Presidential
Haiti: President, PM Meets with Members of the Press to Call for Solidarity
- Thursday, September 06, 2012 10:03 AM
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Written by Samuel Maxime |
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) - President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe held a meeting with the CEOs of media companies in Haiti on the need for a common agreement for the country.
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The Office of the Presidency said the meeting was to firstly show gratitude for the "masterful coverage" of Tropical Storm Isaac. The Head of State and Prime Minister believed that many lives were saved because of the work of the press.
But the administration also said that the meeting aimed to "encourage the media to put Haiti in the first place on the list of priorities, while expressing constructive criticism that will allow authorities to move forward on the right path."
Matters that President Martelly says have "strained the relationship between the state and the press" were also discussed.
The meeting comes at a time of strife with the establishment of a Permanent Electoral Council (CEP), loss of confidence in the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) and as the President's wife and son are being publicly accused of embezzling funds through a hunger program and sporting facility project.
A subtle reference in a government press release quoted the president saying "one of the biggest challenges faced is neither the CEP nor the CSPJ, but the problem of hunger... it is not fighting people, but famine... the real crisis of the country is the situation in which people live.
The event took place at the Montana Hotel and was planned by the Ministry of Communication under new direction of former Secretary General of SOS Journalist, a press benevolence organization, Guyler C. Delva.
This meeting held Friday, August 31st was the fourth encounter with directors of the press of President Martelly's 15-month administration.
