Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KINGSTON1361
2005-05-27 20:58:00
SECRET
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

WHA/CAR DIRECTOR MEETS WITH LEADING PM CANDIDATE,

Tags:  PREL PGOV KCRM PINR JM 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001361 

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR (BENT)
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM PINR JM
SUBJECT: WHA/CAR DIRECTOR MEETS WITH LEADING PM CANDIDATE,
MFA UNDERSECRETARY, SENIOR BRITISH AND CANADIAN DIPLOMATS

REF: A. KINGSTON 1342


B. KINGSTON 1346

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Mark J. Powell. Reason 1.5(b) and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001361

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR (BENT)
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM PINR JM
SUBJECT: WHA/CAR DIRECTOR MEETS WITH LEADING PM CANDIDATE,
MFA UNDERSECRETARY, SENIOR BRITISH AND CANADIAN DIPLOMATS

REF: A. KINGSTON 1342


B. KINGSTON 1346

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Mark J. Powell. Reason 1.5(b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) On May 11, visiting WHA/CAR Director Brian Nichols met
with Undersecretary for Bilateral Affairs and non-resident
Ambassador to Haiti Peter Black to discuss OASGA issues, the
situation in Haiti, and the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI),about which Black registered concern.
Nichols next met jointly with British High Commissioner and
Canadian Acting High Commissioner to exchange views on
Jamaica's crime situation and to discuss encouraging greater
GOJ/CARICOM engagement with Haiti. Nichols then proceeded to
Gordon House for a meeting with Minister of Local Government,
Community and Sport Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica's most
popular politician and a leading candidate to replace PJ
Patterson as Prime Minister. End Summary.


2. (C) Visiting WHA/CAR Director Brian Nichols met on May 11
with Undersecretary for Bilateral Affairs and non-resident
Ambassador to Haiti Peter Black, followed by a joint meeting
with British High Commissioner Peter Mathers and Canadian
Acting High Commissioner Bryan Burton. Nichols then met with
Minister of Local Government, Community and Sport Portia
Simpson Miller at Gordon House. Nichols also met with
Jamaica Labor Party Deputy Leader James Robertson (Ref A),
Tourism Director Paul Pennicook (Ref B),and visited the
USAID-funded inner-city community project (septel).

--------------
MFAFT: OASGA, Haiti, WHTI
--------------


3. (SBU) On May 11, visiting WHA/CAR Director Brian Nichols,
accompanied by Pol/Econ Chief, met with Ambassador Peter
Black, Undersecretary for Bilateral Affairs at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) and Jamaica's
non-resident envoy to Haiti. Black was joined by MFAFT
Caribbean and Americas Department officer Franz Hall. The
major issues covered were: the upcoming OASGA in Ft.
Lauderdale; Haiti; and the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI).



4. (C) Amb. Black opened by asking what themes the USG would
promote at the OASGA. Nichols said that USG priorities
include: ensuring that regional commitment to democracy
continues; support for efforts to reinforce democracy; and
poverty eradication efforts. Black advised that CARICOM
Foreign Ministers would meet in Freeport immediately prior to
the OASGA to discuss agenda items, as well as Summit of the
Americas issues, and to coordinate their approach. Their
aim, he said, would be "the highest degree of coordination."


5. (C) On Haiti, Nichols said that preparations for elections
are vital, including the establishment of a secure
environment in which elections can be held, and noted the
UN/OAS elections funding shortfall of approximately USD 22M.
He said that the USG would provide another USD 8 million to
the UN/OAS effort. The EU has indicated it plans to provide
another 8 million euros (approximately USD 11M),and Canada
has indicated it will condsider additional contributions if
other countries would also do so. In this regard, he
continued, a joint UN/OAS appeal for electoral funding at the
June OASGA would be helpful.


