GOH DISMISSES DISARMAMENT STUNT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 001588 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR DRL S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2011 TAGS: PGOV MOPS MARR ASEC KCRM HA SUBJECT: GOH DISMISSES DISARMAMENT STUNT REF: A. PAUP 1481 ¶B. PAUP 1543 Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) President Preval reportedly rebuffed on August 14 an offer by Cite Soleil gang leader William Baptiste, aka "Ti Blanc" to participate in a disarmament ceremony, after a series of meetings with gang leaders over the previous weeks failed to produce a result. (Note: Preval's frustration with gang-leaders' obstinacy reportedly spurred him to make his "surrender your arms or die" comment on August 9 (ref A), though he attempted to organize at least one more meeting with gang leaders after that date. End Note.) Prime Minister Alexis dismissed as "a stunt," in a conversation with the Ambassador on August 17, Ti Blanc's subsequent announcement that gang-leaders would go forward with a disarmament ceremony on Saturday, August 19, since the GoH had made clear that any hand-over of weapons should be made to the Haitian Police or MINUSTAH. The PM was convinced that gang leaders had no intention of turning over any significant weapons. Ti Blanc ultimately announced the supposed cancellation of the event due to MINUSTAH attacks on the participants. ¶2. (C) Comment. Haitian and MINUSTAH observers following the developments in the GoH's "dialogue" with the gangs judge that Ti Blanc's announcement of a disarmament ceremony is part of an ongoing effort to position himself as a political figure worthy of dealing with the president and the prime minister, an effort that Preval and Alexis have rejected as delusional. Most of these observers doubt that Ti Blanc would have attempted to stage a ceremony, even if only as a media event designed to embarrass the government. In any event, Ti Blanc was able to use ongoing MINUSTAH patrols in the area as the excuse to cancel the event. Those patrols, carried out principally by Brazilian troops, have been constant over the past three weeks, and MINUSTAH insists these troops have only fired when fired upon. ¶3. Comment continued. Most of the Haitian public also treated Ti Blanc's announcement and subsequent cancellation of his event with skepticism; in part because of the source and in part because Ti Blanc made his statements to avowedly pro-Lavalas media outlets. Nevertheless, GoH silence since Preval's August 9 statement on either aspect of the "carrot or stick" policy has many wondering how the GoH will proceed. Under Preval's instructions, MINUSTAH forces continue to tighten their grip around Cite Soleil, but await further instructions on moving directly into the area. The Prime Minister has indicated that he wants to move forward with the revamped Disarmament program (ref B) aimed at mid- and lower-level gang members by mid-September, but the GoH has done no further work to identify eligible participants or otherwise publicize the terms of the program. TIGHE