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