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P 061554Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9893

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000456 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CAR AND H 
H PLEASE PASS TO CODEL CAPPS MEMBERS AND STAFF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP PGOV PREL HA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL CAPPS' MAY 8-11 VISIT TO 
HAITI 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Your visit comes at a critical point in 
Haiti's democratic development.  After food riots in April 
2008 and a disastrous series of hurricanes four months later, 
President Rene Preval and his new Prime Minister, Michele 
Pierre-Louis, are working hard to meet the basic needs of the 
population and counteract the nearly USD 1 billion in damage 
caused by the storms and resulting flooding.  A series of 
high-level events in April, including a donor conference n 
Washington and a visit by Secretary Clinton, ephasized our 
determination to help the Haitian people overcome these 
challenges and focus international attention on Haiti. 
Amidst the rebuilding efforts, Haitian voters went to the 
polls April 19 to fill 12 vacant Senate seats in the 
Parliament's 30-seat Senate.  Despite low voter turnout and 
some isolated incidents of violence, the voting was largely a 
success, thanks to the security and logistical support of the 
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.  The second round of 
voting is set for June 7.  End summary. 
 
RIOTS, FLOODS ENDANGER YEARS OF PROGRESS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Haiti is the hemisphere's poorest and most 
politically troubled country.  After the collapse of the 
Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, Haiti experienced a succession 
of military regimes and popularly-elected governments, 
interspersed with coups d'etat, the departure of an elected 
President in the midst of an armed rebellion, and other 
destabilizing events.  Even democratically-elected leaders 
sometimes resorted to political violence or failed to hold 
constitutionally mandated elections.  All these factors have 
exacerbated political instability and economic stagnation. 
Two years after the departure of then-President Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide in 2004, the presidential and legislative elections 
of 2006 gave Haiti a new chance to consolidate political 
stability and stimulate investment and economic growth.  With 
the over 7,000 soldiers and 2,000 police of UN Stabilization 
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) guaranteeing the peace since 
2004, gang activity and other violent crime has diminished 
rapidly. 
 
¶3. (SBU) However, rioting in April 2008, caused in part by 
rising food and energy prices, brought political progress to 
a halt.  While there was genuine social grievance behind the 
April protests, much of the associated violence was organized 
by political forces seeking to oust then-PM Jacques-Edouard 
Alexis and capitalize on the resulting instability.  The 
Senate voted to dismiss PM Alexis on April 12.  In the five 
months following the dismissal of Alexis and his cabinet, the 
Haitian government was paralyzed by political gridlock. 
Parliament rejected two candidates for Prime Minister on 
specious grounds.  After Preval nominated his third 
candidate, Michele Pierre-Louis, Haiti was hit by a series of 
hurricanes and tropical storms in August and September.  The 
resulting flooding killed almost 800 people; displaced 
hundreds of thousands more, crippled the country's 
transportation infrastructure, devastated livestock and 
crops, and caused nearly USD 1 billion in damage.  In the 
face of strong public pressure to confirm a government able 
to respond to the hurricane damage, Parliament confirmed 
Pierre-Louis on September 5. 
 
STAGNANT ECONOMY SUFFERED A BLOW IN 2008 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The hurricanes and resulting flooding cast a 
spotlight on Haiti's already dire economic situation.  About 
70 percent of the Haitian population lives on less than two 
dollars per day, and at least 60 percent are unemployed or 
underemployed.  Investors' perceptions of security levels, 
inadequate infrastructure, and an inhospitable business 
climate deter investment in Haiti today.  The 2008 storms 
reduced that year's growth rate to 1.3 percent, less than the 
2.5 percent population growth rate.  We have encouraged 
President Preval and the Government to help Haitian and 
foreign investors take maximum advantage of the second Haiti 
Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE II), 
a trade preference bill that allows many types of textiles 
manufactured in Haiti duty-free access to U.S. markets.  That 
program thus far has created about 11,000 jobs. 
 
