GOH "MISSING IN ACTION" IN HINCHE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001532 SIPDIS 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: DECL: 04/13/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HA SUBJECT: GOH "MISSING IN ACTION" IN HINCHE PORT AU PR 00001532 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JANET A. SANDERSON, REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D). Summary - - - - - - - - - - ¶1. (C) GoH neglect of the Center Department and its capital city, Hinche, emerged as the major theme during an August 28-31 poloff visit to Hinche. The government-owned electric company (EdH) has provided no electricity to Hinche in over a month. The government-owned telephone company (Teleco) is operationally non-existent in Hinche; private cellular phone companies provide the only functioning service. There are no customs officials or police at the porous border with the Dominican Republic. The Haitian National Police (HNP) is understaffed and poorly equipped. Local residents have taken it upon themselves to alleviate the abominable conditions in the local prison. Local officials and residents in many ways had given up on the central government, hoping only that the GoH would provide the funds due to the region and give local residents the wherewithal to provide their own public services. Residents still look to the central government to improve electricity generation, expand road construction and police the border. The overwhelming majority of the interlocutors expressed support for reconstituting a national army for border security. Where the central government has failed, NGOs, citizens, initiative and MINUSTAH are stepping in, but are filling the gaps only partially. End of summary. GoH Neglects Services - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (C) Poloff met with residents of Hinche during his visit to their city, one of the two large cities in the Center Department of Haiti. Hinche Mayor Andre Renard on August 28 told poloff that Electricite d' Haiti (EdH) had not supplied any electricity to Hinche in over a month because of a lack of fuel to power the generators. When EdH previously had fuel, it had supplied about four hours of electricity intermittently at night. All interlocutors, including one EdH employee, confirmed the lack of electricity. The mayor's office, prosecutor and tribunal offices, tax office and prison all lacked generators; therefore the interviews were conducted in unpowered facilities. MINUSTAH generators provided electricity to the Haitian National Police (HNP) and to the GoH representative offices. Bishop Louis Kebreau (Catholic Bishop of Hinche),PANDIASOU (an agricultural/peasant NGO),and Gladys Dampaix Metellus (a women's group leader and businesswoman) had their own generators. Richard Joseph, the director of the education office for the Hinche diocese, had electricity courtesy of an auto-repair shop across the road that had a generator. ¶3. (C) The Teleco (the government-owned telephone company) line in the mayor's office has not worked in over a year. Even though Joseph's Teleco line has not worked in four years, Kebreau had a working Teleco line. (Note: Kebreau appeared to be the only person that poloff met that actually had a working Teleco line. Everyone else used cell phones for telecommunication. End note.) GoH Neglects Law Enforcement and Corrections - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (C) Hinche Mayor Renard, Emilio Castaneda (MINUSTAH regional bureau chief for the Center Department),Jean Rene Michel (the government prosecutor),Philippe Charles (director general for the tax collection authority),and Jean Edwide Robert (Principal Commissioner of the HNP for the Center Department) all claim that smuggling (contraband, drugs and arms) is rife at the border due to the lack of customs officials or police along the border. Due to the lack of border security, Castaneda emphasized that MINUSTAH wants o include border control in its mandate renewal. Mayor Renard and Charles opined that the GoH and th Center Department are forfeiting significant cutoms revenue. ¶5. (C) Renard, Castaneda, Rober, and Fleurant LNU (rio officer assigned to proect Bishop Kebreau) confirm that the HNP does nothave control of the Center Department, rather, MNUSTAH, former members of the army (Forces Armees 'Haiti, PORT AU PR 00001532 002.2 OF 002 or FAdH) and vigilantes are primarily responsible for maintaining some semblance of law and order. (Note: Ex-FAdH members are known to engage in criminal activity as well. End note.) The 149-member HNP force (covering a department population of 565,000 spread over 3,675 square kilometers -- which is a little bigger than Rhode Island at 3,144 square kilometers) has one working vehicle, which belongs to the Principal Commissioner, and 17 motorcycles. The HNP needs MINUSTAH's support to make most arrests. ¶6. (C) The HNP in Hinche kept detainees in two 8ft by 8ft shacks separate from the station. The shacks lack electricity, running water and latrines. Minors are held at the prison in Hinche, which consists of three rooms: the first and smallest room houses five women prisoners, the second 20ft by 20ft room houses 40 male inmates including a number of minors, while the third 20ft by 40ft room houses 83 adult male inmates. The prison cells have no electricity, running water or latrines. Male inmates take turns sleeping on mattresses, some of which Kebreau had supplied. The Citizens' Initiative of Hinche (CIH),built with MINUSTAH funding, operates a new cooking facility to feed inmates who do not have family or friends to provide their meals. These primitive prison facilities are an improvement over the defunct single-cell prison that used to house all inmates. Where Government Fails, Citizen Initiative Steps In - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (C) Comment. Public institutions in the Center Department are dysfunctional and ineffective. Local public officials admit that they lack both the technical training and support needed to be effective at their jobs. MINUSTAH plays an important role in supplying stopgap technical training and support. Inadequate central government financing of local institutions, exacerbated by lack of electricity and communications, prevents these entities from carrying out their responsibilities. Given the level of GoH neglect, MINUSTAH has become benefactor of last resort, preventing the implosion of local government institutions. ¶8. (C) The residents of Hinche have responded to GoH neglect by turning to NGOs and by becoming increasingly self-reliant. Religious groups predominate in the education sector. The Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP) and PANDIASOU are major resources for agricultural technical aid in the Hinche area. Hinche residents organize municipal trash pick-up and street-cleaning. Residents took the initiative to address deplorable prison conditions. When a water main broke, CIH and MINUSTAH alerted the appropriate authority in Port-au-Prince, which sent a technician to fix the pipe, while local residents actually performed the work. ¶9. (C) Center Department residents, however, do recognize that the GoH has a legitimate role in the department, mainly to handle capital-intensive infrastructure investments such as electricity generation and road building. Nearly all officials and local residents supported re-establishing an army, mostly for border security. Residents view border security as inappropriate work for the HNP. Robert, the Principal Commissioner, agrees. The central government has fallen flat on a smaller scale as well. For example, CIH claimed to have raised $3,700 on its own to contribute towards the costs of a survey to reinforce a bridge, but the GoH has not responded or sent surveyors to help. (Note: Private surveyors cannot work on government-owned land. End of note.) Due to the glaring GoH failures in infrastructure investments and border control, many interlocutors designated the government as MIA, missing in action. End comment. SANDERSON