PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 23, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - The Port-au-Prince international
jazz festival, traditionally held in late January, has been postponed
indefinitely due to gang violence that has plagued the Haitian capital for
months, event organizers said Monday.

  "We can't take the risk, either for the 150 musicians or for our teams or
for the public," Milena Sandler, director of the Haiti Jazz foundation which
organizes the festival, told AFP.

  "We have been thinking for a while now that it would be difficult, even
morally, to stage a festive event in this context," said the head of the
festival that brings together musicians from more than a dozen countries
every year.

  Long confined to the poorer districts of the capital, gangs have in recent
months extended their reach and increased the number of kidnappings.

  Their sway over the capital regularly prevents secure access to oil
terminals, and the resulting fuel shortages have severely disrupted the
transport sector, as well as forcing hospitals, businesses and schools to
drastically reduce their activities.

  In this chaotic context, the United States and Canada have recommended that
their citizens living in Haiti have an emergency plan to leave the country.

  Sandler nevertheless remained hopeful that the "Papjazz" will take place
sometime in 2022.

  "If the situation in the country does not allow for the usual format of
concerts over eight days, we will still have something and it won't be
virtual," she said.

  "If it must be for one day, it will be for one day," said Sandler, adding
that the Haitian and international partners of the festival were considering
a program for the end of June.

  The only previous time the festival had been canceled was in 2010, when a
massive earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and several towns in Haiti on
January 12, killing more than 200,000 people.