VZCZCXRO6471
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0642/01 0951913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051913Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5758
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1483
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1306
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0765
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1181

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000642 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM ASEC PREL KPKO MOPS HA
SUBJECT: CITE SOLEIL INDICATORS POSITIVE 
 
REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 389 
     ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 523 
 
PORT AU PR 00000642  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U)  This message is senstive but unclassified -- please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Summary:  Cite Soleil has turned a corner and the 
citizens, the GoH, and the international community are all 
poised to attempt to bring normalcy to the embattled slum. 
MINUSTAH is renting a facility on the edge of the slum and 
relocating pertinent elements of their mission to the new 
location.  GoH and international community plans for 
development work are moving forward.  MINUSTAH continues to 
control the area militarily and Haitian National Police (HNP) 
are slowly being integrated into their operations.  More and 
more gang members are giving up weapons to the GoH's 
disarmament program, and local government and community 
leaders are enthusiastic about the prospects for the future. 
Despite the numerous positive indicators, the GoH is 
struggling to deliver on promises it has made to bring 
services to Cite Soleil, and HNP are not prepared to fill a 
permanent policing role in the area.  Continued energy and 
coordination among the various actors investing time and 
money in Cite Soleil are essential to keeping the momentum 
moving in a positive direction.  End Summary. 
 
MINUSTAH Opens Up Shop 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The Brazilian battalion (BraBat), on behalf of 
MINUSTAH, has rented a warehouse named ''Tebo'' on Route 
National 1 bordering the ''Boston'' neighborhood of Cite 
Soleil, and the battalion will now use this as their main 
Cite Soleil base.  BraBat will pull out of some of their 
current strongpoints so that those buildings, several of 
which are schools, can be converted back to their intended 
purposes.  All substantive sections of MINUSTAH have also 
been invited to use the Tebo building, including UNPOL, civil 
affairs, human rights, humanitarian, and disarmament (DDR). 
Civil affairs will use the building as a meeting place to 
bring together local officials and other key players.  The 
HNP has also been invited to move into Tebo.  Although they 
have not officially responded to the invitation, it looks 
likely that they will take MINUSTAH up on the offer, 
according to Jean-Philippe Laberge (strictly protect), 
MINUSTAH's civil affairs coordinator for the West Department. 
 The likely HNP inhabitants would be 30 police officers who 
are currently based approximately one mile away in Cazeau, 
behind the Port-au-Prince airport.  Bringing together all 
sections of MINUSTAH along with the HNP in one central 
location is the same model MINUSTAH successfully employed to 
increase their presence in Martissant (ref A). 
 
Development Projects Begin 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4. (U)  MINUSTAH is set to begin rehabilitating a 
sub-commissariat located along the edge of Cite Soleil on 
Route National 1, down the street from the Tebo warehouse. 
According to chief of civil affairs Jay Carter on March 29, 
the funds are ready to go and construction could begin ''very 
soon.''  Civil affairs' FY2006 budget for the entire country 
was USD 2 million for ''quick impact projects.''  The 
approximately USD 25,000 they are spending on the 
sub-commissariat is the last of these funds, and funds have 
not yet been allocated for FY2007.  MINUSTAH envisions that 
with the help of USG's Haiti Stabilization Initiative (HSI) 
funds, the Boulos Market at Strongpoint 16 can be made into a 
strong city center with a full commissariat.  One problem 
with planning for the Cite Soleil police stations is that the 
population of Cite Soleil is unknown, with estimates ranging 
from 150,000 to 600,000.  A 2003 census show the population 
within the boundaries of the commune as 146,000.  Many have 
fled the neighborhood in recent years because of the extreme 
violence, and MINUSTAH Political Affairs officers theorized 
that as the security situation improves residents will return 
and the population will increase. 
 
Police Presence Slowly Rising 
 
PORT AU PR 00000642  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (SBU)  MINUSTAH's Brazilian battalion patrols 24 hours a 
day in Cite Soleil in armored vehicles with four to eight 
troops.  They report almost daily arrests.  Since late March, 
HNP UDMO (crowd-control) has been joining them for one 
morning patrol seven days a week.  UDMO recently handed off 
patrols in neighboring Cite Militaire to regular HNP after 
they deemed it calm enough. 
 