6. (C) Black said that CARICOM shares many USG concerns
regarding Haiti, and that CARICOM would release a statement
as early as that afternoon regarding the situation of former
PM Neptune. The IGOH, he said, "is not doing themselves any
favors" with their treatment of Neptune. Black said that the
rule of law is "an essential principle" for CARICOM, and that
the latter could not mend its relations with the IGOH until
Neptune's situation is resolved to its satisfaction. He
complained that the IGOH seems to blunder whenever improved
relations with CARICOM seem at hand, with positive steps by
the IGOH invariably followed by "measures guaranteed to
harden CARICOM's position" against fully re-engaging.
Nichols said that recent public comments by Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, including his reference to a "black Holocaust",
were inflammatory, unhelpful and unwarranted. Some Lavalas
politicians were interested in participating in the
elections, Nichols said, but await a signal from Aristide
that they may do so without reprisal from pro-Aristide
elements. He opined that Lavalas was still a "very strong"
political entity, but one which enjoys far less support now
than previously.


7. (S) When Nichols asked point-blank whether notorious
Aristide henchman Jean-Claude Jean-Baptiste remained in
Jamaica, Black replied that he was unfamiliar with the name.
(Comment: Black seemed genuinely surprised by the question
and unaware of Jean-Baptiste's identity and presence in
Jamaica. Post strongly believes that Jean-Baptiste's entry
was facilitated by higher ranking officials at the Ministry,
most likely by Ministry number two Delano Franklyn and/or
Foreign Minister K.D. Knight. End Comment.)


8. (SBU) Raising WHTI, Black said the initiative "will pose a
major problem" for Jamaica. Sixty percent of arriving
tourists in Montego Bay present identification documents
other than passports he said, asking if there was any
flexibility with regard to implementing WHTI. Nichols
replied that WHTI is a statutory requirement that must be
fully in place by 2008. He explained that the implementation
schedule is phased to be able to accommodate passport
issuance flow, and that the USG will undertake a massive
public awareness campaign to alert Amcit travelers to the
requirement. He cautioned Black that delaying implementation
of WHTI for the Caribbean could back up against the WHTI
implementation schedule for travelers to Mexico and Canada,
causing further delays.


9. (SBU) Nichols acknowledged the GOJ's concerns that WHTI
could negatively impact its tourism industry, while noting
that WHTI would also help the GOJ better control its own
borders. Black contended that WHTI would severely impact
"spontaneous travel" to Jamaica by Amcits. He also
questioned the necessity of machine readable passport checks
of travelers departing Jamaica, saying "the feeling is that
we don't need it." Black was visibly relieved when Nichols
informed him that he would next be meeting with GOJ Director
of Tourism Paul Pennicook, to discuss WHTI (Ref B).

-------------- --------------
Senior UK, Canadian Diplomats on Haiti; Jamaican Crime
-------------- --------------


10. (C) In a May 11 tour d'horizon meeting with outgoing
British High Commissioner Peter Mathers and Canadian Acting
High Commissioner Bryan Burton, Nichols, accompanied by
Charge and Pol/Econ Chief, discussed GOJ views on Haiti, as
well as efforts to combat Jamaica's crime problem. Mathers
began by noting HMG's firm support for idea of greater
Caribbean integration given the region's widely dispersed,
numerically limited population and relatively scarce
resources. Noting that HMG views Jamaica as having
relatively more potential than most of its fellow CARICOM
states, Mathers said that he was trying to arrange a June
meeting in London with Prime Minister Blair for Prime
Minister Patterson, while the latter is en route to a G-77
gathering in Doha. Nichols encouraged Mathers to suggest
that PM Blair urge Patterson and CARICOM to do more for
Haiti. Mathers (who retires this year) replied that he had
never seen Patterson so angry as when the USG - in
Patterson's view - "scuppered" CARICOM's Haiti initiative
shortly before Aristide's resignation and departure in
February 2004.


11. (C) Mathers observed that Patterson enjoys great respect
within CARICOM as an elder statesman, and that the PM had
been forthright with Aristide in the pre-resignation
negotiations in Kingston and elsewhere. Noting that a senior
HMG visitor to Kingston shortly after Aristide's resignation
had assured Patterson there had been no "conspiracy" to
remove the Haitian from office, Mathers said that
nevertheless, "PJ clearly felt betrayed". Accordingly,
Mathers predicted, getting Patterson to engage with Haiti
again would be "a difficult trick to take." Canadian Acting
High Commissioner Burton interjected that Prime Minister
Martin spoke to Patterson "a number of times" in the
immediate aftermath of Aristide's departure from Haiti to
correct the misperception that there had been a foreign
conspiracy against Aristide, and that the GOC had acted as a
USG "puppet" in ousting him. Patterson, he said, had soon
become non-receptive to Martin's calls.


