Haiti Report for July 6, 2005

The Haiti Report is a compilation and summary of events as described in Haitian and international media. It does not reflect the opinions of any individual or organization. This service is intended to create a better understanding of the situation in Haiti by presenting the reader with reports that provide a variety of perspectives on the situation.

IN THIS REPORT:
– Kidnapped Red Cross Worker Found Shot To Death; Violence Threatens Elections
– Declining Security Situation Provokes Exodus of Charity Workers and Foreign Residents
– American Airlines Cancels Some Flights to Haiti
– OAS Secretary General Official Visit to Port-au-Prince
– Haiti Issues Hurricane Warning for Tropical Storm Dennis
– US Ambassador Foley says Violence in Haiti amounts to Terrorism
– Deadly Truck Accident
– MINUSTAH Operation in Bel Air
– UN Secretary General Pleads for US Troops in Haiti
– CARICOM Concerned about Growing Violence in Haiti
– IDB Approves $50 million Soft Loan
– New Contingent of Chilean Soldiers in Haiti

Kidnapped Red Cross Worker Found Shot To Death; Violence Threatens Elections:
A kidnapped international Red Cross worker was found shot to death, the organization said Friday, expressing its concerns about escalating violence that threatens elections to replace ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. “Elections are the bridge to democracy,’’ trumpets a slogan to persuade frightened Haitians to vote. Crossing that bridge is proving anything but easy. Daily killings and kidnappings, dismally low voter registration and logistical snags are forcing election organizers to consider tough choices, including suggestions of delaying the balloting in some areas.

Joel Cauvin, a Haitian employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross, was abducted Wednesday evening and found dead near his home the next day, the committee said Friday. The Geneva-based organization said it was “extremely concerned about the growing insecurity in Haiti.’’ Cauvin’s family had been negotiating a ransom with his captors when talks abruptly and inexplicably broke off, said Wolde Saugeron, an ICRC spokesman in Haiti.

U.N. peacekeepers said they freed a kidnapped woman in a raid Wednesday, and local Radio Metropole identified the victim as a worker for the Haitian Red Cross. “Until the people of Haiti can walk outside of their homes in peace, they cannot be expected to vote,’’ said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has called for a delay in Haiti’s polls until security is restored. The U.S. House of Representatives refused to support her appeal this week. Nearly 7,000 local and regional posts are up for grabs Oct. 9, and elections for president and 129 legislators are slated for Nov. 13.

So far, just 200,000 of Haiti’s 4.5 million eligible voters – fewer than 5 percent – have registered, with about a month left until registration ends. Only 100 of 424 planned voter registration sites have opened, though another 117 centers are supposed to open soon, according to the Provisional Electoral Council. “What is happening in Port-au-Prince doesn’t make people want to come out and register,’’ said Rosemand Pradel, secretary-general of the Provisional Electoral Council, which suffered a grenade attack in March. He said the council is trying to extend the registration period until the end of August and has not ruled out postponing October local elections “as a last resort.’’ Pradel also suggested that elections in the pro-Aristide slums of Cite Soleil and Bel-Air – home to several hundred thousand people – could be delayed until the areas “cool down.’’ (AP, 7/1)

A series of elections is supposed to begin Oct. 9, but militant supporters of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have blocked the opening of ID registration centers in the slums that are home to 2.5 million people, who make up more than a quarter of the country’s population. Just 5% of eligible voters had signed up for cards by the start of this month, raising prospects for postponing the Oct. 9 elections for local offices as well as Nov. 13 parliamentary and presidential votes. Any presidential runoff is set for Dec. 18. The security delays and threats against would-be voters follow slow delivery of generators to power the identification system in the desolate provinces, and protracted negotiations with rural authorities to prepare polling places.

Despite the uphill battles still being waged against bureaucracy and bloodshed, those charged with organizing the elections contend that they are confident the voting will happen. Rosemond Pradel, administrator of the Provisional Electoral Council, pledges that balloting will be held this autumn whether all eligible voters have had a chance to register or not. He argues that the will of the people cannot be ignored just because a few hundred gangsters are wreaking havoc.

“We think the police and MINUSTAH [the U.N. peacekeeping mission] will take the necessary steps to pacify the lawless areas,” Pradel said. “But if they can’t, this represents only about 10% of the population. We may have to have elections with 90% of the population that is ready and have them for the other 10% later.” “The international community is spending $60 million for elections and $500 million for MINUSTAH,” he said. “You can’t spend that kind of money and get zero as a result.”

