US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1300

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001300 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, HA, Elections 
SUBJECT: HAITI'S BISHOPS WEIGH IN ON ELECTIONS, ATTEMPT TO 
REIN IN JEAN-JUSTE 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Douglas M. Griffiths for Reason 
: 1.4(d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary: In the past month, the Catholic Bishops 
Conference has weighed in publicly to encourage participation 
in upcoming elections and to warn priests against taking 
active political roles.  One statement calls upon voters to 
choose their leaders wisely, recommends parties to form 
alliances, and urges the international community to work with 
the Haitian National Police to keep the peace.  A separate 
statement reaffirms the Church's prohibition against priests 
engaging in overt political activity and threatens expulsion 
from the priesthood for those who do.  This last statement is 
clearly targeted at Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, a Lavalas 
activist who is widely believed to be considering a run for 
President.  The Church in Haiti has rarely been apolitical, 
and these statements are further evidence that the Church 
expects to continue to play an active role in the political 
arena.  End Summary. 
 
Support for elections 
--------------------- 
 
2.  (U)  The Catholic Bishops Conference "eve of elections" 
statement was issued April 8 following an extraordinary 
meeting of the bishops and coincided with the visit to Haiti 
by the UN Security Council (which received a copy of the 
document during its meeting with the bishops).  While the 
bishops welcomed the international community's participation 
in carrying out the elections, they emphasized "we will not 
let just anyone impose anything on us. The elections are our 
affair."  The statement encouraged the population to go to 
the polls and called for enhanced security. 
 
3.  (U)  The statement noted the Church was obliged to 
intervene since its duty was to "mark out (the) path" and it 
had "the duty to form consciences." The bishops boldly told 
voters not to "sell or negotiate" a vote to "those who 
promise mountains and miracles and do not reveal concrete 
ways to accomplish them."  To the candidates, the bishops 
recommended the formation of alliances between parties with 
similar positions, not simply alliances of circumstance. 
 
Priests should stay out of politics 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  A few days later, the Bishops issued a separate 
statement addressed to priests, and citing canon law, 
advising them to refrain from overt political activity, or 
risk being defrocked.  Specifically, the statement reaffirmed 
the Church's position that priests may not "take active part 
in politics, whether in (or as a leader of) political parties 
or in partisan groups or associations."  The statement banned 
priests from seeking public office or participating in 
electoral campaigns. 
 
Politics nonetheless 
-------------------- 
 
5.  (C)  Although nobody has said so publicly, the second 
statement was clearly aimed at reining in Father Gerard 
Jean-Juste, a pro-Lavalas priest closely associated with 
Aristide.  Many here see him as a potential Presidential 
candidate; he does not speak about that publicly, but he has 
become visibly active within the Lavalas movement since last 
fall.  This has put him at odds with his church hierarchy. 
Cap-Haitien bishop (and ex-chair of the Bishops conference) 
Hubert Constant told the Ambassador April 21 that he was 
worried that Lavalas would put forward a charismatic 
candidate with an "aura of justness" who would garner 
landslide-like support but then return to the corrupt path of 
the Aristide regime.  He was particularly wary of Jean-Juste 
and made clear the statement banning clergy from running for 
office was aimed at him.  Separately on April 22, the Papal 
Nuncio told the DCM that he was "delighted" with the 
statement and hoped it would force Jean-Juste to make his 
intentions clear. 
 
6. (C)  For his part, Jean-Juste has so far shrugged off the 
Bishops' statement. He told PolCounselor May 6 that he was 
"not worried" about his superiors, that he did not intend to 
be a candidate but that he could not give up his political 
activism.  He dismissed the Bishops' conference as a 
"conservative Duvalierist" institution that had little 
contact with the harsh realities of Haiti's poor majority. 
(Septel will report on the larger conversation, which, 
demonstrating just how politically active he is, was 
conducted at his church in the company of many members of the 
hard-line Fanmi Lavalas "Political Commission.") 
 
Church worried not just about Jean-Juste 
---------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C)  Bishop Constant made clear that the Church's 
concerns extended beyond pro-Lavalas priests, warning the 
Ambassador about what he called "the other extreme."  He said 
"uniformed, marching, nationalistic candidates" are bound to 
emerge from the ex-military camp.  Constant felt this sector 
would put forward a strong candidate that could broadly 
appeal to the Haitian public.  Constant said he thought the 
elections would take place successfully, but it was urgent 
that the IGOH move forward with public works and employment 
projects, particularly after "14 months of talk and 
promises."  Constant was also frustrated by the voter 
registration process.  He lamented the "unacceptable burden" 
on Haitians in the rural areas who he said would have to make 
several lengthy trips to the urban areas to register and then 
return to vote.  (Note: This concern may be mitigated by OAS 
plans to have mobile voter registration teams travel 
throughout the countryside. End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8.  (C) The statement warning priests to stay out of politics 
is clearly targeted towards Jean-Juste, and reflects the 
dominant conservative slant of the Bishops Conference, 
despite the presence among the bishops of a few who are 
pro-Lavalas.  The animosity toward Aristide, a former priest, 
runs deep.  Hinche Bishop Louis Kebreau, the current 
conference president, expresses himself very caustically 
about the priest-turned-president.  Kebreau believes that 
Aristide, his former student, had gone wayward long before 
ascending to the Presidency.  For Kebreau, Constant, and most 
of the other bishops, there is a fear of repeating history 
with Jean-Juste.  The Catholic Church has rarely been 
apolitical here -- Haitians still credit Pope John Paul II's 
March 1983 visit and his statement that "things must change 
here" as the spark that led to Jean-Claude Duvalier's 
downfall.  These latest interventions demonstrate that the 
Catholic Church hopes to play an active role in the political 
arena and, particularly, in this year's elections.  From our 
perspective both statements are constructive and helpful to 
the process. 
GRIFFITHS