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Haiti Report for July 25, 2006

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

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Haiti Report for July 25, 2006

The Haiti Report is a compilation and summary of events as described
in Haiti and international media prepared by Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY.
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.

To make a donation to support this service: Konbit Pou Ayiti, 7 Wall
Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930.

IN THIS REPORT:
- - US TSA Says Port-au-Prince Airport has Resolved Security Problems
- - Florida Judge Rules Former Haitian Military's Lottery Winnings can
go to Victims' Families
- - Demonstration for the Return of President Aristide on July 15 in
Port-au-Prince
- - Preval Appoints Former Police Official to Top Security Post
- - New Press and Communications Director for Prime Minister
- - Former Official Accuses Latortue of Corruption
- - CEP Blames Financial Problems for Delay in Setting Election Date
- - Massacre in Grand Ravine Not a Spontaneous Attack
- - New Wave of Violence in Port-au-Prince
- - New Wave of Kidnappings in Port-au-Prince
- - European NGOs Offer Analysis of the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF)
- - July 25th International Donors' Conference on Haiti

US TSA Says Port-au-Prince Airport has Resolved Security Problems:
Security problems at Haiti's Port-au-Prince airport have been
resolved, the U.S. government said Tuesday. On Dec. 22, 2004, the
Transportation Security Administration announced that the airport's
security measures didn't meet international standards. Airlines and
airports were asked to tell passengers traveling between the United
States and Haiti that there were security lapses at the airport. "Now
that the government of Haiti has made the appropriate corrective
actions, the Secretary of Homeland Security has notified Haitian
government officials that the public notification requirements are
being lifted," the agency said in a statement. TSA spokeswoman Amy
von Walter said the agency worked with Haitian authorities to bring
the airport up to international security standards. She would not
discuss the nature of the problems or what was done to address them.
TSA assesses security at foreign airports. If the agency finds
inadequate security, the Homeland Security secretary must tell the
foreign government and recommend changes. (AP, 7/18)

Florida Judge Rules Former Haitian Military's Lottery Winnings can go
to Victims' Families:
A North Florida judge this week ruled that about $808,000 left over
from a $3.2 million Florida Lotto jackpot won by a deported former
Haitian military officer can be paid to relatives of victims of
Haiti's 1994 Raboteau Massacre. The decision, which moves the
relatives a step closer to collecting compensation for their pain and
suffering, came in a lawsuit filed by a California-based human rights
organization, the former officer's Miami attorney said Friday. Kurt
Klaus, attorney for former Haitian army Col. Carl Dorelien, told The
Miami Herald that Leon County Circuit Court Judge Janet Farris ruled
Wednesday that a Haitian judgment awarding Raboteau victims one
billion Haitian gourdes, or about $28 million, was valid in Florida
and could be paid from Dorelien's jackpot proceedings. Dorelien has
been sued separately in federal court in Miami where the human rights
group is seeking damages for relatives of Raboteau victims.

Klaus said he will appeal Farris' decision and ask her to keep the
money in the account until all legal actions are exhausted. Klaus
said Farris issued her ruling orally and is now preparing a formal
written order. The ruling was a victory for the San Francisco-based
Center for Justice & Accountability, which sued Dorelien for the
money. But CJA officials were circumspect about the matter because
Farris' order is not final until it's in writing. ''We are not in a
position to comment because we do not yet have a final written order
from the judge,'' said CJA litigation director Matt Eisenbrandt.

Dorelien won the jackpot in 1997, but did not take a lump sum payment
because that option was not available at the time. He was deported in
2003 after an immigration judge found him to be a human rights
violator. He has denied any responsibility in the two-day rampage at
Raboteau, a poor seaside neighborhood of Gonaves in Haiti, where at
least 26 unarmed men, women and children were killed. Human rights
advocates blamed the massacre on several Haitian officials at the
time, including Dorelien -- not because he was involved but because
the soldiers linked to the killings were nominally under his command.
(Miami Heald, 7/19)

