HAITI: FORMER PM YVON NEPTUNE SIGNALS WILLINGNESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000479

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: 03/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HA
SUBJECT: HAITI: FORMER PM YVON NEPTUNE SIGNALS WILLINGNESS
TO ACCEPT RELEASE DEAL, IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Classified By: CDA Douglas Griffiths, REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune appears
ready to negotiate a humanitarian release with the IGOH,
after months of numerous attempts by emboffs and other
representatives of the international community. During a
visit by poloff on March 9, Neptune enumerated three
conditions for considering any release agreement: a firm
commitment (preferably not in writing) that Preval government
would drop the legal charges against him; acknowledgment from
the IGOH of wrongs perpetrated against him; and financial
means to assist him to recuperate personal property lost
after February 29, 2004. He adamantly refused a transitional
hospital transfer (referring to the UN Argentinean hospital)
but requested a complete medical check-up upon release.
Neptune expressed his wish to return to Long Island, New York
where he and his wife own a house, but rejected any deal with
stipulations on his return to Haiti. He expressed great
concern for his safety in the U.S. because of his cooperation
with the DEA that led to the arrests and extraditions of
Haitian drug kingpins Jean Eliobert and Jacques Ketant. Both
President Boniface Alexandre and President-elect Preval have
indicated to Charge Griffiths their hope to resolve Neptune's
case before Preval assumes office. If the two sides are able
to reach agreement, and Neptune continues to cooperate, his
release would provide huge political equity to the Preval
government. End Summary.


2. (C) President-elect Preval told Charge that he
specifically asked Prime Minister Latortue to free Neptune
during conversations in late February (NOTE: Charge has been
advocating to both sides to resolve the Neptune issue before
Preval takes office. END NOTE). Neptune wrote a letter to
Preval chronicling his ordeal and explaining his position
regarding his release and Preval has spoken publicly about
Neptune,s case and . Preval and his team told Charge that
they would work on a solution. As for the IGOH, President
Alexandre maintained that he would not be able to employ any
legal solution to the problem, including a pardon, until
Neptune,s case goes to trial and there is a formal
conviction. Alexandre recommended pursuit of a similar path
employed in Father Jean-Juste's release, specifically
Neptune,s legal team requesting a humanitarian release for
medical treatment abroad. Neptune dismissed his legal team
in 2004 and has not had legal representation since.


3. (C) Despite his continued hunger strike, Neptune appeared
energetic and in good health during a visit by poloff on
March 9. He spoke frankly and offered admiration and kudos
to poloff on her actions to secure Father Jean-Juste's
release in January, saying, "I didn't think the interim
government would have allowed it to happen!" For the first
time in months, Neptune signaled his willingness to
participate in negotiations on his release (the last time the
he participated in a plan brokered by SRSG Valdes and Charge
in March 2005, he backed out at the last minute and refused
to leave the country). He told poloff that Preval's
government should not inherit the burdens of the IGOH and
seemed genuinely willing to cooperate, but insisted that he
would not formalize anything in writing, neither for his
release nor his requests.


4. (C) The former PM outlined his requests of both Preval,s
government and the IGOH to confirm before agreeing to a
release deal: a firm commitment (preferably not in writing)
that the legal charges against him would be dropped by Preval
government after departing Haiti; a formal acknowledgment
from the IGOH of wrongs perpetrated against him; and
financial means to assist him to recuperate personal property
losses he endured after February 29, 2004.


5. (C) Neptune spent a great deal of time emphasizing the
last point, claiming that he had begun to rebuild his life
after President Aristide left Haiti but since his arrest and
imprisonment, he lost most of his resources and personal
effects. Hard-pressed to assign a monetary value to his

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losses, he said that at the time of his imprisonment, he had
$30 USD in his personal bank account. Neptune demurred on
the suggestion of monetary compensation from the IGOH, saying
that he didn't want the Haitian people to pay for the faults
of the interim government. He was adamant in his refusal to
accept a transfer to the UN Argentinean hospital but
requested a complete medical check-up upon release,
acknowledging that his prolonged hunger strike had probably
caused irreparable damage to his internal organs.


6. (C) Neptune lamented that he would not have a place to
live in Haiti if he were released because his cousin's house
in Thomassin, where he stayed in early 2004, had been
destroyed. Neptune expressed his wish to return to Long
Island, New York where he and his wife own a house, but also
rejected any deal with stipulations on his return to Haiti.
He wondered about his extended period outside the U.S. and
the consequences for his permanent resident status.


7. (C) Neptune expressed great concern for his safety in the
U.S. based on his cooperation with the DEA country office in
Haiti. He said that he agreed to cooperate with
investigations and subsequent indictments and extraditions of
reputed Haitian drug traffickers Jean Eliobert and Jacques
Ketant because refused to be a party to the exploitation and
corruption in Haiti at that time. He offered DEA agents
direct access to a member of his cabinet, without President
Aristide's knowledge and felt that his life could be in
jeopardy, especially in the U.S., because of his actions.
Poloff promised to raise the concerns, but offered no
promises on security or his other demands.


8. (C) Comment: Neptune appears to have come to his senses
and his signal to cooperate offers cause for hope that his
case could be resolved soon. Coupled with Father
Jean-Juste's release in January, the success of the elections
and the imminent arrival of Preval,s government, Neptune
probably views this as the most opportune moment to
negotiate. We work aggressively with the IGOH, the UN, and
Preval's team to get Neptune out of prison before the
late-April inauguration. End Comment.
GRIFFITHS