Haiti’s President-elect Michel Martelly has called for Haiti to build a new army, a move that has been criticized by some human rights groups. Haiti disbanded its military in 1995. The Haitian military had long been known for its brutality and support for coups. Martelly made the announcement on Thursday during a trip to Washington, D.C.

Michel Martelly: “I think it’s a must that we create a Haitian force. Whether you call it the military, the gendarmerie, it’s irrelevant to me. It needs to be a modern army. We will have a medical corps, an engineering corps, and we’ll be ready to intervene in case of — whether it’s chaos, whether it’s a catastrophe, the earthquake or hurricanes, to get involved in reforestation, preserve our forests. A modern army. We don’t foresee Haiti going to war with any other county, so it won’t be an army with heavy equipments like war ships or fighter jets.”