HAITIAN PERMREP ANTICIPATES "SERIOUS PROBLEMS"

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 002220 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO CH TW HA SUBJECT: HAITIAN PERMREP ANTICIPATES "SERIOUS PROBLEMS" WITH CHINA ON MINUSTAH MANDATE RENEWAL REF: A. TAIPEI 2784 (NOTAL) ¶B. PORT-AU-PRINCE 2247 ¶C. 1997 USUN 96 (NOTAL) ¶D. 1999 USUN 489 (NOTAL) ¶1. (SBU) USUN Senior WHA Area Advisor Ambassador Godard and poloff (notetaker) approached Haitian PermRep to the UN Leo Merores on December 4 to discuss China's stance on the renewal of the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in February 2007, given Haiti's support for two Taiwan-related UNGA resolutions in September 2006 (ref A) and China's subsequent complaints in Port-au-Prince about Haiti's behavior at the UN (ref B). Recalling China's veto of a UN peacekeeping operation in Guatemala in 1997 (ref C) because of an official visit by the Taiwanese Foreign Minister as well as China's veto of a UNSC mission in Macedonia in 1999 (ref D) due to that country's relationship with Taiwan, Ambassador Godard expressed concern about reports that the GOH Minister of Health might soon visit Taiwan. The USG attaches great importance to MINUSTAH's support for Haiti's reconstruction, Ambassador Godard observed, and wants to ensure that the Security Council can act to extend the mission's mandate when it comes up for review in February 2007. ¶2. (SBU) Noting that he had warned his government all along of China's possible reaction to Haiti's support for Taiwan based on the Guatemalan and Macedonian precedents, Merores glumly said he "anticipated the worst" reaction from China during discussions on MINUSTAH's mandate. Chinese diplomats in New York had said they would "see him in February" after Haiti supported Taiwan during the UNGA debate, Merores reported. He added that the French Mission in New York had recently called him to express concern about the Taiwan situation. Agreeing that a trip by the Haitian Health Minister to Taiwan now would be counter-productive, he said that several GOH officials were trying to "chase the minister down" to dissuade him from traveling, but that he was not yet sure whether a trip had taken place. Merores told Ambassador Godard he had called PM Alexis the weekend of December 2-3 to convey his concerns about the Taiwan issue and expressed hope that GOH Finance Minister Dorsanvil's recent visit to China may have helped improve the bilateral relationship. He also said he planned to raise the Taiwan issue with Haitian Foreign Minister Clerisme during the minister's private trip to New York December 9-10 and urge that Clerisme meet with the Chinese Mission to the UN while in New York. ¶3. (SBU) Asked about his strategy to deal with the issue in the coming weeks, Merores said he had heard that Chinese representatives might demand an "apology" from Haiti for its actions during the UNGA debate. Such an apology had already been deemed unacceptable by the GOH, Merores maintained, but a "clarification" of Haiti's position might be possible. However, noting China's past concerns about Haiti's relationship with Taiwan -- including an April 2005 reception for a visiting UNSC delegation in Port-au-Prince to which both the Taiwanese and PRC representatives were invited, a trip that Merores himself took to Taiwan, and Haiti's support for observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization -- he admitted that this issue now constituted a "serious problem" which would not be easily resolved. BOLTON