US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE797

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000797 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, HA, MINUSTAH 
SUBJECT: SOME NATIONALISTIC REACTION TO MINUSTAH'S RECENT 
OPERATIONS 
 
REF: PAP 766 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary: Following an initially muted reaction, 
there has been more notable political commentary on the 
actions undertaken by MINUSTAH to take back police stations 
from ex-FADH elements (reftel).  The few laudatory statements 
have been drowned out by nationalistic critiques of 
MINUSTAH's long over-due actions.  While most of this 
rhetoric can be waved off as grandstanding by some 
personalities within the political class, it also points 
towards an emerging nationalistic tone in Haiti.  MINUSTAH 
needs to quickly and decisively respond to threats from both 
the armed rebels and pro-Aristide criminal/political gangs. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU)  After an initially muted reaction following 
MINUSTAH's military action to take back police stations from 
ex-FADH elements in Petit-Goave and Terre Rouge, the 
political class has started to comment on the action where 
two peacekeepers and several Haitians died.  A few leaders 
have come out strongly in support of MINUSTAH and credit 
their actions as necessary to increase levels of security as 
Haitians proceed towards elections later this year.  G-184 
leader and Executive Director of the Civil Society Initiative 
(ISC) Rosny Desroches applauded MINUSTAH's action and said it 
was long-overdue.  He called for the international 
peacekeepers to further step in where the Haitian National 
Police (HNP) has been unable to do so. 
 
3.  (U) Desroches' comments have been drowned out by a more 
nationalistic chorus.  Dr. Turneb Delpe, former senator and 
Secretary General of the National Democratic Progressive 
 
SIPDIS 
Party (PNDPH), was critical of MINUSTAH's operations calling 
them the result of the Interim Government's failure to 
properly handle the demands of the ex-military. Victor 
Benoit, speaking on behalf of the Social Democrats, said he 
did not approve of MINUSTAH's actions in Petit-Goave and that 
"Lavalas bandits" were more of a threat than the former 
military.  A spokesperson for Evans Paul's KID party, Andre 
Michel, also criticized the IGOH and urged it to meet the 
ex-military's demands.  Michel, however, simultaneously 
called on the ex-military to respect the "law, order and 
institutions" of Haiti. 
 
4.  (U) A vice-mayor in Petit-Goave, Montigene Sincere, 
criticized what he deemed heavy-handed actions by MINUSTAH to 
dislodge the ex-military from the local police station. 
Sincere said that he supported the ex-military's presence and 
claimed they provided much-needed security against banditry. 
Monsignor Guire Poulard, the outspoken bishop from nearby 
Jacmel, said MINUSTAH used "guerrilla tactics" to retake the 
police station.  Lukmane Delile, coordinator of the National 
Association of Haitian Students, also believed MINUSTAH's use 
of force was overzealous. 
 
5.  (U)  Joseph Lucien, vice-president of the largest student 
organization (Federation of Haitian University Students, 
FEUH) condemned MINUSTAH's actions and said the peacekeepers 
did not respect the Haitian constitution.  Lucien encouraged 
the IGOH to respond to MINUSTAH's actions (Note: Interim 
Prime Minister Latortue has publicly acknowledged he "gave 
the order for MINUSTAH to retake the police stations from 
those bandits." End Note).  Nellus Laurent of the  recently 
formed Jean Jacques Dessalines Center for Human Rights 
demanded the IGOH explain itself to the nation and said that 
the international presence must leave soon. 
 
6.  (SBU) The most vitriolic statement was a press release 
from the Center Right Front/Mobilization for National 
Development's (GFCD/MDN) Hubert DeRonceray. Petit-Goave is a 
GFCD/MDN stronghold and DeRonceray has long been sympathetic 
to reconstitution of the FADH.  Within the press release 
text, DeRonceray lambasted the IGOH as being a prisoner to 
the "extreme left" and called MINUSTAH a "force of war" whose 
actions "benefit the socio-communists" (referring to OPL and 
the Social Democrats).  In a March 22 radio broadcast, while 
sounding a generally more measured tone, called the event "a 
crime." 
 
7.  (SBU)  Comment:  Most of this rhetoric can be waved off 
as grandstanding by some personalities within the political 
class, however, an underlying nationalistic tone is 
increasingly present in Haiti.  For the first several months 
of their deployment here, most Haitians complained MINUSTAH 
was "on vacation," but after two days of pro-active 
engagement, Haitians are criticizing the peacekeepers as 
over-aggressive.  More worrisome is the reported call from 
Hinche's ex-FADH leader Jean-Baptiste, telling his men to 
take off their uniforms and wage a guerrilla war against 
MINUSTAH.  MINUSTAH needs to quickly and decisively respond 
to the likes of Jean-Baptiste and Ravix to ensure a secure 
environment as the country prepares for the voter 
registration process, the first step towards holding 
successful elections later this year.  MINUSTAH also needs to 
take decisive action against the pro-Aristide gangs, 
particularly in Port-au-Prince, for all the obvious reasons, 
but also to protect itself from charges of bias. End comment. 
FOLEY