SOME NATIONALISTIC REACTION TO MINUSTAH'S RECENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000797

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV HA MINUSTAH
SUBJECT: SOME NATIONALISTIC REACTION TO MINUSTAH'S RECENT
OPERATIONS

REF: PAP 766


1. (SBU) Summary: Following an initially muted reaction,
there has been more notable political commentary on the
actions undertaken by MINUSTAH to take back police stations
from ex-FADH elements (reftel). The few laudatory statements
have been drowned out by nationalistic critiques of
MINUSTAH's long over-due actions. While most of this
rhetoric can be waved off as grandstanding by some
personalities within the political class, it also points
towards an emerging nationalistic tone in Haiti. MINUSTAH
needs to quickly and decisively respond to threats from both
the armed rebels and pro-Aristide criminal/political gangs.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) After an initially muted reaction following
MINUSTAH's military action to take back police stations from
ex-FADH elements in Petit-Goave and Terre Rouge, the
political class has started to comment on the action where
two peacekeepers and several Haitians died. A few leaders
have come out strongly in support of MINUSTAH and credit
their actions as necessary to increase levels of security as
Haitians proceed towards elections later this year. G-184
leader and Executive Director of the Civil Society Initiative
(ISC) Rosny Desroches applauded MINUSTAH's action and said it
was long-overdue. He called for the international
peacekeepers to further step in where the Haitian National
Police (HNP) has been unable to do so.


3. (U) Desroches' comments have been drowned out by a more
nationalistic chorus. Dr. Turneb Delpe, former senator and
Secretary General of the National Democratic Progressive

SIPDIS
Party (PNDPH),was critical of MINUSTAH's operations calling
them the result of the Interim Government's failure to
properly handle the demands of the ex-military. Victor
Benoit, speaking on behalf of the Social Democrats, said he
did not approve of MINUSTAH's actions in Petit-Goave and that
"Lavalas bandits" were more of a threat than the former
military. A spokesperson for Evans Paul's KID party, Andre
Michel, also criticized the IGOH and urged it to meet the
ex-military's demands. Michel, however, simultaneously
called on the ex-military to respect the "law, order and
institutions" of Haiti.


4. (U) A vice-mayor in Petit-Goave, Montigene Sincere,
criticized what he deemed heavy-handed actions by MINUSTAH to
dislodge the ex-military from the local police station.
Sincere said that he supported the ex-military's presence and
claimed they provided much-needed security against banditry.
Monsignor Guire Poulard, the outspoken bishop from nearby
Jacmel, said MINUSTAH used "guerrilla tactics" to retake the
police station. Lukmane Delile, coordinator of the National
Association of Haitian Students, also believed MINUSTAH's use
of force was overzealous.


5. (U) Joseph Lucien, vice-president of the largest student
organization (Federation of Haitian University Students,
FEUH) condemned MINUSTAH's actions and said the peacekeepers
did not respect the Haitian constitution. Lucien encouraged
the IGOH to respond to MINUSTAH's actions (Note: Interim
Prime Minister Latortue has publicly acknowledged he "gave
the order for MINUSTAH to retake the police stations from
those bandits." End Note). Nellus Laurent of the recently
formed Jean Jacques Dessalines Center for Human Rights
demanded the IGOH explain itself to the nation and said that
the international presence must leave soon.


6. (SBU) The most vitriolic statement was a press release
from the Center Right Front/Mobilization for National
Development's (GFCD/MDN) Hubert DeRonceray. Petit-Goave is a
GFCD/MDN stronghold and DeRonceray has long been sympathetic
to reconstitution of the FADH. Within the press release
text, DeRonceray lambasted the IGOH as being a prisoner to
the "extreme left" and called MINUSTAH a "force of war" whose
actions "benefit the socio-communists" (referring to OPL and
the Social Democrats). In a March 22 radio broadcast, while
sounding a generally more measured tone, called the event "a
crime."


7. (SBU) Comment: Most of this rhetoric can be waved off
as grandstanding by some personalities within the political
class, however, an underlying nationalistic tone is
increasingly present in Haiti. For the first several months
of their deployment here, most Haitians complained MINUSTAH
was "on vacation," but after two days of pro-active
engagement, Haitians are criticizing the peacekeepers as
over-aggressive. More worrisome is the reported call from
Hinche's ex-FADH leader Jean-Baptiste, telling his men to
take off their uniforms and wage a guerrilla war against
MINUSTAH. MINUSTAH needs to quickly and decisively respond
to the likes of Jean-Baptiste and Ravix to ensure a secure
environment as the country prepares for the voter
registration process, the first step towards holding
successful elections later this year. MINUSTAH also needs to
take decisive action against the pro-Aristide gangs,
particularly in Port-au-Prince, for all the obvious reasons,
but also to protect itself from charges of bias. End comment.
FOLEY