US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1039

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO FOR USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, HA 
SUBJECT: LAUNCH OF HAITIAN NATIONAL DIALOGUE 
 
REF: A. PAP 966 
 
     B. PAP 446 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary: On April 7, Interim President Alexandre 
formally launched the National Dialogue process.  A 
preparatory committee will, within sixty days,  publicize the 
national dialogue, help the Presidency choose a technical 
committee and recommend names for a 30-person steering 
committee.  The goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to 
holding elections, draft a development strategy and 
strengthen good governance.  Political leaders said it was 
necessary to come together for the future of the nation, but 
despite efforts by the Government, Lavalas participation in 
the National Dialogue is uncertain, threatening its value. 
End Summary. 
 
President Launches National Dialogue 
------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (U)  The much-anticipated launching of Haiti's National 
Dialogue took place on April 7 (the anniversary of the death 
of founding father Toussaint Louverture) at a well-attended 
event held at the National Palace.  Political and civil 
society leaders, the Cabinet, and the diplomatic and 
international community attended, despite the short notice. 
President Alexandre told the audience he felt national 
dialogue was of such importance that he had skipped attending 
Pope John Paul II's funeral. Alexandre said that the National 
Dialogue was meant to overcome the divisions and violence 
endemic in Haitian culture. 
 
3.  (U)  The formal ceremony came on the heels of the 
Presidential Decree issued April 6 outlining a national 
dialogue structure that closely tracks with earlier Embassy 
reporting (ref B).  A yet-to-be named 12-person preparatory 
committee will, within sixty days,  publicize the national 
dialogue, help the Presidency choose a technical committee 
and recommend names for a 30-person steering committee with 
President Alexandre as the honorary chair.  The short term 
goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to holding 
elections, while the medium- to long-term goal is to draft a 
development strategy and strengthen good governance.  The 
concrete result of the National Dialogue, as stated in the 
Presidential Decree, is to create a "Pact to Live Together." 
 
Committees Attempt to Be All-Inclusive 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  Although the decree did not identify any specific 
participants, it specified that the 12-member independent 
preparatory committee will have representatives from the 
religious sectors (Catholic, Protestant and voodoo), 
political parties, civil society (including a women's group 
representative), and from the Executive. The 30-member 
steering committee will have a representative from each of 
Haiti's ten Departments, three from the Diaspora (North 
America, Latin America/Caribbean, and Europe/elsewhere), 
civil society (rural, women, university, religious and 
youth), political parties, a representative each from the 
Council of Eminent Persons (Sages) and judiciary, and two 
from the Executive.  Interestingly, Micha Gaillard, who did 
much of the ground work with his "reflection group" on 
national dialogue, told PolOff April 12 that he had not been 
asked to be on the preparatory committee, but that he may be 
on the steering committee. 
 
But Lavalas Might Not Participate 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU)  Two sectors have already come out against 
participation: Fanmi Lavalas and the group around Turneb 
Delpe advocating a "National Sovereign Conference."  The 
sticking point for both is Article 3 of the decree, which 
states that the national dialogue cannot modify the current 
Interim Government, the constitution, the elections timetable 
or the April 4, 2004 Transition Accord. 
 
6,  Of the two, Lavalas is by far the more important.  The 
President's office had invited Lavalas moderate leader Yvon 
Feuille to participate in the preparatory committee (ref A). 
Feuille first agreed to be a member, but then refused after 
reading the decree. He publicly announced his objections to 
Article 3 on the radio.  Other Lavalas leaders have echoed 
this line, although there has been no formal FL statement. 
 
7.  (SBU)  Lavalas members Gerard Gilles and Rudy Heriveaux 
told Ambassador April 13 that they objected to Article 3 
because a change of government was essential to create a 
proper climate for elections, restore neutrality to the 
government, and show Lavalas partisans that national dialogue 
would be inclusive.  Jean-Claude Desgranges told the 
Ambassador (in the company of Presidential Chief of Staff 
Brunache and SRSG Valdes), that Article 3 was a "provocation" 
designed to humiliate Lavalas.  Ambassador firmly stated the 
USG could not support changing the IGOH nor support Lavalas' 
reasons for boycotting national dialogue.  He urged the 
Lavalas leaders not to make the same mistake they had made 
last year when the party declined a seat on the Provisional 
Electoral Council (CEP); it would be excluding itself and 
could not expect our support.  Valdes recalled the history of 
the anti-Pinochet opposition movement in Chile in the 1980's, 
which had accepted the Pinochet-written constitution and 
electoral rules in order to get to an election (which the 
opposition won).  Desgranges said he would "reflect on" the 
Ambassador's suggestion to find a way to join the National 
Dialogue while perhaps "reserving" on Article 3. 
 
8. (SBU) In a separate conversation, Gilles told PolCounselor 
that discussions were still going on inside Lavalas, implying 
that the initial rejection was not necessarily final.  Palace 
National Dialogue Coordinator Henri D'Orleans told us that 
talks with Feuille were still occurring, though he insisted 
that the decree would not be rewritten. 
 
National Sovereign Conference or bust 
------------------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU)  Turneb Delpe of the National Democratic 
Progressive Party (PNDPH), who has long called for a 
"National Sovereign Conference" to shape Haiti's future, had 
previously called for changes to the constitution and argued 
that a dialogue could not be held simultaneously with 
elections.  PolOff met April 12 with PNDPH's J.W. Timothee, 
who serves as "Executive Secretary of the National Sovereign 
Conference movement.  As in the case of Feuille, Timothee 
told PolOff he had been invited by the Palace's D'Orleans to 
be on the preparatory committee but refused after reading the 
Presidential Decree.  Timothee took umbrage with Article 3 
and said that without amending the decree, the national 
dialogue was "bound to fail." He further criticized what he 
considered the limited scope of the process. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
10.  (SBU)  National Dialogue can go forward without the 
relatively small national sovereign conference movement, but 
a process that does not include Lavalas offers little value 
given how divided the country is over the movement's legacy 
and future role.  We frankly do not have much patience with 
the Lavalas objection.  Although Lavalas leaders argue 
principle, we see it much more as reflecting the continuing 
inability or unwillingness of those who say they want to 
participate in the process to put their words into action. 
Thus we are pressing them hard to swallow their objections 
and walk through the door that is open to them.  The IGOH is 
not likely to change the decree, but the continuing 
discussions inside Lavalas and between the Palace and Lavalas 
give us some room to work.  We will continue to press both 
the IGOH and Lavalas to find a way to ensure that Lavalas is 
included in the national dialogue process. 
 
FOLEY