Frustration with the lack of coherent action from the Haitian government may prompt suspension of foreign aid for the quake-hit country, the U.S. and Canada have indicated.
There was “a growing frustration… that as we’re approaching the one-year anniversary of the Haitian earthquake that there hasn’t been the kind of coordinated, coherent response from the government of Haiti that is called for,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
“We understand that the government itself was badly damaged, individuals were traumatized, but there has to be a greater effort and there has to be a more focused approach toward problem solving,” Clinton added.
Haiti was high on the agenda of Clinton’s recent meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and her Mexican counterpart, Patricia Espinosa, in Quebec, Agence France-Presse reports.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) earlier called for the suspension of U.S. aid to the quake-hit nation and visas to its top officials in view of violent protests that followed Haiti’s contested November presidential election.
>> After Disputed Poll Results, Senior US Lawmaker Calls for Haiti Aid Freeze
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is not keen on the idea of suspending Haitian aid.
“In my opinion, nothing has yet happened which justifies that,” Clinton was quoted by Reuters as saying on Dec. 15.
