HAITI'S BISHOPS WEIGH IN ON ELECTIONS, ATTEMPT TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001300

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM HA
SUBJECT: HAITI'S BISHOPS WEIGH IN ON ELECTIONS, ATTEMPT TO
REIN IN JEAN-JUSTE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Douglas M. Griffiths for Reason
: 1.4(d)


1. (C) Summary: In the past month, the Catholic Bishops
Conference has weighed in publicly to encourage participation
in upcoming elections and to warn priests against taking
active political roles. One statement calls upon voters to
choose their leaders wisely, recommends parties to form
alliances, and urges the international community to work with
the Haitian National Police to keep the peace. A separate
statement reaffirms the Church's prohibition against priests
engaging in overt political activity and threatens expulsion
from the priesthood for those who do. This last statement is
clearly targeted at Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, a Lavalas
activist who is widely believed to be considering a run for
President. The Church in Haiti has rarely been apolitical,
and these statements are further evidence that the Church
expects to continue to play an active role in the political
arena. End Summary.

Support for elections
--------------


2. (U) The Catholic Bishops Conference "eve of elections"
statement was issued April 8 following an extraordinary
meeting of the bishops and coincided with the visit to Haiti
by the UN Security Council (which received a copy of the
document during its meeting with the bishops). While the
bishops welcomed the international community's participation
in carrying out the elections, they emphasized "we will not
let just anyone impose anything on us. The elections are our
affair." The statement encouraged the population to go to
the polls and called for enhanced security.


3. (U) The statement noted the Church was obliged to
intervene since its duty was to "mark out (the) path" and it
had "the duty to form consciences." The bishops boldly told
voters not to "sell or negotiate" a vote to "those who
promise mountains and miracles and do not reveal concrete
ways to accomplish them." To the candidates, the bishops
recommended the formation of alliances between parties with
similar positions, not simply alliances of circumstance.

Priests should stay out of politics
--------------


4. (U) A few days later, the Bishops issued a separate
statement addressed to priests, and citing canon law,
advising them to refrain from overt political activity, or
risk being defrocked. Specifically, the statement reaffirmed
the Church's position that priests may not "take active part
in politics, whether in (or as a leader of) political parties
or in partisan groups or associations." The statement banned
priests from seeking public office or participating in
electoral campaigns.

Politics nonetheless
--------------


5. (C) Although nobody has said so publicly, the second
statement was clearly aimed at reining in Father Gerard
Jean-Juste, a pro-Lavalas priest closely associated with
Aristide. Many here see him as a potential Presidential
candidate; he does not speak about that publicly, but he has
become visibly active within the Lavalas movement since last
fall. This has put him at odds with his church hierarchy.
Cap-Haitien bishop (and ex-chair of the Bishops conference)
Hubert Constant told the Ambassador April 21 that he was
worried that Lavalas would put forward a charismatic
candidate with an "aura of justness" who would garner
landslide-like support but then return to the corrupt path of
the Aristide regime. He was particularly wary of Jean-Juste
and made clear the statement banning clergy from running for
office was aimed at him. Separately on April 22, the Papal
Nuncio told the DCM that he was "delighted" with the
statement and hoped it would force Jean-Juste to make his
intentions clear.


6. (C) For his part, Jean-Juste has so far shrugged off the
Bishops' statement. He told PolCounselor May 6 that he was
"not worried" about his superiors, that he did not intend to
be a candidate but that he could not give up his political
activism. He dismissed the Bishops' conference as a
"conservative Duvalierist" institution that had little
contact with the harsh realities of Haiti's poor majority.
(Septel will report on the larger conversation, which,
demonstrating just how politically active he is, was
conducted at his church in the company of many members of the
hard-line Fanmi Lavalas "Political Commission.")

Church worried not just about Jean-Juste
--------------


7. (C) Bishop Constant made clear that the Church's
concerns extended beyond pro-Lavalas priests, warning the
Ambassador about what he called "the other extreme." He said
"uniformed, marching, nationalistic candidates" are bound to
emerge from the ex-military camp. Constant felt this sector
would put forward a strong candidate that could broadly
appeal to the Haitian public. Constant said he thought the
elections would take place successfully, but it was urgent
that the IGOH move forward with public works and employment
projects, particularly after "14 months of talk and
promises." Constant was also frustrated by the voter
registration process. He lamented the "unacceptable burden"
on Haitians in the rural areas who he said would have to make
several lengthy trips to the urban areas to register and then
return to vote. (Note: This concern may be mitigated by OAS
plans to have mobile voter registration teams travel
throughout the countryside. End note.)

Comment
--------------


8. (C) The statement warning priests to stay out of politics
is clearly targeted towards Jean-Juste, and reflects the
dominant conservative slant of the Bishops Conference,
despite the presence among the bishops of a few who are
pro-Lavalas. The animosity toward Aristide, a former priest,
runs deep. Hinche Bishop Louis Kebreau, the current
conference president, expresses himself very caustically
about the priest-turned-president. Kebreau believes that
Aristide, his former student, had gone wayward long before
ascending to the Presidency. For Kebreau, Constant, and most
of the other bishops, there is a fear of repeating history
with Jean-Juste. The Catholic Church has rarely been
apolitical here -- Haitians still credit Pope John Paul II's
March 1983 visit and his statement that "things must change
here" as the spark that led to Jean-Claude Duvalier's
downfall. These latest interventions demonstrate that the
Catholic Church hopes to play an active role in the political
arena and, particularly, in this year's elections. From our
perspective both statements are constructive and helpful to
the process.
GRIFFITHS