US accused of hampering Haiti aid flights and occupying the country
A French minister has called on the United Nations to investigate the dominant US role in Haiti saying aid efforts should be about helping Haiti, not “occupying” it.
US forces turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital from the damaged, congested airport in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince last week, prompting a complaint from French co-operation minister Alain Joyandet. The plane landed safely the following day.
Mr Joyandet, in Brussels for an EU meeting on Haiti, persisted: “This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti.”
Geneva-based charity Medecins Sans Frontieres backed Mr Joyandet’s calls to clarify their role saying lives are being put at risk as planes carrying medical supplies are being turned away by US air traffic controllers. [more]