Following the fire of the Hyppolite Market (Iron Market) on the night of February 12th to 13th https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23556-haiti-flash-the-iron-market-ravaged-by-a-fire.html and that of the "Nan gerit" Market (Port Market) on 18 February https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23596-haiti-flash-the-public-market-nan-gerit-ravaged-by-a-fire.html the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) "remains convinced that these fires in public markets are not isolated acts. It would indeed be too easy to blame the accident [...] Moreover, with fear and concern, the RNDDH begins to believe that the rumor that the fire has been used for some time as a tool of struggle to attack political and economic adversaries or to destabilize a regime in place, is confirmed. However, if this is the case, the fire would be a formidable weapon, considering that the country does not have well-equipped fire-fighting cells or sufficient human resources and trained to fight fires."

The RNDDH is "alarmed by the lightness with which political authorities trivialize the fires of public markets on radio, and hasten to share their first impressions of these cases with public opinion. It is a behavior that may obstruct the justice system or, worse, lead investigations in a given direction [...] and finds that, like the political authorities, some police authorities play the game of arsonists, bringing premature and emotional responses to fires, trying to calm the minds but suddenly, preventing the police and justice to work in the serenity they need to conduct their investigations."

In this sense, the RNDDH considers it his duty to emphasize "that it is up to the police and judicial institutions to carry out technical investigations before sharing with the public the results of these and to indicate whether the fires are accidental or criminal. It is at this price that, in the case of criminal acts, their material and intellectual authors will be arrested and brought before the courts of law, and if they are accidents, the measures will be taken to determine the responsibilities of those who would have been responsible for these accidents and prevent their repetition."

HL/ HaitiLibre