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FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0189
INFO RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000001 
 
C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y - SUBJECT SPELLING CORRECTION 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
STATE PASS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OVIP PGOV PREL HA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR LT. GENERAL KEEN, JANUARY 12 VISIT TO HAITI 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Your visit comes at an important point in Haiti's 
democratic development.  President Rene Preval and his Prime 
Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, are working hard to meet the basic 
needs of the population and conduct the next round of elections, 
including for a new president in November.  Donor conferences held 
last year in Washington, D.C., and periodic visits from UN Special 
Envoy to Haiti, former U.S. President William Clinton have kept 
Haiti in the international spotlight.  The United States is Haiti's 
major donor.  There is a major ongoing review of US assistance 
programs in Haiti which will produce an interagency strategy for 
assistance for FY-10 and beyond. Electoral tensions and student 
demonstrations have added an element of uncertainty to Haiti's 
political and security environment, although kidnappings have 
markedly decreased. The last two rounds of national elections April 
- June 2009  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.  Parliamentary elections 
are scheduled for February.  We expect the elections to be 
relatively free and fair (by Haitian standards) though actions of 
the Electoral Council are generating controversy among opposition 
parties that believe President Preval's political movement "Inite" 
is being unfairly advantaged.  End summary. 
 
 
 
RIOTS, FLOODS ENDANGER YEARS OF PROGRESS 
 
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¶2. (SBU) Haiti is the hemisphere's poorest and one of its most 
politically unstable countries.  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, and the departure of an elected President in the midst of 
an armed rebellion which left Haiti's democratic institutions and 
processes in a shambles.  Even democratically elected leaders 
sometimes resorted to political violence or failed to hold 
constitutionally mandated elections.  All these factors have 
exacerbated political instability and scared off much-needed 
economic investment.  Two years after the departure of 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 considerably. 
 
 
 
¶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.  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.  Pierre-Louis was removed from office in October, 2009 in a 
move that was largely interpreted as a falling out with President 
Preval.  Her replacement, Minister of Planning Jean Max Bellerive, 
is a capable technocrat close to the President. 
 
 
 
STAGNANT ECONOMY SUFFERED A BLOW IN 2008, RECOVERS SOME IN 2009 
 
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¶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.  Despite the difficult international economic climate, 
we believe Haiti's economy grew in 2009. 
 
 
 
RENEWED INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN HAITI 
 
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¶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 international attention to Haiti's plight.  In addition, 
Secretary Clinton announced significant pledges of new assistance 
at an April 14, 2009 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 UPCOMING ELECTIONS 
 
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¶6. (SBU) In preparation for legislative and presidential elections 
in 2010, a new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) was sworn in on 
October 22, 2009.  President Preval named the council members with 
no input from the opposition parties, creating the specter of a 
manipulated election process.  When the CEP excluded Lavalas and a 
number of other important opposition parties from the election on 
technical grounds, opposition groups cried foul, but were unable to 
mount the kind of opposition in the streets that in past years has 
characterized the confrontation between the opposition and the 
government.  Under pressure from the international community, the 
CEP excluded a number of candidates who engaged in violence in 
previous elections and let Lavalas and other excluded party 
candidates run under the banner of non-proscribed parties.  This 
has done little, however, to assuage the distrust the opposition 
parties have for the CEP and could lead to continued confrontation 
and questioning of the election results. 
 
 
 
THE ASSISTANCE PICTURE: RULE OF LAW/GOVERNANCE 
 
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¶7. (U) The United States provided 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 provided 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 
assisted a variety of local media, regional journalist 
associations, and public service associations, including those that 
monitor corruption. 
 
 
 
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 
 
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¶8. (U) The steep rise in food prices in 2008 followed by the four 
hurricanes sharply exacerbated Haiti's chronic food insecurity, 
however the more than 3 million Haitians defined as "food insecure" 
dropped to 1.8 million in the latest estimates, as agricultural 
assistance programs bear fruit.  In 2008, 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.  In 
November 2008 ground was broken 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 Colombia to Haiti on short notice 
and a cost of approximately $10 million. 
 
 
 
HEALTH AND EDUCATION/ECONOMIC GROWTH 
 
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¶9. (U) Basic health programs funded by the USG 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.  Social assistance 
programs support Haiti's most vulnerable citizens.  Economic growth 
programs targeted 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 
 
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¶10. (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 
 
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¶11. (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 9,000 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 were 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