Extending the Aug. 9 registration deadline is an option, Pradel noted, as is some delay in the voting dates. Even at full tilt, each of the 600 computers converting fingerprints, names, addresses and birthdates into photo ID cards can handle only about 120 voters per day. Elizabeth Spehar, election program coordinator for the Organization of American States, blames the late start in registration on a dearth of functional government offices and widespread electricity shortages in the countryside. More problematic than the logistics, however, is the persistent lawlessness in densely populated slums. Violence-plagued neighborhoods such as Cite Soleil, Bel Air and La Saline have no registration offices yet because neither election workers nor U.N. peacekeepers will brave entry into areas crackling with gunfire and barricaded by smoldering trash heaps. “We’ve been ready to work there in terms of equipment and personnel for quite some time,” Spehar said. “What is holding us up is the question of having the right atmosphere.” (LA Times, 7/6)

Declining Security Situation Provokes Exodus of Charity Workers and Foreign Residents:
The security situation in Haiti continues to decline, provoking the exodus of charity workers and foreign residents. According to ActionAid International – Haiti, the failure of security measures can be traced to the dearth of resources and effort from the nation’s transitional government. Meanwhile, local violence is increasing in intensity and scope.

Recent developments :
— Kidnappings have increased to upwards of six a day. All civilians, including children and the elderly, have been identified as targets. A rising surge of victims are reportedly facing torture during captivity. In one instance, the child of a family too poor to pay ransom was recently returned home with her eyes gorged out.
— Violent crimes (burglary, murder, rape, and assaults) are dramatically increasing in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
— Daily gunfire has become routine in certain areas. As a result, downtown Port-au-Prince is rapidly becoming evacuated by business owners. Detrimental consequences to the economy are expected for the long and short term. The area surrounding Haiti’s National Palace is also experiencing a regular barrage of gunfire.
— The U.S. Peace Corps has departed from Haiti, and other non-essential U.S. residents were requested to evacuate the nation four weeks ago. As a result, the U.S. embassy is nearly deserted, reducing functions to a bare minimum. Many countries, including the United States and Canada, are issuing regular advisories warning their citizens not to travel to the Caribbean nation.
— On June 23, Interim President Boniface Alexandre enacted what is becoming a routine reshuffle within the nation’s cabinet. Key changes were made in the Interior, Social Affairs, and Justice Ministries.
— On June 23, Haiti’s influential “Conseil des Sages” (Council of the Wise) publicly denounced the manner in which the cabinet reshuffle was undertaken, citing rampant nepotism. Separately, several political leaders denounced the recent nomination of a Lavalas Party member to the government, describing the action as a clear violation of an April 4th agreement specifically banning political parties from governance. The nomination was also denounced as a possible reward to Lavalas-affiliated gang members, whom are accused of holding responsibility for the current climate of unrest.
— On June 22, the U.N. Security Council extended its Haitian peacekeeping mandate for another eight months. In compliance with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s recommendation, 800 troops will be added to the nation’s existing force of 6,700 peacekeepers. 275 civilian police officers will additionally be recruited to join the current force of 1,622.
— With an impending election on the horizon, international observers fear that lawlessness in Haiti will nonetheless remain on the uprise.

In light of the current situation, ActionAid International demands that national and international authorities directly and immediately address Haiti’s security concerns. They call on the United Nations :
— to implement an effective and immediate disarmament program
— to work in partnership with civil society on security issues
— to provide training and support programs for the Haitian National Police

ActionAid calls on Haiti’s interim national government to establish an effective criminal justice system, and to end the reign of impunity. To ensure that none of these measures fail due to a lack of resources, ActionAid also calls on donor countries to fulfill their fiscal commitments towards aiding Haiti’s reconstruction. (US Newswire, 7/5)

American Airlines Cancels Some Flights to Haiti:
American Airlines said Tuesday that it will cancel one of its four daily non-stop flights from Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, beginning on July 15. The airline will cancel another Miami to Port-au-Prince flight on Aug. 23. American plans to continue flying two daily flights from Miami and one daily flight between Fort Lauderdale and Port-au-Prince. Passengers holding reservations on the canceled flights will be accommodated, the airline said. (Miami Herald, 7/5)

As of today, American Airlines will cancel one of two daily non-stops between Port-au-Prince and New York/JFK. Airline officials say it is part of the “seasonal adjustments” they are making to flights to the strife torn island. On July 15, the airline will cancel one of its four PAP-Miami flights. A second Miami-PAP flight will be canceled on August 23. The cancellations will leave the carrier flying to Haiti only twice daily between Miami-PAP from August 23; once daily between JFK, and once from Ft. Lauderdale. (Hardbeatnews.com, 7/6)