More Weapons Surrendered 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (U)  There has been a major upsurge in the number of 
weapons being submitted to the DDR program.  Gang members, 
including partisans of Belony, Amaral and Evans, are 
submitting weapons by the dozens and ammunition rounds by the 
thousands.  Laberge speculated that the gangs are more 
willing to surrender arms because they are afraid of being 
arrested. One of the gangsters in Cite Soleil that MINUSTAH 
was most concerned about, Nazon aka Blade (ref B) gave up 
weapons to the DDR and they no longer see him as attempting 
to fill the void left by Evans, Amaral and Belony.  In radio 
statements, National Commission for Disarmament (CNDDR) 
president Alix Fils-Aime stated ''We can say that we are now 
in possession of a majority of the gang leaders' weapons that 
had helped them control their territory,'' and ''It is no 
longer possible for the armed groups to control any area or 
hold any area hostage.'' 
 
GoH Offers Help, but Struggles to Deliver 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (SBU)  The GoH talks a lot about thegood ntentions they 
have for Cite Soleil.  Howevr, they are having trouble 
delivering on their pomises, according to Laberge.  The 
GoH's enthusism and drive are apparent at the highest 
levels,but at the mid-level workers are dragging their fet 
and are difficult to wor with.  MINUSTAH and the GoH are 
forming joint teams to coordinate activities and lay down 
substantive plans that they can present in unison.  Laberge 
reports that the Prime Minister wants to make a big 
announcement as early as the week after Easter launching GoH 
efforts in Cite Soleil and underscoring GoH dedication to the 
area. 
 
Local Government Wants a Role 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶8. (U)  The newly-elected deputy from Cite Soleil, Salibar 
Jean (Fusion), outlined for Poloff the most pressing needs in 
his district.  (Note:  Deputy Jean was elected in the 
December 3, 2006 elections and took office in early 2007. 
This is his first elected office.  End Note.)  The deputy 
expressed enthusiastic support for all of the ideas put forth 
for HSI, and also added a few ideas of his own.  One of the 
keys to success in Cite Soleil, according to Deputy Jean, is 
to include local elected officials in the planning process, 
including himself, the mayor, the communal assemblies and 
councils (ASECs and CASECs), and the town delegates.  He 
noted that the newly-elected officials need to be trained on 
their job functions.  He also stated that the elected 
officials would like to form their own ''task force'' to 
address the commune's complex problems.  (Note: The GoH and 
MINUSTAH are already including the mayors in their planning 
sessions for Cite Soleil, and the public diplomacy portion of 
HSI may include media training or other workshops for all 
local elected officials.  End Note.)  The deputy pointed out 
the importance of a strong government presence in Cite 
Soleil, to include high visibility of GoH officials so that 
citizens know that their government is helping them.  His 
other suggestions included seminars to teach the importance 
of sanitation and cleanliness, teamwork and peaceful conflict 
resolution. 
 
Community Leaders Active in Debate 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶9. (U)  A group of community leaders from Cite Soleil, 
 
PORT AU PR 00000642  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
including the losing candidate for deputy in the December 3 
elections, Webster Maurice, gathered together on March 22 and 
explained to Poloff their opinions on the major roadblocks to 
progress.  The dearth of education and the general lack of 
any authority in the lives of the children of Cite Soleil are 
hampering the future of the neighborhood.  Children are not 
raised to respect authority and are given little or no 
direction from their parents.  In fact, it is often the 
children who are expected to be the breadwinner in the 
family, which often leads  them to resort to crime as a 
source of income.  The solution, according to the leaders, is 
to bring both traditional and vocational education to Cite 
Soleil. (Note: MINUSTAH officials say they frequently get 
requests to build a vocational school.  End Note.)  Along 
with schooling, someone needs to address psychological 
problems in children ages 10 to 12, before they become so set 
in their criminal ways that their mindset can no longer be 
changed.  The leaders also lamented that cultural centers no 
longer exist in Cite Soleil, and pointed to the revamping of 
these centers as a way to give children alternate activities, 
such as arts and crafts, music and reading.  The group 
pointed to the need for a radio campaign to inform citizens 
of their rights, which they do not understand.  Another 
proposal was the creation of a center for rape victims. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment:  The keys to maintaining the positive 
momentum in Cite Soleil are enthusiasm and coordination. 
Although everyone/everyone has ideas about the best way to 
''fix'' Cite Soleil, very few of these people actually have 
any funding to follow through on their plans.  Both the GoH 
and MINUSTAH are enthusiastically planning ways to spend the 
Haiti Stabilization Initiative's USD 20 million.  The 
community will no doubt continue to struggle with crime and 
poverty for many years.  However, Cite Soleil is ripe for 
change and as long as there is follow-through, the future may 
indeed bring much needed services to the slum. 
TIGHE