US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1410

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/WHA 
DS/DSS/ITA 
DSERCC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ASEC, PHUM, HA 
SUBJECT: PRO-ARISTIDE MARCHERS STAGE LARGE BUT PEACEFUL 
RALLY 
 
 
1. (U) Summary:  Roughly 5,000 supporters of former President 
Aristide marched without incident through the streets of 
Port-au-Prince on May 18.  The rally was organized by the 
Cite Soleil and Bel Air cells of Fanmi Lavalas to celebrate 
the Haitian 'Flag Day' holiday and to demand Aristide's 
return to Haiti.  MINUSTAH military troops lined the protest 
route while Haitian police officers stayed mostly in the 
background.  The demonstration, which was observed by PolOff 
and DAO, was the largest and most organized display since the 
Lavalas Flag Day march of last year.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) The three-hour march began in two separate locations 
in Cite Soleil and Bel Air and attracted followers along the 
way as marchers zig-zagged through La Saline, lower Delmas 
and Nazon, skirting the Champs de Mars and then returning 
back to Bel Air to listen to speeches, including a discourse 
from Father Gerard Jean Juste.  The marchers had planned to 
enter Champs de Mars to stage a rally at the Place de la 
Constitution, but MINUSTAH officers, who monitored the march 
from the start, successfully negotiated a revised course that 
steered away from the central plaza where a few dozen Haitian 
National Police (HNP) crowd control officers stood guard. 
Most of the security along the route was provided by MINUSTAH 
military in light armored vehicles and jeeps, although HNP 
SWAT and CIMO officers sat in large trucks nearby.  Poloff 
observed a CIMO commander collaborating closely with senior 
MINUSTAH officers along the rally route while rank and file 
HNP officers remained in their vehicles. 
 
3. (U) Marchers generally stuck to the well-worn script 
demanding Aristide's return to Haiti, and demanding the 
United States to "take Latortue back."  Lavalas militants on 
the radio proclaimed that the U.S. was giving up and 
Aristide's return was imminent, while claiming that they 
would not participate in elections until Aristide returned. 
On the streets, demonstrators waved Haitian and South African 
flags (most likely the result of recent declarations by the 
ANC of South Africa in favor of Aristide), as well as small 
and at times quite large portraits of Mr. Aristide.  But the 
rally did differ significantly from previous efforts in 
several ways. First, march organizers (Sanba Boukman from the 
Bel Air cell and John Joel Joseph from Cite Soleil) sent to 
MINUSTAH a complete itinerary and announcement in advance 
following an agreement between MINUSTAH and march organizers 
in April.  Second, perhaps because of the "Flag Day" holiday, 
the demonstration attracted more followers than the usual 
cadre of several hundred Lavalas militants, swelling the 
march at its peak to roughly 5,000 people.  Lastly, the 
protest was noticeably orderly, both in the demeanor of the 
participants and the relaxed posture of the MINUSTAH troops 
along the route.  There were no violent incidents reported in 
or near the march. 
 
4. (SBU) A representative from the Institute for Justice and 
Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) claimed publicly on May 19 that 
members of the HNP shot and killed at least one protester 
after the protest finished, as the marchers were returning to 
Cite Soleil. According to the report, a car with 6 CIMO 
officers pulled up to a group of people along the street, 
removed one individual from the group, and executed him. The 
individual, identified as Sanel Joseph, later reportedly died 
while being transported to Cite Soleil. No report was 
formally filed with either MINUSTAH or the HNP to 
investigate, and we have no way at this point to confirm if, 
in fact, the incident occurred. MINUSTAH sources told us that 
they received a call from a Lavalas supporter the night of 
May 18 who apologized for the report and denied that the 
death was indeed caused by the HNP. We will request an 
inquiry by both the HNP and CIVPOL of the accusation. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment:  We have started to monitor these marches 
as closely as possible depending upon the areas the 
demonstrators choose to stage their protests.  In this case, 
we caught up with the march at two separate locations at the 
end of the route and parked unobstructed and very visibly 
next to the oncoming protesters, drawing a few glances but no 
direct interest.  We doubt that the larger-than-usual march 
represents any clear demonstration of wider or growing 
support for the Pro-Aristide cause rather than simply a more 
organized effort by pro-Aristide militants; and possibly a 
(welcome) change in tactics towards mobilizing larger, 
peaceful marches instead of smaller, deliberately provocative 
ones.  End comment. 
GRIFFITHS