Madam Francoise Newry, wife of Bahamian Ambassador to Haiti, Dr. Eugene Newry, was shot on Saturday while shopping at the Haitian Public Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in what was described as an attempted robbery.
Mrs Newry was at the market at 1:40 pm with a security aide, Royal Bahamas Police Force Sgt. Michelet Meronard, who also sustained gunshot wounds during the ordeal.
However, the aide’s wounds were not as serious as Mrs Newry’s. She was reportedly struck in the right buttocks area. Both victims were taken to a Haitian hospital and treated. Dr. Newry was not in the area at the time.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement indicated that Prime Minister Perry Christie was informed of the incident as soon as the news was received.
“Although the injuries to Mrs Newry and the security aide are not serious, in the circumstances it was felt that a return to The Bahamas was appropriate given that the Ambassador was due to return home for consultations in any event,” the statement said.
The couple arrived in the capital at 5:30 pm yesterday on a private jet direct from Port-au-Prince. Mrs Newry, noticeably limping with a crutch in her right arm, was carefully escorted from the plane and helped into a government vehicle.
She was greeted by government officials including Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell and Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard-Gibson.
Sgt Meronard was also escorted off the plane into the vehicle. Two Ambulances were called to the airport half an hour prior to the arrival of the flight, as regulations require, but left ten minutes later once it was established that they were not needed.
Giving further details about the incident at the airport’s VIP Lounge, Mr Mitchell said: “The wounds were flesh wounds, and they were flesh wounds both to Sgt Meronard and Mrs Newry… but the wounds are not life-threatening.”
He said he wanted to stress that the attack on Mrs Newry and Sgt Meronard was not an attack on The Bahamas but was reported as a robbery. He explained that given the tenor of the Bahamian public, the pullout of Haiti was a prudent move because the government believes that it is better in such situations to be safe than sorry.
In an earlier interview with The Guardian, Dr. Newry revealed that out of all the countries that have embassies in Haiti, The Bahamas has the least amount of security.
When asked if the government would now increase its security force in that strife-torn country in light of the incident, Mr Mitchell replied: “Well again all of those issues are premature at this stage and what we have to do is review where we are before they can be answered. But the level of security, which The Bahamas has, was commensurate to the risk that was received.”
He acknowledged that Haiti’s Prime Minister Gerard Latortue called him on Saturday from the hospital where Mrs Newry and Sgt Meronard were treated and expressed deep regret and sympathy over the incident. He explained that Latortue also extended sympathies to Prime Minister Christie and the Bahamian people. “He assured me that all of the necessary protections for our embassy and ambassadorial personnel will be put in place,” he said.
“The Canadian, French and U.S. Ambassadors also visited the hospital. And the United States government and Canadian government were instrumental in organising any additional protections and transport that were required within Haiti to expedite the decisions that we took over the last few days,” he added.
Regarding secretary Anthony Williams and his wife, vice consul Michelle Williams, Mr Mitchell said they were also told to leave Haiti and arrived in the capital on the same aircraft. As a result, no Bahamian diplomatic personnel remain at The Bahamas’ embassy in Haiti. “That was because events overnight changed the situation. But what I’d like to say is that we cannot at this point give any more specifics than what you already have,” he stressed.
The Foreign Minister then indicated that the pullout of all Bahamian diplomatic personnel did not mean that the embassy is closed. He pointed out that the facility was fully operational, being manned by ancillary personnel. As for an investigation into the entire incident, he said both Bahamian and Haitian authorities were probing the matter. Additionally, Mr Mitchell said when he meets with other CARICOM foreign ministers in Grenada on Thursday and Friday, he expects his colleagues would want to know the details of the incident and would brief them accordingly.
Dr. Newry and his wife will now remain in The Bahamas for an unknown period. The Ambassador completed his diplomatic and security report of the situation in Haiti and is expected to update the government on that report. He and his wife had only been in Haiti for 16 days, returning there on April 2 after spending five weeks in The Bahamas.
The Ambassador was recalled to The Bahamas on February 26, during the height of the Haiti uprising, which eventually lead to the ousting of Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29. He met with officials at Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 6 to highlight The Bahamas’ concerns. Those concerns centre on the bilateral agreement between the two countries, finalised in 2003 but not yet signed.
Mindell Small, The Nassau Guardian
