PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The Haitian Government yesterday called on individuals pretending to be members of the soon-to-be reconstituted national army to end their practice, saying they would be prosecuted for the possession of illegal arms.

Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant said that armed individuals, dressed in military uniforms, have been identifying themselves as members of the Haitian Armed Forces and have been occupying the streets of the capital and certain provincial towns by claiming to be part of the military.

The prime minister said such actions contravene the Haitian Constitution and in particular the provisions of the criminal law.

He said articles 70, 217, 218, and Article 7 of the Decree of 12 January 1988 outlined the conditions for the appropriation, possession and use of weapons, ammunition, explosives and other categories of so-called dangerous weapons on the national territory.

“The reconstitution of the Haitian Armed Forces must be no pretext for anyone to give themselves titles and statutes that the law does not recognise and take advantage to sow confusion in public opinion and create public disorder.

“The conditions of recruitment and engagement in the two armed forces provided for by the constitution are determined by law, Lafontant said.

He warned that “armed individuals posing as demobilised soldiers must report to the Office of Management of Demobilized Military to hand over all State property in their possession including weapons, ammunition, equipment, and uniforms.

He said failure to do so could lead to those individuals being charged and prosecuted for illegal possession of firearms and that “the general coordinator will make every effort to ensure the success of this operation”.

The Government said that since 2004 the State has set up the Demobilized Military Management Office, which has been carrying out the compensatory indemnity programme granted to the military because of their demobilisation, which is in its third and final phase.

Last week, Prime Minister Lafontant shied away from confirming whether or not Haiti’s new army will be officially commissioned on November 18, promising, however, that it will not be one aimed at tormenting the population.

“It will be an army at the service of the population and not a tormenting army,” he told reporters, adding that the army in the French-speaking Caribbean Community country had never been disbanded.

There is mounting speculation here that the former armed forces of Haiti could be officially remobilised on November 18, coinciding with the 214th anniversary of the battle of Vertières.

Lafontant said that after the launch of the recruitment process initiated by Defence Minister Hervé Denis last July, 2,350 young people, including 350 girls, had been registered, and that the final steps in remobilising the army will be undertaken in a transparent manner.

He reiterated that the new army will have another mission and another direction than that of the past.