a1675: Truck strike paralyzes Gonaives and St. Marc (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

8 April - A two-week strike called by the Artibonite Truck
Owners and Vehicle Drivers’ Union (Syndicat des Chauffeurs
et Propriétaires de Véhicules de l’Artibonite - SCPVA ) and
other regional organisations including the Artibonite
Valley Development Association, has begun, paralysing
business activities in the towns of Gonaives and Saint
Marc. The strike has been called to try to force the
authorities to repair sections of the national highway
linking the two main towns in central Haiti. Both local
residents and truck drivers have been complaining about the
poor state of the road over the last six years, and the
local media reports that many people have been forced to
move out of the area because of transport problems.

A SCPVA press release dated April 5 criticised the State
authorities for a lack of respect for the transport
drivers’ work, even though they are considered one of the
pillars of the national economy. The SCPVA also called on
the government party, the Lavalas Family, and the
opposition coalition, the Democratic Convergence, to
negotiate a settlement to the political crisis that has led
to a suspension of international aid money earmarked for
road repairs in the region.

The strike has cut the main road that links the capital,
Port-au-Prince, with the central and northern regions of
the country. Local businesses and government offices were
forced to close because of the lack of transport. (Haiti
Press Network, Radio Metropole)


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