CITE SOLEIL INDICATORS POSITIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000642 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCRM ASEC PREL KPKO MOPS HA SUBJECT: CITE SOLEIL INDICATORS POSITIVE REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 389 ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 523 PORT AU PR 00000642 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) This message is senstive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Cite Soleil has turned a corner and the citizens, the GoH, and the international community are all poised to attempt to bring normalcy to the embattled slum. MINUSTAH is renting a facility on the edge of the slum and relocating pertinent elements of their mission to the new location. GoH and international community plans for development work are moving forward. MINUSTAH continues to control the area militarily and Haitian National Police (HNP) are slowly being integrated into their operations. More and more gang members are giving up weapons to the GoH's disarmament program, and local government and community leaders are enthusiastic about the prospects for the future. Despite the numerous positive indicators, the GoH is struggling to deliver on promises it has made to bring services to Cite Soleil, and HNP are not prepared to fill a permanent policing role in the area. Continued energy and coordination among the various actors investing time and money in Cite Soleil are essential to keeping the momentum moving in a positive direction. End Summary. MINUSTAH Opens Up Shop - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) The Brazilian battalion (BraBat),on behalf of MINUSTAH, has rented a warehouse named ''Tebo'' on Route National 1 bordering the ''Boston'' neighborhood of Cite Soleil, and the battalion will now use this as their main Cite Soleil base. BraBat will pull out of some of their current strongpoints so that those buildings, several of which are schools, can be converted back to their intended purposes. All substantive sections of MINUSTAH have also been invited to use the Tebo building, including UNPOL, civil affairs, human rights, humanitarian, and disarmament (DDR). Civil affairs will use the building as a meeting place to bring together local officials and other key players. The HNP has also been invited to move into Tebo. Although they have not officially responded to the invitation, it looks likely that they will take MINUSTAH up on the offer, according to Jean-Philippe Laberge (strictly protect), MINUSTAH's civil affairs coordinator for the West Department. The likely HNP inhabitants would be 30 police officers who are currently based approximately one mile away in Cazeau, behind the Port-au-Prince airport. Bringing together all sections of MINUSTAH along with the HNP in one central location is the same model MINUSTAH successfully employed to increase their presence in Martissant (ref A). Development Projects Begin - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (U) MINUSTAH is set to begin rehabilitating a sub-commissariat located along the edge of Cite Soleil on Route National 1, down the street from the Tebo warehouse. According to chief of civil affairs Jay Carter on March 29, the funds are ready to go and construction could begin ''very soon.'' Civil affairs' FY2006 budget for the entire country was USD 2 million for ''quick impact projects.'' The approximately USD 25,000 they are spending on the sub-commissariat is the last of these funds, and funds have not yet been allocated for FY2007. MINUSTAH envisions that with the help of USG's Haiti Stabilization Initiative (HSI) funds, the Boulos Market at Strongpoint 16 can be made into a strong city center with a full commissariat. One problem with planning for the Cite Soleil police stations is that the population of Cite Soleil is unknown, with estimates ranging from 150,000 to 600,000. A 2003 census show the population within the boundaries of the commune as 146,000. Many have fled the neighborhood in recent years because of the extreme violence, and MINUSTAH Political Affairs officers theorized that as the security situation improves residents will return and the population will increase. Police Presence Slowly Rising PORT AU PR 00000642 002.2 OF 003 - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) MINUSTAH's Brazilian battalion patrols 24 hours a day in Cite Soleil in armored vehicles with four to eight troops. They report almost daily arrests. Since late March, HNP UDMO (crowd-control) has been joining them for one morning patrol seven days a week. UDMO recently handed off patrols in neighboring Cite Militaire to regular HNP after they deemed it calm enough. More Weapons Surrendered - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) There has been a major upsurge in the number of weapons being submitted to the DDR program. Gang members, including partisans of Belony, Amaral and Evans, are submitting weapons by the dozens and ammunition rounds by the thousands. Laberge speculated that the gangs