RENEWED INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN HAITI 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The food riots and hurricane damage of 2008 led the 
United States and Haiti's other international donors to 
redouble their efforts to achieve progress on food security 
and economic growth initiatives.  Recent visits by UN 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former President Bill 
 
Clinton, the 15 UN Security Council Permanent 
Representatives, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 
Clinton have drawn attention to Haiti's plight.  In addition, 
Secretary Clinton announced significant pledges of new 
assistance at an April 14 donor conference in Washington, 
including USD 20 million to create short-term jobs, USD 20 
million more for debt relief, and USD 15 million in emergency 
food aid. 
 
CONTROVERSY LINGERS OVER PARTIAL SENATE ELECTIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
6 (SBU) The April 19 elections have been the object of some 
controversy, but they have the strong backing of the United 
States and the rest of the international community.  The 
controversial decision of the electoral authority to exclude 
candidates from Fanmi Lavalas, the political party of deposed 
former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, sparked a series of 
small protests and a call from Lavalas militants to boycott 
the election.  Those militants claimed victory when only 11 
percent of eligible voters turned out on election day, 
although participation in partial legislative elections here 
is typically low.  Some Senators have even threatened to 
block the accession of the victorious candidates to the 
Senate, although it is far from clear that they will make 
good on their threat. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The elections themselves took place in a largely 
peaceful atmosphere, although some acts of violence and 
ballot-box theft were registered in some areas of the 
country.  The 29 observers deployed by the Embassy April 19 
reported that voting materials had generally been delivered 
to polling stations on time, trained poll workers effectively 
oversaw the voting process, and voters were generally not 
subjected to threats or intimidation.  Elections in the 
Central Plateau, however, were suspended after a poll worker 
was shot and unknown perpetrators stole ballot boxes in some 
voting centers there.  Electoral authorities have not yet 
fixed a date to re-run the elections in the Center department. 
 
INSTITUTION-BUILDING IN PARLIAMENT: AN UPHILL BATTLE 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Haiti's Parliament is fractious and undisciplined 
and has struggled to assume its constitutional role of 
passing vital legislation and serving as a check on the 
executive branch of government.  Its leaders have found 
little time for institution-building, and its infrastructure 
and administration are in a rudimentary state.  Some 19 
parties, most with no structure or internal discipline, are 
represented in the 30-seat Senate or 99-seat Chamber of 
Deputies.  An ad hoc ''Coalition of Progressive 
Parliamentarians'' dominates the Chamber but is entirely 
absent from the Senate.  The Senate, with over a third of its 
seats vacant for nearly a year, constantly struggles to 
achieve a quorum.  In this context, despite vigorous programs 
to augment the technical expertise and resources available to 
Deputies and Senators and strengthen Haiti's political 
parties, U.S.-funded efforts to strengthen the legislature as 
an institution have been slow to take hold. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Leadership in both the Chamber of Deputies and 
Senate has changed since HDAC's 2007 visit and consultants' 
report.  Kely Bastien, a doctor from the northern city of Cap 
Haitien, became Senate President in January 2008.  He is 
known as a consensus-builder, often moderating the criticism 
of President Preval and PM Pierre-Louis noisiest detractors. 
In the lower house, Levaillant Louis-Jeune campaigned on the 
promise of reform in contrast to the former Chamber 
President's alleged waste and malfeasance.  Louis-Jeune has 
been slow to take steps to reform the Chamber, although he 
has reportedly begun purging superfluous and unqualified 
workers from the Chamber's payrolls. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Leaders of both chambers are interested in the 
plans for a Parliamentary Resource Center, which will be 
housed in an office building formerly home to the Union 
newspaper.  Turnover in Parliamentary leadership and 
contracting delays have posed obstacles to the U.S.-funded 
renovation of the Union building, but Chamber of Deputies 
officers look set to approve the plans for the new building, 
including the Parliamentary Resource Center, this month.  In 
the past, poor employment practices, budgetary disarray, and 
weak internal controls in the Parliament have posed 
additional challenges to the completion of the Parliamentary 
Resource Center and other institution-building efforts.  The 
Parliament's little-used library is a case-in-point.  Despite 
a near-ideal location and a generous initial donation of 
equipment, the library has languished with little 
 
institutional support.  It has no budget for acquisitions or 
equipment, and its 27 seconded staff want for work and 
probably lack the expertise to provide the advanced analysis 
of a modern legislative research service. 
 
