Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PORTAUPRINCE111
2006-01-17 14:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Port Au Prince
Cable title:  

WHA/DAS DUDDY'S VISIT TO HAITI, JANUARY 10-11

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM PKAO HA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3309
RR RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0111/01 0171401
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 171401Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2084
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0898
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0732
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC 0345
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0780
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000111 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PKAO HA
SUBJECT: WHA/DAS DUDDY'S VISIT TO HAITI, JANUARY 10-11

REF: PAP 29

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Timothy M. Carney for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000111

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PKAO HA
SUBJECT: WHA/DAS DUDDY'S VISIT TO HAITI, JANUARY 10-11

REF: PAP 29

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Timothy M. Carney for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)


1. (C) Summary: WHA/DAS Patrick Duddy during his visit to
Port-au-Prince on January 10-11 urged the IGOH, political
parties, and UN and OAS officials to hold to the most recent
electoral calendar, take action to improve the security
environment, and encourage Haitians to participate in the
elections. DAS Duddy emphasized to SRSG Valdes the
international community's firm expectation that MINUSTAH
would address insecurity in Cite Soleil. Valdes detailed
plans to increase enforcement activities but stated that
MINUSTAH would be unable to conduct major operations to
disarm and detain gang members before the first round of
elections on February 7.


2. (C) Summary continued: DAS Duddy assured political party
representatives that the US and international community
remained committed to Haiti's development, but that
successful elections must be the first step in that process.
The parties expressed concerns regarding various logistical
aspects of elections preparations and highlighted the need
for improved security to create more confidence among the
population. The PM asked for a public statement from the USG
in support of the new electoral calendar. Post reports on
DAS Duddy's discussion with the PM regarding the imprisonment
of former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and Gerald Jean-Juste
(septel). DAS Duddy's trip highlighted reassuring
developments regarding elections preparations, but also made
clear that elections authorities still need to undertake an
intensive public information campaign, and that MINUSTAH must
immediately take steps to improve the security climate. End
Summary.

Meeting with MINUSTAH Leadership
--------------


3. (C) In his meeting with SRSG Valdes on January 10, DAS
Duddy stressed that the international community has given
MINUSTAH a vote of confidence in renewing its mandate and
urged MINUSTAH to take action in Cite Soleil to merit this

endorsement. Valdes responded that MINUSTAH could not
undertake a large-scale operation against gangs inside Cite
Soleil before the first round of elections. The Jordanian
contingent's incapacity guaranteed that widespread civilian
casualties would result, and MINUSTAH still lacks specific
intelligence to conduct more targeted operations. Valdes
claimed that the Jordanians had been in a difficult situation
for too long, had suffered too many casualties, and become
frustrated. Rotating in another contingent before February 7
would be "complicated," at best. Instead, he would focus on
securing Route National One, the main artery leading to Cite
Soleil, and the access points into and out of the area.
Valdes added that he also plans to strengthen and increase
the number of MINUSTAH/HNP joint patrols throughout
Port-au-Prince, requiring increased cooperation among
MINUSTAH military and police forces and the HNP. With
control of Route National One and Cite Soleil secured by
MINUSTAH, Valdes expected that the HNP could then "do
something" to act against the gangs, adding that HNP
Director Mario Andresol had assisted in developing this plan.


4. (C) Reporting on a recent meeting with Andresol regarding
kidnappings, Valdes related that Andresol believes that
former Lavalas senator and presidential candidate Dany
Toussaint was behind half of the kidnappings in December,
which had risen from 69 the previous month to 240. According
to Andresol, Toussaint controls a band of former and current
policemen who wear police uniforms, communicate by radio,
speak English and operate with precision. Thus, Valdes
emphasized, the crime problem is not restricted to Cite
Soleil.


5. (C) DAS Duddy requested that MINUSTAH provide security for
election observers deployed to the more volatile parts of
Haiti. Valdes said MINUSTAH forces would be stretched to
the limit in securing voting centers, but agreed to
re-examine the issue, noting that "observers will be

PORT AU PR 00000111 002 OF 003


necessary to ensure the credibly of the elections.8 At that
moment, however, acting MINUSTAH Force Commander General
Aldunate shook his head no, signaling that MINUSTAH security
for international observers would not be possible. Valdes,
however, acknowledged that protecting observers deployed to
difficult areas would have to be considered.

Meeting with Political Parties
--------------


6. (C) DAS Duddy met with Victor Benoit, Secretary General of
FUSION, Dr. Gerard Blot, secretary general of Tet Ansamn;
Chavannes Jean Baptiste, PPM chief and campaign manager for
Charles Henri Baker; and Robert Manuel, campaign manager for
Rene Preval, at the DCM's dinner January 10. DAS Duddy
reassured everyone that the IGOH and the CEP had determined
the new electoral calendar; the international community had
not imposed the new dates. He went on to characterize the
current atmosphere of high-level international attention
focused on Haiti as "unprecedented," and stressed that donor
countries expect elections to take place on schedule. He
urged parties to participate to fully support the process,
help ensure that the elections were free and fare, and to
behave democratically in accepting the results.


