Friday, April 7, 2023 as part of the commemoration of the 220th anniversary of the death of Toussaint Louverture, Prime Minister a.i. Ariel Henry, in the presence in particular of members of the Government, the Judiciary, the National Police of Haiti, the Armed Forces of Haiti and representatives of the diplomatic corps, presided over a floral offering ceremony at the foot of the monument erected in memory of the precursor of independence.

Speech by Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry :

"Toussaint Louverture is a man with a thousand intertwined destinies that have given him access to this universal influence due to all the great leaders. Our national and universal hero was in step with the times.

Young Haitian people. We are members of a generation that inherited a great disaster because of many decisions made by visionless and courageous leaders. It is important to understand the work of Toussaint and to be inspired by it. Toussaint is a hero because he had the courage, the determination, the will to defend, and the intelligence, everything in which he believed.

It is with pride and a sense of republican duty that I join you today in paying tribute, commensurate with his greatness in the history of Haiti, to Toussaint Louverture, national hero and precursor of independence of our country.

Toussaint Louverture is an extraordinary character. His notoriety and political stature, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, crossed the seas and made him a leading political actor in the history of blacks and colonization as a successful system of the cruel exploitation of man by man.

We must put our heads on our shoulders so that there is no division between us. If we want to honor the memory of Toussaint Louverture, we must take our responsibilities and work to make our country proud of us. We need courage and energy, but we also need awareness and intelligence. Toussaint Louverture never agreed to be a game of people. Toussaint Louverture worked to achieve his goal, which was to stand alongside a united people working for their freedom and well-being.

We must constantly pay tribute to Toussaint Louverture. It is our duty. In these moments of crisis, our hero Louverture must serve as a compass to consolidate this need for unity among Haitians. We need, as a people, a new impetus, a new awareness of our fraternity, of peace, of security, of the empathy and foresight necessary to choose, through fair and democratic elections, the future leaders and leaders who correspond to our aspirations and requirements.

In these moments of crisis, our hero Louverture must serve as a compass to consolidate this need for unity among Haitians. We need, as a people, a new impetus, a new awareness of our fraternity, of peace, of security, of the empathy and foresight necessary to choose, through fair and democratic elections, the future leaders and leaders who correspond to our aspirations and requirements.

This is an opportunity to tell everyone, citizens from here and elsewhere, that in Haiti, we have and we keep in us something of Toussaint Louverture, this shining example. Let's glorify, defend and follow our role models. The country is proud of them. It is now up to us to demonstrate our commitment to peace, well-being and growth in Haiti."

HL/ HaitiLibre