THE ASSISTANCE PICTURE: RULE OF LAW/GOVERNANCE 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. (U) The United States will provide over USD 287 million 
in non-emergency assistance to Haiti in 2009.  Our programs 
in Haiti -- financed by USAID, CDC, the State Department's 
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs 
(INL/NAS), and the U.S. Coast Guard -- seek to implement 
reforms, build public institutions, improve law enforcement 
and corrections capability, and help deliver basic services. 
Rule of Law programs target Haiti's justice system by helping 
increase judicial authorities' administrative, management and 
technical capacity.  Good Governance programs provide 
technical assistance and training to Haiti's Parliament in 
the areas of legislative drafting, legal and judicial reform, 
and rules of procedure.  Programs aimed at conflict 
mitigation address poverty and gang-related violence through 
creation of short- and long-term employment and transfer of 
job skills through labor-intensive reconstruction of social 
and productive infrastructure.  Another program targets the 
Provisional 
Electoral Council to help it solidify its organization and 
modernize the voter registration process. Civil society 
programs assist a variety of local media, regional journalist 
associations, and public service associations, including 
those that monitor corruption. 
 
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 
----------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) The steep rise in food prices in 2008 followed by the 
four hurricanes sharply exacerbated Haiti's chronic food 
insecurity, to which approximately 3 million Haitians are now 
exposed.  USAID contributed USD 45 million in emergency food 
aid and another USD 14 million for post-hurricane recovery. 
USAID is continuing its programs to build disaster early 
warning, response and mitigation capacity.  The Ambassador 
officiated in November at the ground-breaking ceremony for an 
Emergency Operations Center for Haiti's disaster response 
agencies.  Following the hurricanes, Congress appropriated an 
additional USD 96 million over three years for the 
restoration of public services, repairs to public use 
infrastructure, provision of income-generating activities, 
asset restoration, and support to affected families. 
 
HEALTH AND EDUCATION/ECONOMIC GROWTH 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶13. (U) Basic health programs help increase access to 
essential health services in 72 public sector clinics and 80 
NGO clinics.  Nearly 50 percent of Haiti's population 
receives at least some health services financed by the USG. 
USAID-financed education programs include a new basic 
education project to strengthen the Ministry of Education's 
management and supervisory system, help it extend supervision 
over the vast private-sector education system, and provide 
scholarships.  Social assistance programs support Haiti's 
most vulnerable citizens.  Economic growth programs target 
trade and investment, financial sector programs for small and 
medium enterprises, and programs for agricultural 
productivity and marketing.  Reducing environmental 
degradation is the goal of USD 25 million in programs that 
focus on restoring watersheds to thwart periodic flooding. 
 
HIV/AIDS RELIEF 
--------------- 
 
¶14. (U) Haiti has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in 
the Western Hemisphere.  The President's Emergency Plan for 
AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will provide just short of USD 100 
million in FY 2009 to prevent infections and place 
HIV-positive persons into treatment.  Implemented by USAID 
and CDC, PEPFAR programs target HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, 
but also benefit large parts of Haiti's health care system. 
The PEPFAR program in Haiti is the largest in the hemisphere. 
 
POLICE REFORM/CORRECTIONS 
------------------------- 
 
¶15. (U) The U.S. is the lead donor in implementing the 
MINUSTAH/Haitian National Police (HNP) reform plan, which 
foresees building up the HNP from its current strength of 
9,600 to 14,000 officers by the end of 2011.  In concert with 
MINUSTAH's mandate to enhance Haiti's border security, the 
 
U.S. Coast Guard provides training for the Haitian Coast 
Guard, financed by INL/NAS.  Facility renovations, additional 
boats, and a new operating base on the north coast will be 
funded by INL/NAS in 2009.  The U.S. made a commitment in 
2007 to assist in improving the conditions and respect for 
human rights in Haiti's prison system, and remains the lead 
donor to Haiti in this sector. 
SANDERSON