calling it a constitutional coup d'etat. With both sides calling strikes and demonstrations, and more violence expected, Preval has appealed for calm and announced that elections for a new Parliament would be the Prime Minister's first priority.

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