(18 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – 18 May 2024
1. Military personnel holding Haitian flag while official arrives for ceremony marking Haiti’s Flag Day
2. Members of the transitional presidential council listening to Haiti’s national anthem for Flag Day
3. Parade for Haitian Flag Day
4. Haiti’s Interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert walking to podium
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Michel Patrick Boisvert, Haiti’s Interim Prime Minister:
“May 18 marks a historic and symbolic date, and today, our country is in crisis. This situation reduces the scope of the celebrations of these great events in our life and in our history as a people.”
6. Members of the transitional presidential council at ceremony
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Edgard Leblanc Fils, President of Haiti’s transitional presidential council:
“The flag is the symbol of our sovereignty. Sovereignty cannot be a meaningless concept if security is not restored in our country. Insecurity is our worst enemy of the union and, therefore, of the flags.”
8. Performers dancing at ceremony
9. Diplomats at ceremony
10. Members of the transitional presidential council at the ceremony
11. Mid of dancers performing
STORYLINE:
People in Haiti celebrated the country’s Flag Day on Saturday with a ceremony held at the Government Palace in Port-au-Prince.
The nine members of the nation’s transitional presidential council attended the festivities which mark the creation of the Haitian flag in 1803.
"May 18 marks a historic and symbolic date, and today, our country is in crisis," interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert said in a speech at the event.
"This situation reduces the scope of the celebrations of these great events in our life and in our history as a people."
Haiti has been in upheaval since February. 29, when a coalition of gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key government infrastructure.
They burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that has remained closed since March 4 and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
The country’s largest seaport also remains paralyzed.
The violence prevented former Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to Haiti from an official trip to Kenya when the attacks began and the spiraling crisis forced him to resign in late April.
More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in Haiti from January to March, a more than 50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the United Nations.
Much of the gang violence began to surge in the months following the July 2021 assassination of Haiti’s former president, Jovenel Moïse.
The transitional council is tasked with choosing a prime minister and a Cabinet and organizing upcoming elections— even as gangs continue to target previously peaceful communities in Port-au-Prince.
Haitian Flag Day is one of the most important festivities celebrated in Haiti.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e1a845689f2d40ceb1b934657ffaa562
