VZCZCXRO4321
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #2233/01 3242038
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 202038Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4627
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1291
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1128
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0624
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1036

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 002233 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL HA
SUBJECT: ANTI-MINUSTAH PROTESTS COMMEMORATE NATIONAL HOLIDAY 
 
REF: A. PAP 2065 
     ¶B. PAP 2087 
 
PORT AU PR 00002233  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U)  This message sensitive but unclassified: please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (U) Summary: A spasm of anti-Minustah sentiment surfaced 
in Port-au-Prince leading up to and on November 18, a 
national holiday commemorating the 203rd anniversary of the 
Battle of Vertieres which led to Haitian independence in 
¶1804.  Several anti-Minustah protests took place in Haiti's 
capital, including a student protest which resulted in two 
student injuries and attacks on UN troops in the area. 
During the official commemoration of the holiday at the 
National Palace, Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis said 
he was not proud to commemorate the holiday given that 
foreign troops were currently on the ground in Haiti. 
Gang-led protests continue to occur in Cite Soleil, likely in 
response to an increase in Minustah-led operations in the 
Port-au-Prince slum. End summary. 
 
Second Student Protest Results in Several Injured 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to news reports, dozens of anti-Minustah 
protests occurred in Port-au-Prince on November 18, the 
anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres.  The most visible 
protest was organized by students of the State University of 
Humanities, who had filed for a demonstration permit that the 
Haitian National Police (HNP) approved.  This was their 
second anti-Minustah protest (reftel A) and consisted of no 
more than 150 people.  According to Jean Philippe Laberge of 
Minustah's Office of Civil Affairs, the protests are well 
organized within the university, but are not coordinated with 
gangs or others having their own motivations to mount. 
 
¶4.  (U) During the student protest, which ended near the 
Presidential Palace, UN police (including those who came 
under attack) were in the area doing electrical work near a 
UN base.  The students threw rocks at the troops and broke 
the windshield of at least one UN vehicle.  One UN police 
officer from Niger was wounded in the shoulder.  The UN 
police troops took refuge in the local UN base near the 
Presidential Palace.  (Note: According to a UN contact, 
downtown Port-au-Prince was off-limits to UN Police and 
Minustah troops because of the threat of anti-UN protests. 
End note.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) One student protester was badly injured after a 
security guard from Socabank shot him. One other student was 
mildly wounded by the same gunfire.  Minustah's civilian 
affairs office and RSO reported that the guard panicked and 
that the shooting was not justified.  The injured student was 
taken to a hospital and is in stable condition.  The guard 
has been arrested by the HNP. 
 
PM Alexis Expressed Bitterness over Foreign Troop Presence in 
Haiti 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6.  (U) President Rene Preval, Prime Minister Jacques Edouard 
Alexis, several ministers and a parade of HNP officers 
gathered at the National Palace to officially commemorate the 
holiday, described by local news reports as the anniversary 
of the last heroic feat of Haiti's indigenous army against 
colonial troops.  News reports also noted that "contrary to 
the protocol of this holiday's commemorations, the President 
did not make a statement."  Instead, PM Alexis spoke, 
reminding the audience that the Haitian military (Forces 
Armees d,Haiti -- FAd'H) no longer exists.  Alexis 
highlighted that 125 million Haitian gourdes (about USD 3.2 
million) are set aside in the FY2007 budget for a study on 
the possible creation of a new security force in Haiti. 
Alexis said that he attended the comemoration "with 
bitterness," but took consolatin in the fact that the 
foreign troops were mandaed by the UN, of which Haiti is a 
member.  Minusah was invited by former President Jean 
BertrandAristide's government as well as the interim 
govenment, and Haitians bear responsibility for the sa 
state of the country today.  He closed by callig for 
 
PORT AU PR 00002233  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
everyone to work together to reach a point where Minustah can 
depart as soon as possible. 
 
Gangs Conduct Anti-Minustah Protest in Cite Soleil 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7.  (SBU) A small protest also occurred in Cite Soleil on 
November 17 protesting the presence of Minustah troops and 
calling for the return of former President Aristide.  (Note: 
Often protests are highjacked by competing interests.  In 
this case, it appears that protest started as an 
anti-Minustah demonstration, but attracted pro-Aristide 
demonstrators who wanted to take advantage of the gathering. 
End note.)  This was the second gang-led protest in Cite 
Soleil in one week in response to encroaching Minustah 
operations in Cite Soleil over the past two months, which 
were increased following the murder of two Jordanian soldiers 
who appeared at the scene of a kidnapping November 11.  A 
larger protest on October 29 spoke out against recent deaths 
at the hands of Minustah on October 17 (reftel B). 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment: The November 18 holiday commemorating the 
Battle of Vertieres -- which is also recognized as the 
anniversary of the FAd,H -- brought to fore the great 
national pride Haitians have in their military and its role 
in Haiti's independance.  As PM Alexis said, the day was 
filled with bitterness for many Haitians: not only has 
Haiti's army been disbanded, but also, they are faced with 
the presence of foreign troops on a day commemorating the 
last battle of Haitian forces against French colonial troops. 
 This frustration with Minustah is only exaggerated by the 
sentiment among Haitians that Minustah is not carrying out 
its mandate to provide the population with a secure 
environment. 
SANDERSON