The Director of the PAPDA calls on Haitians to mobilize to obtain cancellation of Haiti’s debt

Date: 4 July 2006

Port-au-Prince, 30 June 2006 (AHP) – Camille Chalmers, the director of the Advocacy Platform for Alternative Development (PAPDA), on Friday invited all sectors of national life to mobilize themselves to demand the cancellation of Haiti’s debt.

During a press conference, Chalmers stated that he considers the cancellation of the debt as crucial since Haiti currently finds itself in a difficult situation with a population living in sub-human conditions.

The initiative of some international organizations to reduce the debt of certain countries (the HIPC Initiative) will solve only to 25 or 30% the problem of the debt, he said, bearing in mind that the debt of several of the beneficiary countries is today much higher than before the reduction.

The head of the PAPDA also pointed out that the measures under consideration in this program (the HIPC Initiative) will weaken the country even more. It requires the liberalization of public finances, an increase in taxation, and the privatization of state enterprises.

Chalmers continued, underlining that important resources currently devoted by Haiti to debt servicing could be allocated to social priorities. He insisted on an audit of the debt process over the last 20 years, which would make it possible to start a process of recovery of badly acquired debts.

According to Camille Chalmers, Haiti is at a crossroads where everything possible must be done to solve the problem of the external debt.

(translated from French by Charles Arthur for the Haiti Support Group)

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Forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group – solidarity with the Haitian people’s struggle for human rights, participatory democracy and equitable development – since 1992.

Web site: www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org