Organizations from various sectors of society have expressed their support for the strike to protest price increases at the pump.
Fanm Soley Leve (Rising Sun Women) says it supports the call for strike launched by drivers unions to demand that petrol prices be lowered. Fanm Soley Leve leader Carline Simon asked the population to obey the strike. Mrs. Simon took the opportunity to denounce the new fuel prices set by the Lavalas government.
Addressing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Mrs. Simon said that the head of state must be proud of the poverty he imposes on the Haitian people.
The Cry of Vertieres Committee (opposition) also invited the population to follow the union movement. Committee members call the Lavalas regime’s decision irresponsible. Cry of Vertieres leaders believe that the regime is trying to destroy the population with this dramatic hike in petrol prices.
At the same time they draw attention to the large amounts the regime invests in the head of state’s security. Former colonel Himmler Rebu, who is a member of this committee, believes that the millions of U.S. dollars spent in lobbying the United States and guaranteeing the president’s protection could be better used for the country’s welfare.
For his part, Jacques Khawly, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast, warned the government against a social explosion in the next few months with the sharp increase in prices at the pump.
Mr Khawly blames the 47th legislature, which, he says, did not pass laws that could have improved people’s living conditions. The businessman took the opportunity to denounce the increase in fuel prices and noted that the 36-gourde minimum wage is insignificant today.