FOREIGN MINISTER GIVES MIXED SIGNALS ON RETURN OF

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000819 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 USOAD\S E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KHLS SMIG HA SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER GIVES MIXED SIGNALS ON RETURN OF DEPORTEES ¶1. Summary: Foreign Minister Herard Abraham agrees that Haitian criminal deportees must return to Haiti but asked for more time to develop a process for their reintegration into Haitian society. Without such a system, Haiti would be vulnerable to increased crime. Abraham acknowledged that the Ambassador had twice urged the Prime Minister to resume criminal deportations. However, he proposed that Haitian officials again visit the United States before resuming deportations. We hope that the engagement of Minister Abraham signals a new seriousness on the part of the IGOH to move forward. End Summary. ¶2. The Ambassador and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Herard Abraham met on April 28 to discuss the resumption of criminal deportee repatriation following a bilaterally agreed moratorium in June 2005. Abraham stated that the IGOH did not want to leave this issue to the incoming GOH. However, finding an appropriate system to reintegrate the deportees into Haitian society remained difficult and was the key issue in resuming the program. ¶3. Abraham complained that the GOH would be forced to release the deportees onto the street without a transition period or would have to incarcerate them. He believed the first option would lead to further instability while the latter option implicated human rights concerns. The Ambassador acknowledged Abraham's concerns but stressed Haiti's legal obligations to accept the return of its citizens. She explained that the USG was statutorily prohibited from working with prisons, prisoners, and deportees and could not offer assistance with a center for transition. A previous USG offer to fund a welcome center went unanswered. He asked if the USG was serious about applying visa sanctions on Haitian officials if there was no movement on the matter. The Ambassador noted that US law made provisions for such sanctions and we hoped that we would not get to that point. But, she stressed that it serves to underscore the seriousness with which the USG takes the matter. ¶4. Abraham did not dispute that these were Haitian citizens that must be allowed to return. He, nevertheless, did not want the resumption of criminal deportee repatriation until the GOH could establish a center for reintegration because, in his view, a welcome center at the airport was not sufficient to prevent the deportees from engaging in criminal activity. ¶5. The Ambassador pressed Abraham for an initiation date for the repatriation of the deportees. The Minister resisted giving a date but agreed to send a technical team to the U.S. to discuss logistics. The Ambassador agreed that a working group would be a small step in the right direction but warned that such a commission would be temporary in nature and must lead immediately to resumption of repatriation. ¶6. Comment: Emboffs have gone through the points raised by the Haitians several times with various IGOH officials, most recently with Interior Minister Magloire, and post has been forthcoming in accommodating their concerns regarding the stability in advance of the elections and logistical cooperation to ensure smooth deportation. We hope that the Ambassador's delivery of the most recent demarche (reftel) to the Prime Minister has spurred the IGOH to get serious in moving forward. End Comment. SANDERSON