OAS Secretary General Official Visit to Port-au-Prince:
Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza began Tuesday an official two-day visit to Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, to assess the situation in the troubled Caribbean country. Though Insulza declined to issue a statement to the media upon his arrival, the OAS’ media official said the OAS chief will undoubtedly give priority to the assessment of situation in the country, which will have a general election in three months. During his visit, Insulza is expected to meet with Haitian officials, political leaders and members of the Provisional Electoral Council. (Xinhua, 7/5)

Haiti Issues Hurricane Warning for Tropical Storm Dennis:
Tropical Storm Dennis is currently making progress through the Caribbean Sea as the storm wraps its center with numerous thunderstorms and tropical storm force winds. Dennis is aiming for a date with the Gulf of Mexico later in the week as a Category 2 Hurricane. The storm is presently 315 miles south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico with winds of 40 mph and rocketing off to the west-northwest at 20 mph. Strengthening is expected in the next 24-hours. A hurricane watch has been posted by the Jamaican government as well as the government’s of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. (All Headline News, 7/5)

US Ambassador Foley says Violence in Haiti amounts to Terrorism:
U.S. Ambassador James Foley said the continuing violence for political ends in Haiti amounts to “terrorism,” and that criminals have connections to some political leaders on the island. In a U.S. Independence Day speech delivered Sunday night and distributed to the news media Monday afternoon, Foley lambasted recent kidnappings, killings and a June 1 attack on a marketplace that left seven dead, but he stopped short of blaming any particular group.

“Today in Haiti they are burning houses, they are burning stores, they are attacking means of transportation and communication links. They are kidnapping people of all social classes. They are assassinating, torturing and raping,” said Foley in the speech, delivered at the U.S. Embassy. “All of this has a name: The use of violence against civilians for political purposes is the very definition of terrorism.”

Foley added that in Haiti, “There are certainly criminal and shadowy elements who have aligned with the political masterminds and whose participation only makes the political aims all the more illegitimate. But, for the most part, we know what is involved and who is involved.” He did not elaborate. Foley also said “peace and tranquility” were the only ways for the poorest nation in the Americas to assure that it will continue to receive international aid. (AP, 7/5)

Deadly Truck Accident:
A truck transporting vegetable vendors to a market skidded off a wet road and flipped, killing 12 and injuring dozens more. Witnesses tell Radio Metropole the truck swerved to avoid two cars that had broken down in the middle of a hilly dirt road in southeastern Haiti. According to witnesses the truck skidded and rolled over, killing a young boy, 10 women and another person whose gender and age were not immediately known. Most victims were vendors en route to a Port-au-Prince market. (All Headline News, 7/2)

MINUSTAH Operation in Bel Air:
Hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers raided a slum filled with gangs loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Wednesday, killing six gunmen.In a raid on a house in Bel-Air, a ghetto in the capital of Port-au-Prince, troops freed a kidnapped woman who was being held bound and blindfolded by armed men, said U.N. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jorge Smicelapo. The raid touched off a gunbattle that killed six suspected gang members and injured five, Smicelapo said. The woman was unharmed. The Brazilian troops suffered no casualties during the eight-hour offensive, Smicelapo said.

Local Radio Metropole reported that the kidnapped woman was an employee of the Haitian Red Cross. Smicelapo could not immediately confirm that report. About 300 soldiers participated in the operation, one of the biggest U.N. offensives in weeks against armed gangs accused of waging a campaign of violence that could undermine elections later this year. Troops detained 13 suspected criminals and turned them over to Haitian police, Smicelapo said. (AP, 6/30)

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, tipped off about the presence of armed men in a poor district of the country’s capital, mounted a security operation that resulted in the deaths of six gang members, the wounding of four and the arrest of 13, as well as the freeing of a kidnap victim. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) carried out the operation in the Bel-Air district of Port-au-Prince at first light yesterday, after the mission got credible information about the armed men, the mission’s military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Boulbars Elouafi, said. The Brazilian and Chinese troops who carried out the raid seized armaments, munitions and communication equipment and turned over the 13 they arrested to the Haitian National Police (HNP), he said. The person abducted on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince was an international employee of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the spokesman said. (UN Daily News, 6/30)

UN Secretary General Pleads for US Troops in Haiti:
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has issued a private plea for U.S. troops for Haiti, underscoring an urgent need to stem rising violence so that successful elections can be carried out. But even as the United States remains concerned and is closely monitoring developments, there are no plans to add American soldiers to the 7,400-strong multinational U.N. peacekeeping force already in place, officials said Thursday.

