TFHA01: EMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE EARTHQUAKE SITREP as of 1800,

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000106 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA PGOV AID EAID SUBJECT: TFHA01: EMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE EARTHQUAKE SITREP as of 1800, January 29, 2010 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: As a sign of confidence in Haiti's recovery, the Vietnamese phone company Vietel reaffirmed its offer to purchase Teleco, Haiti's national telephone company. The Haitian Chamber of Commerce recommended establishment of a Building and Housing Reconstruction Fund to build low income housing for homeless quake victims. Parliament is organizing quickly in an attempt to gain credibility. PNH is now at 70 percent strength, but it is still not paid because GOH cannot process the checks. Street kids rewarded paratroopers with oranges. VIETEL OFFER TO PURCHASE TELECO IS STILL ON ¶2. (SBU) In a letter sent to Haiti's national telephone company Teleco on January 13, the Vietnamese telephone company Vietel reaffirmed its earlier offer to purchase 70 percent of the company. According to Yves Armand, Deputy Director General of Teleco, the letter stated that Veitel's offer was firm and still standing. Mr. Armand said that Vietel plans to expand the existing 110,000 land lines to 750,000. They also plan to build a cell phone network and exploit Teleco's existing fiber optic cable (for phones, cable TV and Internet). Mr. Armand said that Vietel's record is excellent in South East Asia (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia),and it supports social and charitable programs in every country in which it operates. ¶3. (SBU) Armand requested help from the U.S. military to secure the Teleco site on Avenue Jean-Jacques Dessalines, where the GOH is helping to clear the rubble from its collapsed building. The problem is with pedestrian onlookers, traffic, and looters trying to steal equipment, cables and deep cycle batteries, all of which are slowing down workers. According to Armand, the PNH showed up for one day and have not returned. PRIVATE SECTOR PERSPECTIVES ON BUILDING RECONSTRUCTION ¶4. (SBU) According to the Haitian Chamber of Commerce (CCIH), the earthquake destroyed approximately 25,000 public and commercial buildings. The vast majority of those structures were uninsured or under-insured. The CCIH told us they believe that as part of the disaster response, buildings should be inspected and certified to enable business premises to re-open safely. CCIH member Mireille Merove-Pierre cited the example of the prominent Digicel building in Pacot, which engineers certified as structurally sound and now has many interested tenants. ¶5. (SBU) CCIH President Reginald Boulos suggested that, instead of dispersing aid that will go to many geographic areas and sectors without reaching critical mass and achieving measurable results, the disbursement of aid for building construction, especially to the GOH, should be used to establish a Building and Housing Reconstruction Fund to provide "mass social housing" to the homeless and displaced. PARLIAMENT HOPES TO GAIN CREDIBILITY ¶6. (SBU) Eighteen Senators met on January 28 to elect two commissions, one to monitor aid and the other to manage agreements with aid organizations. Of the 30 seats in the Senate, 29 were filled before the quake. Of those 29, two were killed and one remains hospitalized. ¶7. (SBU) Also on January 29, the Lower Chamber decided to reach out to the Taiwanese Government (whose embassy was destroyed in the earthquake) concerning a previous commitment from Taiwan to fund a new Haitian parliament building. Between 50 and 65 deputies have attended the Lower Chamber's sessions in recent days. Of the 99 members of the Chamber, none were killed though several were injured. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: The Parliament is attempting to re-establish itself quickly by recovering documents from the rubble, holding sessions, organizing payroll, and by a renewed focus on its government watchdog role. The body is also trying to legitimize itself before the public in light of a growing perception that the Executive has been unresponsive to the public's needs after the earthquake. Given the low esteem in which citizens have historically held Parliament, this may be hard to accomplish. End comment. PNH STILL NOT AT FULL STRENGTH, AND STILL NOT PAID ¶9. (SBU) According to PNH leadership, up to 30 percent of policemen have not shown up for work because they or their families were victims of the earthquake or because their homes were damaged or destroyed. The General Directorate of the PNH issued an order directing all policemen to report to work, but many are still unaccounted for. ¶10. (SBU) According to the PNH sources, escaped prisoners are seeking refuge in rural areas or near provincial capitals. They also report that officers and Departmental Directors have not received their pay since January 12, which is the case for most civil servants. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, which disburses the payroll for civil servants, was destroyed in the quake. NAS reported that it offered to pay PNH salaries for January, but the GOH rejected the offer. The GOH said that it had the funds and was still struggling to disburse the checks. KIDS DISTRIBUTE ORANGES TO SOLDIERS, IF THEY BEHAVE ¶11. (SBU) Most Haitians are happy to see the U.S. military presence and are even cheerful they are here. The 82nd Airborne Division, bivouacked in several locations downtown, has assisted in a number of food distribution operations, instructing people what they must do and how to behave in order to receive their rations. Last night at one 82nd camp downtown, a group of children came to the gate with a box of oranges and asked to see the commander. They explained to the soldiers that they were there to distribute food, and if the soldiers all lined up, each would receive an orange. However, if they were unruly and did not behave, the kids said they would pack up their box and leave. The kids were invited in to the camp and fed, and the oranges were distributed. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED MERTEN