The stop order placed on former Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry is to protect the border of the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to Premier Hon. Washington Misick during a news Conference on Thursday evening.
Earlier in the day the Ministry of Immigration and Border Services, along with the Immigration Department placed Henry on the ‘Stop List,’ thus preventing him from landing in the TCI.
“My duty and the duty of my government, and for that matter, in our relationship with His Majesty's Government, is to protect the interests of the Turks and Caicos and its people,” the premier said, noting that it is the duty of the government to eliminated anything that could potentially pose a threat to the wellbeing of the Turks and Caicos Islands people.
The premier pointed out that the Turks and Caicos Islands has been placed in a precarious position with boats packed with fleeting being dispatched to the Turks and Caicos Islands on almost a daily basis. He hinted that many those who might have climbed onto those boats could be criminals.
“I don't want to get into details, but to answer you (NewslineTCI) frankly, I don't know of any government who is put in a position that the Turks and Caicos is placed in with a significant number of persons from Haiti here, and now we don't know who is here,” Premier Misick outlined.
He pointed out that since Henry would both have supporters as well as detractors here in the TCI, which comprises of a strong Haitian population, the wisest and most calculated thing to do was to place his name on the country’s stop list to mitigate such threat.
“We don't know what threat that would have been posed by the Prime Minister entering these shores. And so, I think we owe our country a duty, first of all, to protect the people of these islands and to avert any possible risk of having the former Prime Minister of Haiti come in these islands because I'm sure there are supporters and their opposition to his tenure in office. And we have no idea what that could lead to and what kind of spillover it could have.
“So, I think taking the decision to have him on the stop list is the reasonable, smart, intelligent, and strategic thing to do. And anybody who would do anything other than that would not be acting in the best interest of these islands,” the premier continued.
The premier pointed out that he could not say whether the former Haiti prime minister signaled his intentions to come to the Turks and Caicos Islands or use its airspace. He hinted that Henry would have posed similar threat to that of former Haitian Police Officer turned head gangster Jimmy “Barbecue) Chérizier, if any of them were to be allowed into the TCI.
“I really don't know the details of that (whether Henry requested permission to land in the TCI), and I don't want to get into that. I don't know the details of that, but believe you me, it is the same way that ‘Barbecue’ wouldn’t be able to enter this country because of the risk someone like him would pose,” the premier pointed out.
He added: “If you pose risk to this country, then we have to do what we have to do. It's just as simple as that. Nothing personal.”
The premier pointed out that the Turks and Caicos Islands has received a great deal of support from the United Kingdom aimed at mitigating the threat posed from the unrest in Haiti. The security apparatuses included drones and portable scanners.
The premier noted also that the UK has dispatched a ship to patrol TCI waters, to deter fleeing Haitians from making it to the country’s borders.