‘’We continue to believe that a focused and robust response by MINUSTAH [the U.N. peacekeeping force] is the key to security in Haiti and will lay the groundwork for successful elections and economic growth in the long term,’’ said a State Department spokesman. Annan’s request was made Tuesday during a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

According to the Washington Post, Annan told Rice that he may have to ask for American ‘’boots on the ground’’ in the coming months to reinforce the Brazilian, Chilean, Argentine and other peacekeeping forces now serving in Haiti. Annan told Rice that American forces were needed because Haitians ‘’respect the U.S. military,’’ the Post reported.

‘’We believe that the additional number of troops and police provided for [by the U.N.], combined with the focused effort targeting those violent actors who are creating the instability in Haiti, like the operation we saw carried out in Bel-Air, will establish a secure environment,’’ said the spokesman, who cannot be identified due to State Department policy. (Miami Herald, 7/1)

The Pentagon has been weighing a request from the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, James B. Foley, and other senior U.S. officials to present an American show of force in the troubled Caribbean island nation, according to U.S. officials. The officials, who said they were unauthorized to speak publicly on the issue, expressed concern that violence could spiral out of control, threatening the country’s municipal and presidential elections scheduled for October and December.

U.S. and U.N. officials have begun a series of preliminary discussions about a possible U.S. military role in Haiti, including the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the planned U.N. rapid reaction force, according to senior U.N. diplomats. But the diplomats said that the United States, which currently has only four military staff officers serving in the U.N. mission, has made no formal commitment to expand its military presence. The chief U.N. peacekeeping official, Jean-Marie Guehenno of France, declined to discuss the specifics of any military contacts with Washington. “At the moment, we are discussing a range of options,” he said. “We don’t exclude any options.” (Washington Post, 6/30)

CARICOM Concerned about Growing Violence in Haiti:
The 15-nation Caribbean Community said it was worried about the growing violence and deteriorating security situation in Haiti and chided the international community for what it called the slow allocation of financial aid. The outgoing chairperson of the community, known as Caricom, President Ronald Venetiaan of Suriname, said members are monitoring an increase in political instability and a simultaneous deterioration of security in the run-up to municipal, legislative and presidential elections in Haiti.

He said that while Western donor nations have pledged millions to help the impoverished Caribbean nation, the actual disbursement of aid is slow and “raises questions about the real commitment of the international community to alleviate the social and economic suffering of the Haitian people”. The Haiti declaration came on the first day of Caricom’s four-day summit, during which leaders also tackled crime, free trade and an agreement Venezuela negotiated with several Caribbean nations to provide them with inexpensive oil and petroleum products. (AP, 7/4)

IDB Approves $50 million Soft Loan:
The Inter-American Development Bank has announced the approval of a $50 million soft loan to Haiti to rehabilitate roads and highways and repair Port-au-Prince’s international airport and port. “The program is designed to be carried out in stages, so that a number of priority projects could begin quickly because they’ve already completed the engineering studies and environmental analyses,” said IDB project team leader Jose Agustin Aguerre. “Besides addressing what’s urgent, the program will finance further studies and technical assistance for designing medium- and long-term sector plans.” The IDB is the focal point for the international community’s support for the Haitian government’s plan for the recovery of the transportation sector. In 2003 it reactivated a $50 million loan for rural roads and in 2004 it approved a $70 million loan for a fund that is financing small and medium-size infrastructure projects.

The Inter-American Development Bank has the largest portfolio of loans in execution in Haiti, with $380 million to finance economic and social programs. These include basic infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, water and sanitation, primary education, job training, community development and small productive projects across the country. It is also providing fast-disbursing loans to support public finance reforms and to strengthen economic governance. Other loans totaling $200 million are under preparation to finance programs for rural development, urban center upgrading, environmental management, flood prevention and access to credit for small and medium-size enterprises.

The IDB coordinates its activities closely with donor countries’ agencies and other multilateral institutions that support the Interim Cooperation Framework, a strategy proposed by the Haitian government to address the country’s priorities, foster economic recovery and smooth the transition to a new, democratically elected administration. (IDB, 7/4)

New Contingent of Chilean Soldiers in Haiti:
A new contingent of Chilean soldiers traveled to Haiti to support the work of the UN peace mission in Haiti, confirmed official sources Monday. Senator Gabriel Valdes said in an interview broadcast by Channel 13 that Haiti needed a rescue operation to solve essential problems and that if there is not a considerable injection of money, it will not be a pretty picture. Channel 13 reported Port-au-Prince is the most complicated zone because of the presence of drug-dealers, kidnappings, and an unemployment level of 75 percent. (Prensa Latina, 7/4)

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