VZCZCXYZ0010
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPU #0892/01 2961524
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231524Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUEHPU/USDAO PORT AU PRINCE HA PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0464
INFO RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000892 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
STATE PASS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP PGOV PREL PMIL HA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SOUTHCOM COMMANDER, OCTOBER 28 
VISIT TO HAITI 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Your visit comes at an important 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 Prime Minister, Michele 
Pierre-Louis, are working hard to meet the basic needs of the 
population and repair the nearly USD 1 billion in damage 
caused by the storms and resulting flooding.  A donor 
conference in Washington and a visit by Secretary Clinton in 
April both emphasized USG determination to help the Haitian 
people overcome these challenges and focus international 
attention on Haiti.  Electoral tensions and recent student 
demonstrations over a controversial minimum wage bill have 
added an element of uncertainty to Haiti's political and 
security environment. Two rounds of national elections April 
19 and June 21 to fill 12 vacant seats in the Parliament's 
30-seat Senate saw low voter turnout and isolated incidents 
of violence, but improved security and organization.  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 capitalize on the resulting 
instability to oust then-PM Jacques-Edouard Alexis.  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 or 
otherwise affected 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, 2008. 
 
STAGNANT ECONOMY SUFFERED A BLOW IN 2008 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The hurricanes and resulting flooding cast a 
spotlight on Haiti's already dire economic situation. 
Roughly 70 percent of the Haitian population lives on less 
than two dollars per day, and at least 60 percent are 
unemployed or underemployed.  Continuing security challenges, 
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.  At this point, of the reported total 300  million 
in aid promised, the government claims that only 21 million 
has been delivered. 
 
CONTROVERSY LINGERS OVER PARTIAL SENATE ELECTIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The partial Senate elections were the object of some 
controversy, but they had the strong backing of the United 
States and the rest of the international community.  The 
electoral authority's decision to exclude all 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 for the 
first round on April 19, although participation in partial 
legislative elections here is typically low. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The elections themselves took place in a largely 
peaceful atmosphere, although acts of violence and ballot-box 
theft were registered in some areas of the country. 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. 
 
¶8. (SBU) A new Provisional Electoral Council(CEP) was sworn 
in on October 22.  President Preval asked for members' groups 
to provide their opinions as to the effectiveness of their 
representatives.   After those consultations, Preval revoked 
the member who represented the popular sector and reallocated 
that seat to the voudou community.  Frantz Verret was passed 
over as CEP President in favor of Gaillot Dorsainvil, who 
represents the disabled community's interest. 
 
¶9. (SBU) A new round of parliamentary elections to replace 
the entire Chamber of Deputies and an additional ten Senators 
should occur in November.  Although the international 
community and MINUSTAH have pledged a variety of support, it 
is unlikely that the elections can take place as law dictates 
next month. 
 
 
THE ASSISTANCE PICTURE: RULE OF LAW/GOVERNANCE 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶10. (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 Department of 
Defense, and the State Department's Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL/NAS) -- 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 
----------------------- 
 
¶11. (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 2008 at the ground-breaking ceremony 
for a SouthCom-funded 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.  The USS Kearsarge also assisted immediately after 
the storms, diverting from Coloumbia to Haiti on short notice 
and a cost of approximately $10 million. 
 
HEALTH AND EDUCATION/ECONOMIC GROWTH 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶12. (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 
--------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Haiti has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in 
the Western Hemisphere.  The President's Emergency Plan for 
AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided 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 
------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) The U.S. is the lead donor in implementing the 
MINUSTAH/Haitian National Police (HNP) reform plan, which 
foresees building 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.  The MLO also provides equipment 
and training for the Coast Guard using IMET and FMK. 
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. 
 
The Embassy at Port-au-Prince looks forwards to your visit. 
MERTEN