Haiti – Airport incident : Results of investigations…

At the last weekly press briefing of the UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (Minustah), the deputy spokesman of the military component of the mission, the commander Claire Berthiaume, provided an update on the investigations of the incident of June 5, 2011 at the Toussaint Louverture Airport between Brazilian soldiers and customs officers.

“Today, we are able provide an update on the results of the investigations that have followed the incident that occurred at the Toussaint Louverture Airport on June 5, altercation between customs officers of the airport and the staff of the Minustah.

After an investigation, involving both parties to the incident, the Minustah has recommended certain changes in its guidelines to ensure that similar incidents will not happen again. More precisely, we have implemented the following rules : No military staff of the Minustah is allowed to have a weapon within the confines of the airport unless they have express permission of the commander of military force.”

The commander of the military force, has recalled to all military staff of the Minustah that they are the guests of Haitian people and they are subject to the laws of the country and must comply with these laws, and the people in charge of law enforcement.

“…According to the investigation, no, there were no guns pointed in the direction of anybody. All I can say you, is that the Brazilian soldiers involved in this case were repatriated following the investigation and that the disciplinary measures are now the responsibility of the Brazilian army. As for details, there was an investigation conducted on both sides with the customs officers. Everyone has been approached and from there, they have drawn the conclusions. I have no other details to add.”