THE POLITICAL BASIS FOR VIOLENCE IN GONAIVES -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001150

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HA
SUBJECT: THE POLITICAL BASIS FOR VIOLENCE IN GONAIVES -
PART 3 OF 3

REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 1080


B. PORT AU PRINCE 1148

PORT AU PR 00001150 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: AMBASSADOR JANET A. SANDERSON FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)
.


1. (C) Summary. MINUSTAH and Haitian National Police (HNP)
officials joined in the chorus who believe that the basis for
the violence in Gonaives is the political rivalry between
Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis and Senator Youri
Latortue, both of whom are from Gonaives and are positioning
themselves for the next presidential election. Moreover, the
manner in which law enforcement officials contextualize the
violence is cohesive only if one equates President Rene
Preval's Lespwa party with former President Aristide's
Lavalas party. Non-politically affiliated bandits are taking
advantage of the disorder to commit crimes under the cover of
politically motivated criminality. The HNP, by aggressively
pursuing and arresting gang leaders, is trying to send the
message that it, and not the politically connected gangs,
controls the streets of Gonaives. While political tensions
in the rest of the country have eased, residents in Gonaives
still seem overwhelmingly to equate criminal violence with
national politics. Likewise, law enforcement officials do
not expect the political tension to ease with the eradication
of the gangs; however, they do expect the human costs of the
rivalry to abate. End summary.


2. (C) Poloff on May 30-31 conducted nine interviews in
Gonaives, of which two were with politicians, two with law
enforcement and five with civil society. This third cable
reports on the interviews with Amidou Ouedradgo, MINUSTAH's
Chief of Regional Office for the Artibonite, and Ernst
Dorfeuille, the HNP's Deputy Commissaire for Gonaives.


3. (C) MINUSTAH's Ouedradgo believes that two factors
account for the insecurity in Gonaives: ''pure banditry and
the rivalry between Latortue and Alexis''. In addition to
their criminal activities, the politically unaffiliated
bandits were also fighting among themselves for turf.
Regarding the political rivalry between Latortue and Alexis,
he noted that since January 1, 2007, there has been an
incident at every public event featuring a high-level GoH
official; the latest being a crowd throwing stones at Alexis
during Judge Hugues St. Pierre's funeral. The local HNP
under the previous commissaire and the judiciary were
cautious in dealing with the politically connected, heavily
armed gangs, especially with the gang associated with Wilfort
Ferdinand, alias ''Ti Will,'' who was a leader in the ''The
Cannibal Army'' that played an instrumental part in ousting
Aristide.


4. (C) Ouedradgo judges that Latortue is more popular in
the Artibonite region than Alexis. He noted that Latortue,
who comes to Gonaives almost every weekend, is seeking to get
national stature through the senate and his chairing of the
justice and security committee. Ouedradgo noted that
Latortue planned to change the name of his party from ''The
Artibonite in Action'' to ''Haiti in Action,'' and his
advocacy of an army is a direct political bid for the
allegiance of students, many of whom are nationalistic.


5. (C) Ouedradgo claimed that with the changing of its
commissaire in May, the local HNP now received strong
direction from its headquarters in Port-au-Prince, which had
issued 30 arrest warrants for Gonaives gang members. The HNP
in Port-au-Prince, in conjunction with MINUSTAH HQ, sent SWAT
teams to execute the arrest warrants. In the meantime, ARBAT
(the Argentinean Battalion),UNPOL, and Gonaives' HNP patrol
the gang infested Raboteau slum in rotation. Ouedradgo
concluded confidently that the HNP and MINUSTAH will
successfully crack down on the gangs, but the political
tension in Gonaives will remain, albeit without the human
costs of criminality.


6. (SBU) HNP Deputy Commissaire Dorfeuille bluntly stated
that under its new leadership, the Gonaives HNP planned on
being ''myth busters,'' that is, deflating the widely held
assumptions that there were ''untouchables'' in Gonaives and

PORT AU PR 00001150 002.2 OF 002


that there were ''no-go areas'' in Gonaives. In addition,
Dorfeuille noted that the HNP wanted to win the confidence of
the city's inhabitants, who overwhelmingly oppose the gangs.


7. (SBU) Dorfeuille believed that the insecurity in
Gonaives was caused by ''the struggle between Lavalas and its
enemies.'' The HNP's weakness in Gonaives had allowed the
hostility between the two groups to erupt into the open. HNP
Director General Mario Andersol had therefore transferred the
former police commissaire and installed HNP leadership that
he trusted. Dorfeuille acknowledged rumors that the gangs
not only were heavily armed, but were continuing to arm
themselves. He also believed that the gangs were ultimately
planning to attack the HNP, but that the HNP had been able to
respond first.


8. (C) Comment. Foremost among President Preval's
accomplishments has been his ability to calm political
tensions, particularly between former Lavalas and
anti-Lavalas supporters. Gonaives' local tensions, however,
still reflect perceived national tension between these two
tendencies, with Alexis and Latortue representing each side.
While we do not discount that Alexis' political ambitions
contribute to the perception that GoH efforts to rein in
local gang leaders are politically motivated, the fact
remains that government representatives, and the HNP in
particular, represent legitimate state authority.
Remarkably, neither law enforcement official mentioned that
the HNP, by going after the gangs, was simply fulfilling a
standard, well-recognized police function. A sustained,
successful effort by the HNP will hopefully alter perceptions
in Gonaives that ulterior motives lie behind efforts to
impose the rule of law.
SANDERSON