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