Haiti to mark quake anniversary

The Haitian government plans a low-key ceremony today for the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the country and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

President Michel Martelly will preside over a subdued memorial on the grounds of the former National Palace, which was destroyed in the disaster and later demolished.

Senior government officials and diplomats are expected to attend.

Mr Martelly said he hopes the poor Caribbean nation’s people use the anniversary of the January 12, 2010, disaster to think about how they can improve their lives.

“The main thing for me is to use this day to plunge Haitians into deep reflection,” Mr Martelly said yesterday.

“I need tomorrow to bring my country, my people enough reflection where they decide to do things in other ways.”

Mr Martelly is to give a speech this morning and then go to a mass grave north of the capital to lay a wreath. Former US President Bill Clinton, the UN special envoy to Haiti, will also visit the burial site.

The United Nations plans a small private memorial. Last year, the UN held a service to remember its 102 employees who died – the biggest loss of life of UN personnel in a single disaster.

Haiti’s government says the quake killed about 316,000 people. An additional 1.5 million people landed in impromptu settlements around the capital and other cities in the south.