12. (C) Acknowledging that the Latortue government had its
shortcomings, Nichols stressed that "the best way to get rid
of the IGOH is through credible elections." He urged London
and Ottawa to encourage CARICOM states to put their electoral
knowledge to use in Haiti. Charge reinforced the point,
noting that CARICOM assistance would be symbolic but
important.

13. (C) On the issue of violent crime in Jamaica, Mathers
urged caution in "ascribing too much significance" to recent
murders (refs C,D). He contended that the murder rate was
considerably worse in the 1970s, and that many residents of
garrison communities want an end to the murders but do not
trust the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in their
communities. For this reason, he said, attempts by the JCF
to force its way into the worst areas "would be a Normandy
invasion." According to Mathers, Deputy JCF Commissioner
Mark Shields (who is on secondment from the London
Metropolitan Police and is the second most senior officer in
the JCF) does not see the situation as hopeless. Asked by
Nichols whether the will exists to do the necessary steps to
control crime, Mathers replied that Jamaicans are
increasingly fed up, but will need time to organize among
themselves to implement the necessary changes. An ironic
result of success against organized crime in Jamaica thus
far, Mathers said, is that "disorganized" crime often results
as smaller criminals fight over turf previously controlled by
crime lords who kept some semblance of order.

-------------- --------------
Leading Prime Ministerial Candidate Portia Simpson Miller
-------------- --------------


14. (C) Nichols, accompanied by Pol/Econ Chief, called on
Local Government, Community and Sport Minister Portia Simpson
Miller. Simpson Miller, widely regarded as the most popular
politician of either party in Jamaica, spoke with confidence
about her prospects for succeeding PJ Patterson as Jamaica's
next Prime Minister. She described her long service in
government, including two previous ministerial portfolios,
and her active political life as having provided her with
extensive experience and leadership qualities. According to
Simpson Miller, her own humble origins as one of eight
children in a poor family, enable her to relate to the vast
majority of Jamaica's poor citizens. Unspoken in her claim,
but understood nonetheless, was the point that her primary
rivals to succeed Patterson hail from more privileged
backgrounds.


15. (C) Simpson Miller, whose parliamentary constituency
includes one of Jamaica's strongest "garrison communities,"
emphatically condemned the recent murders of policemen, and
Jamaica's high crime rate generally. She asserted that she
refuses to interact with criminal elements in her
constituency, as doing so would lend them legitimacy.
(Comment: If Simpson Miller's contention that she does not
associate in any way with known criminals were true, it would
make her a rarity among the country's political elite. End
Comment.) She also observed that merely arresting the
impoverished inner-city youth whom many blame for Jamaica's
crime problem would not resolve matters. Many of those
behind the downtown gunmen and extortionists, she said,
reside "uptown" and away from the violence in which they play
a facilitating role. She did not offer specifics.


16. (C) Asked to assess her performance at a recent
University of the West Indies (UWI) political forum for all
declared prime ministerial candidates, Simpson Miller said
she was pleased by the support shown by the crowd. Pol/Econ
Chief, who attended Simpson Miller's address and those of
several other candidates, observed that hers had been the
best attended and that her audience had been vocally
enthusiastic. Beaming, Simpson Miller said that she was
especially pleased because her staff permitted "only three or
four" people from her constituency to attend, which meant
that the support she received that night - because it came
from a more neutral audience of "outsiders" - bodes well for
her prospects. Asked why she would discourage her own
constituents from coming out to support her at such an event,
Simpson Miller's reply inadvertently illustrated one aspect
of Jamaica's entrenched "garrison" phenomenon: "My
constituents would not have reacted well to anyone who tried
to heckle or taunt me."


17. (U) This message has been cleared by WHA/CAR Director
Nichols.
ROBINSON