US embassy cable - 03SANTODOMINGO7536

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 007536 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, PINR, DR, HA 
SUBJECT: HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RESIGNS: 
ANOTHER BLOW TO ARISTIDE 
 
REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 2540 
     B. SANTO DOMINGO 4930 
 
Classified By: ACTING DCM MARY B. MARSHALL FOR REASONS 1.5 B/D 
 
SUMMARY 
 
1. (C) On December 18 the Haitian Ambassador to the Dominican 
Republic Guy Alexandre called on the Ambassador and Acting 
DCM to confirm his resignation.  The sudden news (prompted by 
the violent December 5 crackdown on student demonstrators in 
Haiti) was widely covered December 16 while Ambassador 
Alexandre was out of the country visiting his wife in Puerto 
Rico.  Ambassdor Alexandre's resignation is due to what he 
described as "incompatible principles" with Arisitide's 
government.  Composed but staunch in his resolve, Alexandre 
assured the Ambassador that he has no plans to seek asylum in 
the United States for now.  Requesting asylum, he explained, 
would "further complicate Dominican-Haitian bilateral 
relations" and would not be in his nor Haiti's best 
interests.  Instead, Alexandre said he would seek residency 
in the Dominican Republic and teach at a university.  End 
Summary. 
 
ALEXANDRE RESIGNS AS AMBASSADOR TO THE DR 
 
2. (C) Ambassador Guy Alexandre met with the Ambassador and 
Acting DCM on December 18 to discuss his recent resignation. 
He said that he had planned to leave his post in January 2004 
after Haiti's independence bicentennial celebrations, which 
would have also marked two years in his assignment.  However, 
he could not ignore the recent violence against students in 
Haiti because of his strong links to the academic community 
there.  According to Alexandre, police officers broke both 
knees of one of his friends, a vice-rector at a university 
(Ref A).  The December 5 violence, he lamented, "produced an 
irrevocable situation that cannot be easily fixed," 
following months of extreme polarization and resulting chaos. 
 
3. (C) According to Ambassador Alexandre's contacts in Haiti, 
there are daily protests or preemptive crackdowns by police 
on potential protests.  He warned of an upsurge in armed 
civilians looking for trouble.  Alexandre expressed his 
concern that the environment in Haiti is ripe for 
confrontation, which might subside briefly during Christmas 
but is sure to resume in January.  He commented that Haiti 
has minimal capacity to maintain order and that "none of the 
Haitian politicians realize that the country is a ticking 
time bomb." 
 
REMOVE ARISTIDE...THEN WHAT? 
 
4. (C) Ambassador Alexandre criticized opposition groups' 
preoccupation with forcing Aristide's departure without 
considering the consequences.  He emphasized that Aristide's 
exit will not solve Haiti's socio-economic problems. 
Alexandre also criticized his countrymen for their focus on 
grabbing power rather than tackling the difficult problems of 
health, education and infrastructure.  The Ambassador asked 
Alexandre whether there are clandestine movements in the 
Dominican Republic working to overthrow Aristide, to which 
Alexandre responded that he does not know of any such 
activity.  He acknowledged that some disgruntled former 
Haitian military officers reside in the Dominican Republic, 
but said most of the pressure on Aristide originates in 
Haiti.  He recalled the 1991-94 period when many Haitians 
fled the country, but claimed there was no no mass migration. 
 During that time Alexandre personally assisted 30 Haitians, 
including a former Army chief. 
 
DOMINICAN-HAITIAN BILATERAL RELATIONS 
 
5. (C) Less than three weeks before his resignation, 
Ambassador Alexandre met with the Ambassador on December 1 to 
discuss concerns about Dominican-Haitian bilateral relations. 
 He was disturbed about the GODR's apparent nonchalant 
investigations regarding the Haitian bodies discovered along 
the border in September (Ref B).  Alexandre also said the 
GODR is not doing enough to document Haitians.  He complained 
that the GODR often uses Article 11 of the Dominican 
Constitution (providing that anyone born on Dominican soil is 
Dominican except offspring of diplomats or foreigners in 
transit) to deny citizenship to Haitians for being 
"foreigners in transit."  Ambassador Alexandre also blamed 
the failure of the 2001 OAS initiative on a lack of OAS 
impartiality (Note: This argument was reiterated at the 
follow-up meeting on December 18.  End note). 
ALEXANDRE'S ONWARD PLANS 
6. (C) Alexandre said he currently plans to reside in the 
Dominican Republic, not flee to the United States.  He was 
traveling to Puerto Rico when his resignation hit the press 
and returned quickly thereafter.  He emphasized his desire to 
get involved in academia and denied having strong ties to 
successful Haitian expats in the United States.  Alexandre 
did ask the Acting DCM (Consul General) that his B1/B2 
nonimmigrant visa be transferred to his tourist passport. 
Alexandre said the GOH had not yet accepted his resignation. 
He claimed to have no interest in politics because he "knows 
too well what Haiti needs." 
HERTELL