UN SRSG MULLET ON MINUSTAH, SECURITY AND HAITI

S E C R E T PORT AU PRINCE 001203 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (DECLAS REASONS) NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR IO, DRL S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS UN HA SUBJECT: UN SRSG MULLET ON MINUSTAH, SECURITY AND HAITI Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (S) Summary. I met with UN SRSG Edmond Mullet July 2 to discuss his views of Haiti, the security environment and other issues. Mullet said that MINUSTAH is prepared to take "decisive action" against the gangs when/if President Preval agrees. He reports that an unknown quantity of automatic weapons were smuggled into Cite Soleil by sea two weeks ago. Mullet shares our concern about the recent upsurge in kidnappings, speculating they are aimed at embarrassing Preval in his first months in office. He finds new PM Alexis "decisive, determined and a man with a vision," but is much less taken with Preval. Mullet expressed concern that MINUSTAH contributors, particularly Chile and Argentina, may begin to drift away as international interest turns elsewhere. SYG Kofi Annan will visit Haiti on July 26. End Summary. ¶2. (C) I met with UN SRSG Edmond Mullet July 2 to discuss his views of Haiti, the security environment and other issues. Now a month into his assignment in Port au Prince, Mullet strongly believes that the UN must play a key role in Haiti's continued democratic evolution and should, with presidential approval, deal with the gangs of Cite Soleil. He acknowledged that he got off to an unfortunate start with his AP interview in which he called for Francophone judges to assist Haitians in revamping their judicial system. Noting that his comments managed to unite all sides of Haiti's political divide, he said that he still believes that the judicial system here is so weak that it will never be able to address the backlog of cases alone. Mullet drives by graffiti and a roadside banner calling for his removal each day: it is, he wryly says, "not the best way to start off." Security is Job 1 -------------- ¶3. (C) Mullet said that MINUSTAH is prepared to take "decisive action" against the gangs when/if President Preval gives the go-ahead. The Brazilian forces have begun, he said, to make their mark in Cite Soleil. Brazilian soldiers at Checkpoint 16 have gotten out of their APCs and are patrolling the neighborhood. They are �A;allowing local residents to use their clinic for minor medical procedures and are attempting to connect with the community. Mullet has been to the slum a couple of times, as has his deputy. He will continue to do so on a weekly basis to get people used to seeing him there. ¶4. (S) That being said, the threat of violence remains very real in Cite Soleil. Mullet reports that an unknown quantity of automatic weapons were smuggled into the area two weeks ago. He claims that MINUSTAH has photos (source unknown) of a small boat unloading weapons at a jetty in the Cite Soleil area. (Note: This information has not been corroborated by other sources. End note.) It is, he believes, the first time such weapons have been brought into the area and one of the few instances MINUSTAH has documented movements by sea. Mullet believes that gangs are increasingly using the unpoliced waters around Cite Soleil to move in and out of the slum at will. According to his information, kidnappers moved the Canadian missionary hostage from up country to Cite Soleil in the same way. MINUSTAH is looking at ways to beef up the Haitian Coast Guard, he noted, but this is a long term effort. In the meantime, the Brazilians have redeployed a post at the end of the Cite Soleil jetty to attempt to stop illicit traffic. ¶5. (C) Weapons remain MINUSTAH's primary preoccupation in this uncertain environment. Mullet said that his troops took a great deal of political flak when they stopped a Parliamentary deputy last week to search his car. The individual, who was not carrying any official ID, had a "back seat full of arms," according to the SRSG. The deputy claimed they were "for personal use" and MINUSTAH was forced to let him go because of parlimentary immunity. Mullet has asked Prime Minister Alexis to look at the issue of weapons and parliamentarians, as well as how IDs are issued in both the Upper and Lower House. In the end, he notes, the process may be stymied because so many of the newly elected parlimentarians have dubious, if not outright illegal, connections. ¶6. (C) Mullet and I shared our concerns about the recent upsurge in kidnappings. He speculates that they are aimed at embarrassing Preval in his first months in office, particularly in the wake of his decision to re-nominate Mario Andresol as HNP DG. Mullet is, like us, skeptical that the gangs involved in the kidnappings have direct ties to Aristide, but agrees that they are worrying nonetheless. Despite his high opinion of Andresol, Mullet believes that the kidnapping rate is higher than the HNP has acknowledged. Mullet reports that an UNPOL official found a notebook in a senior officer's desk at HNP headquarters which indicates that the police have been hiding the extent of the kidnapping phenomenon over the past couple of months. He is unable to assess whether the information in the notebook is valid or not. Impressed by Alexis.. -------------- ¶7. (C) Mullet, who had just returned from a call on Jacques Edouard Alexis during which the weapons issue was discussed, is clearly taken by the new Prime Minister. He finds Alexis "decisive, determined and a man with a vision." Mullet believes that Alexis is very much in charge of the government and will stake out a positive position. He expects broad UN support on the government's social appeasement program and solving other difficult issues. One, Mullet reported, arose early: the Aristide militants calling for their jobs back. Alexis asked for dols 1.5 million to "pay them off." According to the Prime Minister, those FL militants removed from jobs in the wake of Aristide's departure could disrupt the government's national reconciliation efforts with demonstrations over the next three months if not placated with funds. Alexis told Mullet he would be asking other donors as well for assistance to solve what he termed "a social problem." ..Less enthralled with Preval -------------- ¶8. (C ) Mullet contrasted Alexis's decisiveness with Preval's apparent lack of engagement on key issues. He said that he is concerned that Preval won't -- or can't -- make a decision on the need to address the security situation in Cite Soleil once and for all. (Note: Mullet himself deflected discussion on what we believe will be central to any decisive MINUSTAH action against the gangs- concerns in Brasilia about the optics of such a course. End note.) Like many of us, Mullet expressed great frustration in dealing with Preval's disorganized inner circle, saying that he could often not get in to see the President until long after he needed to because of the Preval team's lack of responsiveness and poor preparation. Worried about Slippage in Member Support for MINUSTAH -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Looking beyond the immediate future, Mullet expressed concern that contributors to MINUSTAH may begin to drift away as international interest turns elsewhere. He welcomed Bolivia and Paraguay into MINUSTAH, but fretted that Argentina might reduce its troop level. Although Chilean President Bachelet expressed strong support for MINUSTAH during her visit here last month, Mullet said, she also discussed the redeployment of the large Chilean air force helicopters stationed here. She promised to replace them with smaller craft, but he is concerned that they will not materialize. He also noted that UNPOL replacements are slower and slower to arrive and in some cases, vacant positions have yet to be filled. That aside, Mullet expects no problem with the MINUSTAH mandate renewal. Visit of SYG -------------- ¶10. (C) Mullet told me that SYG Kofi Annan will visit Port au Prince on July 26, the day after the Haitians host the Donors' conference. In addition to senior level meetings, Annan will visit MINUSTAH troops throughout the country in an effort to demonstrate the importance of their continued presence here. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) Mullet is strongly committed to making MINUSTAH work in Haiti. He has visited all ten departments and all major MINUSTAH troop deployments in his month on the ground and despite the unfortunate interview calling for foreign judges -- anathema in this nationalistic environment -- has gotten off to a generally positive start in Port au Prince. However, in his desire to get something done in Cite Soleil, Mullet may well have overestimated the desire of MINUSTAH's troop contributors to get into the fray -- and Preval's intention to authorize such a step. Mullet is well disposed to working closely with us and has proven to be very willing to exchange information and compare impressions. SANDERSON