MINUSTAH CONFIDENT IN ABILITY TO KEEP PEACE IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001235 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC MARR MOPS KCRM HA KPKO SUBJECT: MINUSTAH CONFIDENT IN ABILITY TO KEEP PEACE IN CITE SOLEIL REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 1173 ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 642 PORT AU PR 00001235 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Cite Soleil is calm for the moment, but MINUSTAH troops emphasize the need for Haitian National Police (HNP) presence to control persistent crime. MINUSTAH is conducting more foot patrols than ever and including HNP officers in more of those patrols. The approximately 40 HNP officers assigned to Cite Soleil are temporarily stationed in a neighboring area and do not enter Cite Soleil, with the exception of two officers posted at a MINUSTAH strong point in the heart of Cite Soleil. MINUSTAH has increased patrols in the areas of NGO projects and will continue to protect those sites. However, MINUSTAH plans to refurbish a local sub-commissariat are stalled. A new concern is that local government officials have taken security into their own hands, hiring private militias to accompany them around town. HNP has thus far been able to justify their limited presence in Cite Soleil, but the underlying problem may be that the neighborhood is not one of their pressing priorities. End summary. ¶3. (U) Poloff on July 12 attended the weekly Cite Soleil security coordination meeting at Strong Point 16 (SP16). This group meets weekly to confer on security and to lay out daily HNP and MINUSTAH patrol routes through Cite Soleil. MINUSTAH Civil Affairs coordinator for red zones Jean-Philippe Laberge chaired the meeting. Other attendees included two Canadian UNPol, HNP Western Department Director (DDO) Stanley Jean Brice, and approximately 15 members of the Brazilian battalion (BraBat) permanently posted in Cite Soleil, including battalion commander Colonel Sales. Members of POL, INL, HSI and RSO sections represented post. Police Patrols Stepped Up -------------- ¶4. (SBU) BraBat officer Major Bolfoni announced that a new joint patrol schedule started on July 12, with regular HNP officers patrolling with UNPol and BraBat from 0800 to 2200 everyday. He characterized the situation as ''very calm,'' and reported a small number of arrests. UNPol director for the west department Daniel Allard (Canada) said that in early June HNP UDMO (riot police) began patrolling with BraBat from 0600 to 1800, and two regular HNP began staffing SP16 during the daytime hours. DDO Brice stated that in sum four HNP officers and 10 UDMO patrol with MINUSTAH. UN security reported that the population of Cite Soleil has been welcoming of the HNP and cooperative with the soldiers patrolling on foot. ¶5. (SBU) Allard stated that there are 40 HNP officers assigned to Cite Soleil who remain ''in exile'' in nearby Cazeau because they have no commissariat, no vehicles and no protective equipment. DDO Brice said that these officers would not deploy to Cite Soleil until they received body armor. More Police Needed -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Laberge characterized the security situation as transforming from a military operation to confront gang members who openly carried illegal weapons to a policing phase which is less suited to BraBat's military capabilities. Remaining gang members now carry legal weapons (machetes) and run extortion rackets, a crime which requires police investigation. Laberge said that BraBat makes arrests overnight when there is no police presence, which makes it difficult to build a case against criminals because there is no investigator to collect evidence and follow up with witnesses. Many criminals, therefore, go free. He emphasized that BraBat's job is to pacify the area, not to carry out police investigations. PORT AU PR 00001235 002.2 OF 002 Improved Protection for NGO Projects -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Laberge transmitted to BraBat a word of thanks from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for recent increased foot patrols near IOM project sites in Soleil 7, 9 and 11. Laberge said that BraBat is responding to specific complaints from NGOs of security incidents (ref A). He also agreed to work with BraBat and HNP on a plan to protect the tribunal on National Route 1 and the National School, which were both recently refurbished by IOM. MINUSTAH Projects Shelved -------------- ¶8. (U) Laberge said that the Tebo warehouse on National Route 1 bordering Cite Soleil, once intended to house many branches of MINUSTAH as well as HNP (ref B),will now be exclusively a military base for BraBat. HNP rejected MINUSTAH's offer to occupy part of Tebo, stating that they would rather wait until they can work from a commissariat inside Cite Soleil. ¶9. (SBU) MINUSTAH Civil Affairs has not progressed with the planned refurbishment of a sub-commissariat on National Route 1 because HNP director general Mario Andresol would not sign an agreement on the project, saying that the station only holds seven officers and is therefore too small to have any impact. Civil Affairs still has USD 25,000 set aside for the project, but has no plans to move forward. Mayor Forms Private Militia -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Laberge gave an update on a recent tension between MINUSTAH and the mayor of Cite Soleil, Louis Wilson, who has formed his own municipal security force, which Laberge referred to as a ''militia,'' that was escorting the mayor carrying rifles and shotguns. At MINUSTAH's request, Wilson agreed to dismiss the guards and instead ask HNP for protection, but DDO Brice said he had not been asked to provide any protection to the mayor. BraBat reported that as of July 11 the mayor no longer had gun-carrying men accompanying him through town, and that they would continue to be on the lookout for this problem. (Post will report septel on the phenomenon of municipal security forces in Haiti.) ¶11. (SBU) Comment: HNP leadership offers an understandable rationale for not moving into Cite Soleil. The underlying problem, however, might be a divergence between DG Andresol's priorities and our own. At a time when HNP resources are being pulled in many different directions, Cite Soleil does not represent a major source of instability that threatens the wider Port-au-Prince population. On the other hand, Cite Soleil is important to the international community because of our intensifying development projects in the area, and because peace in Cite Soleil remains a symbolic achievement for Haiti. Establishing HNP presence is the key element in smoothing the transition between military operations and government control. The HNP will likely have added pressure from President Preval, who has told Ambassador he wants a strong police presence in Cite Soleil. In the interim, judging from post's regular visits to Cite Soleil, the atmosphere is indeed calm. In carrying out our assistance programs, we are confident in BraBat's ability to maintain peace and respond quickly to reports of security incidents. SANDERSON