The Haitian president has been accused of endangering journalists

Associations of Haitian journalists on Tuesday condemned remarks made by President Joanel Mose, in which members of the controversial head of state spoke in disguise as media representatives.

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“Often gangs disguise themselves as demonstrators and journalists to attack our police officers on duty,” he assured Mr Moses, speaking to the UN Security Council.

For press defenders, these comments expose journalists to police brutality.

The Haitian Journalists’ Association (AJH) alleges that “the head of state defends and condemns all police brutality against press workers.”

“At the same time, Moss attacked and assaulted journalists of all kinds,” the company said in a statement.

The Haitian Association of Online Media “strongly condemned the irresponsible speech of Jovnell Moss” in a statement on Tuesday.

Haitians’ anger at the authorities, passive accusations or links to criminals as armed gangs seem to take advantage of the territory.

His legitimacy is being contested by the political opposition and much of civil society, with Jovnell Moss facing repeated protests in recent weeks.

These meetings were often violently dispersed by police officers who regularly targeted journalists clearly identified with tear gas canisters.

Jovnell Moss expressed his desire at the UN on Monday to improve Haiti’s ranking in the World Rankings of Press Freedom.

The Association of Haitian Journalists had the opportunity to recall the lack of legal progress regarding the murders and disappearances of journalists.

The investigation into the murders of two journalists who were killed in June and October 2019 is still pending.

In the case of photojournalist Vladimir Legagnour, police have not yet published the results of a DNA test that is alleged to have been conducted in March 2018 on the remains of a body, although it has been missing for almost three years in a report made in a sensitive area of ​​the capital.