7. (C) All present expressed serious concern about the
location of voting centers and the absence of clear
communication from election authorities about electoral
procedures. Blot related stories of candidates not being
able to vote for themselves due to registration mistakes and
a lack of voting centers in rural communities. Baptiste
highlighted the lack of communication from the government:
parties and voters had too little information about the
location of voting centers and transport arrangements.
Manuel, representing the acknowledged front-runner, called on
all the parties to work together and support the process, but
agreed with his colleagues that better communication is
necessary on the part of the CEP and IGOH. The group
expressed serious concern regarding MINUSTAH's failure to
take visible actions to reassure voters that security would
be in place.

Meeting with PM Gerard Latortue
--------------


8. (C) DAS Duddy opened his January 10 meeting with the PM by
congratulating him on the government's announcement of the
electoral calendar. Latortue reiterated that his government
had chosen the new dates based on the consensus reached by
the CEP. He provided DAS Duddy with a copy of the
government's official &Moniteur8 publication legalizing the
new calendar (septel). The PM noted that the Canadians and
French had congratulated the government in the press, but
that the USG had said nothing publicly. He requested that
the Department issue a public statement welcoming and
supporting the new calendar. DAS Duddy accepted that a
statement would give greater weight to respect for the dates
among Haitians and agreed to pass the request to the
Department.


9. (C) The PM said that he is aware that some political
parties and even members of his cabinet are trying to further
delay elections because of their opposition to Rene Preval.
Latortue stressed that if elections did not take place on
February 7 he would resign to spare himself from further
international embarrassment. He hoped that election results
would be a true reflection of the electorate's will and
stated that those who truly want to see democracy in Haiti
need to support the current dates rather than interfere with
the process on the basis of polling results. Latortue
pledged full cooperation in addressing the medical conditions
of Yvon Neptune and Gerald Jean-Juste (septel).

Meeting with CEP, UN and OAS Election Officials
-------------- --


10. (C) DAS Daddy met over lunch on January 11 with UN
elections Chief Gerard LeChevallier, OAS Elections Chief
Elizabeth Spehar, and CEP Director General Jacques Bernard,
lauding their efforts to meet the new deadlines and overcome

PORT AU PR 00000111 003 OF 003


technical obstacles. Bernard stated that his team had nearly
completed logistical preparations, and that he would take
final decisions in the coming days on issues such as voting
centers and transportation. Spehar confirmed that all
national ID cards are in the country and that OAS staff had
distributed over 2.2 million cards. The OAS would issue cards
at distribution centers until January 21, at which point the
OAS would transfer cards to BEDs and BECs for further pickup.
While the number of registrants seeking IDs had slackened,
she expected that the announcement of this deadline and an
increased public information campaign would lead to an
increase in card distribution.


11. (C) Bernard said he would begin holding regular press
conferences in the coming days to better inform the public of
these and other CEP arrangements, stating that he was best
able to provide the kind of detailed information necessary to
reassure the public. Asked about key challenges remaining,
Spehar suggested that many actors are prepared to challenge
the results if they do not approve of the outcome.
LeChevallier claimed that there are not enough partisan poll
watchers, and suggested that the CEP provide further funding
to the parties for this purpose. Bernard questioned whether
security arrangements were sufficient, noting that the
international community had subjected him to intense scrutiny
over logistical preparations, but that he did not see the
same attention devoted to security matters. The DCM
explained that the international community and the IGOH
address security issues in other fora, but noted that the USG
continued to press MINUSTAH to take more action to ensure a
more stable environment generally, and not focus exclusively
on election-day security.

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


12. (C) DAS Duddy's meetings provided reassurance that
elections organizers have nearly completed organizational
tasks and are on schedule to hold the first round on February

7. At the same time, however, the trip highlighted the
inadequacy of efforts to inform and reassure both the public
and the political parties that elections preparations are on
track. Bernard's decision to take on primary responsibility
for informing the public is welcome news. Since coming on
board in November, Bernard has performed extraordinarily well
and will be the best possible spokesperson for the electoral
process.


13. (C) The continued wave of violence and kidnapping in
Port-au-Prince stems principally from criminals exploiting
the lawless atmosphere, rather than actors with political
motives. Regardless of its root causes, the insecurity is
nevertheless sowing uncertainty among the electorate
regarding their safety on election day. MINUSTAH and the HNP
must immediately take visible measures to establish more
control. We agree that current and former police officers
are behind many of the kidnappings, though we question the
level than can be attributed to Danny Toussaint. In any
case, Cite Soleil is the core area from which violence and
crime emanate, and we will press Valdes to meet the
commitments made to DAS Duddy.
TCARNEY