US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1789

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001789 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
WHA ALSO FOR USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, ASEC, HA 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON NEW MINISTER OF JUSTICE 
 
REF: PAP 1768 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Douglas Griffiths, REASONS 1.5(B 
) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Ambassador Foley called on newly appointed 
Minister of Justice Henri Dorleans on June 30 (reftel).  The 
meeting centered on the top priorities facing the Minister in 
the next few months, mainly: the case of former Prime 
Minister Yvon Neptune, judicial reform, prolonged pretrial 
detention, security and the Haitian National Police (HNP). 
The Ambassador also raised the urgent necessity of arrest 
warrants for Lavalas partisans in the Dominican Republic who 
may be fomenting criminal activity in Haiti.  Minister 
Dorleans offered his utmost cooperation with the embassy on 
these issues during the ninety-minute discussion.  End 
Summary. 
 
Dorleans, Nomination Obstacles Resolved 
 
2. (C)  The Ambassador began by congratulating Dorleans on 
his new posting as Minister of Justice and asked him about 
the resistance from the Conseil des Sages on his nomination 
(reftel).  Dorleans said that the controversy was not based 
on any fundamental problems with his qualifications for the 
position, but rather on rumor and innuendo.  He made 
reference to a period in 2000-2001 when he was named as 
judicial advisor to Jean Nesly Lucien, former Director 
General of the HNP, who was involved in drug trafficking. 
Dorleans said that although he had been named as advisor, he 
had never worked with Lucien and had only met him on a couple 
of occasions.  Dorleans said that he had, in fact, met with 
the Conseil des Sages immediately after his installation last 
weekend and that they came to a mutual understanding and 
resolved to collaborate for the good of the country. 
 
Judicial Reform 
 
3. (C) The Ambassador commented that so far, the IGOH's track 
record on judicial reform has been disappointing and now more 
than ever, the government has to act.  Dorleans said that 
during the meeting with the Conseil des Sages, he also shared 
with them his work plan for judicial reform for the next six 
months. Dorleans said that he has designed a "global vision" 
of judicial reform for Haiti, which includes a twelve-point 
program targeting key areas, such as prolonged pretrial and 
preventive detention and impunity.  He also vowed to create a 
strong system of justice in Haiti while restructuring the 
ministry itself (Note: The following day, a USAID contractor 
who worked with Dorleans contacted poloff soliciting funding 
for an advisor on the restructuring of the justice ministry. 
Poloff promised to check with USAID for possible funding of 
this position.  End Note.)  Although Dorleans did not 
elaborate on all the points in his plan, he promised to send 
a copy of his work plan to the Ambassador by next week. 
 
Security and HNP 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador remarked that despite friction in other 
areas, former Minister Gousse had proved to be a good 
collaborator with the Mission on anti-drug trafficking issues 
and expressed his desire that Dorleans prove equally as 
cooperative.  He also underscored our support for Security 
Council Resolution 1608 in terms of building a stronger HNP 
force, saying that the future of the country depends on HNP 
and CIVPOL collaboration.  Dorleans responded that while he 
is not a nationalist, he is a patriot and that he was shocked 
at his initial reading of the resolution and the amount of 
authority granted to CIVPOL over the HNP.  However, he 
conceded that he was conscious of the necessity of the 
resolution's scope (Note: Security Council resolution 1608 
has provoked a nationalist backlash in Haiti, particularly 
among the political class.  End Note). 
 
 
Warrants for Civil, Raymond, and Louis-Jean 
 
5. (C) The Ambassador shared his concern with Dorleans on the 
link between the current violence in the country and Lavalas 
partisans who may be organizing it from the Dominican 
Republic.  He encouraged Dorleans to coordinate with HNP 
Director General Charles on producing arrest warrants and 
sending them through the appropriate channels as means of 
stemming the violence.  Dorleans agreed to follow-up with DG 
Charles on the matter. 
 
Neptune 
 
6. (C) On the subject of former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, 
the Ambassador premised his remarks by noting that it was not 
his intention to minimize the gravity of the events that took 
place in La Syrie on February 11, 2004.  The Ambassador 
expressed his gratitude to the former PM, remarking that it 
was he who had assisted in the transition process following 
February 29.  He stressed our position that Neptune be 
released on bail while the judge investigates his case. 
Dorleans commented that he remembered Neptune from his days 
in the Senate and said the he admired his courage for staying 
in the country and for turning himself in over a year ago. 
Dorleans shared his regret that the case had taken too long 
to go through the judicial system and that it is his goal to 
dispose of the case without further delay.  He said that he 
would meet with the state prosecutor for St. Marc next week 
to discuss their approach to the matter.  Again, the 
Ambassador urged the rapid resolution of the case, noting 
that Neptune's case is not just a judicial matter but also a 
political one.  Dorleans assured the Ambassador that he would 
study the case to determine means of resolving it 
expeditiously. 
 
7. (C) Comment.  Dorleans presents himself as the antithesis 
of Gousse, open, friendly, and poised for action.  He has a 
very short window of time, however, in which to prove 
himself.  While his focus seems to be on implementing his 
six-month action plan for judicial reform, he also appears to 
be a willing partner on the Neptune front.  With the former 
PM now in prison without charge for over a year, we no longer 
have the luxury of waiting.  Post will continue to press the 
new Minister to resolve the Neptune case. 
FOLEY