are more willing to surrender arms because they are afraid of being arrested. One of the gangsters in Cite Soleil that MINUSTAH was most concerned about, Nazon aka Blade (ref B) gave up weapons to the DDR and they no longer see him as attempting to fill the void left by Evans, Amaral and Belony. In radio statements, National Commission for Disarmament (CNDDR) president Alix Fils-Aime stated ''We can say that we are now in possession of a majority of the gang leaders' weapons that had helped them control their territory,'' and ''It is no longer possible for the armed groups to control any area or hold any area hostage.'' GoH Offers Help, but Struggles to Deliver - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) The GoH talks a lot about thegood ntentions they have for Cite Soleil. Howevr, they are having trouble delivering on their pomises, according to Laberge. The GoH's enthusism and drive are apparent at the highest levels,but at the mid-level workers are dragging their fet and are difficult to wor with. MINUSTAH and the GoH are forming joint teams to coordinate activities and lay down substantive plans that they can present in unison. Laberge reports that the Prime Minister wants to make a big announcement as early as the week after Easter launching GoH efforts in Cite Soleil and underscoring GoH dedication to the area. Local Government Wants a Role - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (U) The newly-elected deputy from Cite Soleil, Salibar Jean (Fusion),outlined for Poloff the most pressing needs in his district. (Note: Deputy Jean was elected in the December 3, 2006 elections and took office in early 2007. This is his first elected office. End Note.) The deputy expressed enthusiastic support for all of the ideas put forth for HSI, and also added a few ideas of his own. One of the keys to success in Cite Soleil, according to Deputy Jean, is to include local elected officials in the planning process, including himself, the mayor, the communal assemblies and councils (ASECs and CASECs),and the town delegates. He noted that the newly-elected officials need to be trained on their job functions. He also stated that the elected officials would like to form their own ''task force'' to address the commune's complex problems. (Note: The GoH and MINUSTAH are already including the mayors in their planning sessions for Cite Soleil, and the public diplomacy portion of HSI may include media training or other workshops for all local elected officials. End Note.) The deputy pointed out the importance of a strong government presence in Cite Soleil, to include high visibility of GoH officials so that citizens know that their government is helping them. His other suggestions included seminars to teach the importance of sanitation and cleanliness, teamwork and peaceful conflict resolution. Community Leaders Active in Debate - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (U) A group of community leaders from Cite Soleil, PORT AU PR 00000642 003.2 OF 003 including the losing candidate for deputy in the December 3 elections, Webster Maurice, gathered together on March 22 and explained to Poloff their opinions on the major roadblocks to progress. The dearth of education and the general lack of any authority in the lives of the children of Cite Soleil are hampering the future of the neighborhood. Children are not raised to respect authority and are given little or no direction from their parents. In fact, it is often the children who are expected to be the breadwinner in the family, which often leads them to resort to crime as a source of income. The solution, according to the leaders, is to bring both traditional and vocational education to Cite Soleil. (Note: MINUSTAH officials say they frequently get requests to build a vocational school. End Note.) Along with schooling, someone needs to address psychological problems in children ages 10 to 12, before they become so set in their criminal ways that their mindset can no longer be changed. The leaders also lamented that cultural centers no longer exist in Cite Soleil, and pointed to the revamping of these centers as a way to give children alternate activities, such as arts and crafts, music and reading. The group pointed to the need for a radio campaign to inform citizens of their rights, which they do not understand. Another proposal was the creation of a center for rape victims. ¶10. (SBU) Comment: The keys to maintaining the positive momentum in Cite Soleil are enthusiasm and coordination. Although everyone/everyone has ideas about the best way to ''fix'' Cite Soleil, very few of these people actually have any funding to follow through on their plans. Both the GoH and MINUSTAH are enthusiastically planning ways to spend the Haiti Stabilization Initiative's USD 20 million. The community will no doubt continue to struggle with crime and poverty for many years. However, Cite Soleil is ripe for change and as long as there is follow-through, the future may indeed bring much needed services to the slum. TIGHE