Demonstration for the Return of President Aristide on July 15 in Port-
au-Prince:
Thousands of demonstrators demanding the return of ousted president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched to Haiti's National Palace on
Saturday, pushing past riot police in a dramatic show of support for
the exiled former leader. Chants of "Aristide or death!" and
"Aristide's blood is our blood!" rang
out as a crush of demonstrators pressed against a line of national
police, who eventually allowed some 3,000 protesters to fill the
street outside the
palace. The march coincided with Aristide's 53rd birthday and marked
the largest display of support in months for the deposed leader, who
has been living in South Africa. Helmeted police wielding batons and
riot shields formed a human chain to keep protesters from approaching
the whitewashed National Palace, President Rene Preval's official
residence, which was guarded by dozens of U.N. peacekeepers in
armored cars.

Police pushed back several protesters but the confrontation did not
escalate to violence. Still, the show of force prompted many to turn
back,
fearful of a clash. "If there's blood it will be on your hands!" a
man yelled at police before they yielded. "We voted for Preval on the
condition that he bring back Aristide. That's the will of the
people," said Bruce Pierre Richard, 21. "The international community
doesn't want Aristide to come back, so they're pressuring Preval to
keep him out," said demonstrator Harold Lafaliese, 40. (AP, 7/15)

Thousands of supporters of exiled former Haitian President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide took to the capital's streets on Saturday to call
for his return and demand political prisoners be freed. The protest
in Port-au-Prince, which witnesses said included about 30,000 people,
was largely peaceful apart from a brief standoff with U.N.
peacekeepers and riot police. "We want Aristide back because he is
Haitian, not South African," said Jean Woody Pierre-Paul, a spokesman
for the marchers. The demonstrators called on newly elected President
Rene Preval, a one-time ally of Aristide's, to free all political
prisoners jailed under the previous interim administration of Prime
Minister Gerard Latortue. The crowd, mainly from the slums where
Aristide and Preval drew most of their support, also called for
public employees fired en masse by the Latortue government to be
given back their jobs. The protesters almost clashed with police and
U.N. peacekeepers when they were barred from approaching the
presidential palace. Most scattered when Haitian security forces
pulled their guns and threatened to shoot. But several thousand
protesters managed to force their way through. "I can't believe that
under Preval the population can be barred from demonstrating in front
of the presidential palace," said Josias Mathurin, a protester. "We
spent two years fighting the interim government to regain this
right," he said. (Reuters, 7/15)

Preval Appoints Former Police Official to Top Security Post:
President Rene Preval appointed a former police official to Haiti's
top national security post, charging him with combatting a new wave
of violence blamed on warring street gangs. Preval announced Luc
Eucher Joseph's appointment as national security undersecretary
Wednesday night. Joseph, a Preval ally and former head of the police
internal affairs division, takes over as the troubled Caribbean
nation faces a surge in kidnappings and killings by well-armed street
gangs based in the dense, lawless slums of the capital. Last week, 22
people, including women and a child, were found shot to
death in the Martissant slum. Witnesses said heavily armed gangsters
from a rival area broke into the victims' homes and shot them one-by-
one. The U.S. State Department last week reissued a warning to
Americans of the risks involved in visiting Haiti. (AP, 7/13)

New Press and Communications Director for Prime Minister:
On 11 July 2006, Pierre-Raymond Dumas entered into function as the
new Press and Communications Director for the Prime Minister of
Haiti's Office. He replaces Jean-Junior Joseph who fulfilled the role
for interim prime minister, Girard Latortue. A new prime minister,
Jacques Edouard Alexis, was sworn in on 9 June. Pierre-Raymond Dumas
is an author and formerly a writer for Le Nouvelliste newspaper,
where he was in charge of the celebrated
column, 'The Transition That Never Ends'. In Le Nouvelliste of 14
October 2005, Dumas wrote about his participation in a debate on the
challenges facing the press during the electoral period:

"For my part, being the author of several books of political history
and analysis, I deplored the partisan, passionate and lazy state of
the Haitian press. Referring to the memorable elections of 1990 I
also insisted on the necessity of utilizing two journalistic means
almost forgotten - investigative journalism and analysis &
commentaries - in order to establish a professional body with
rigorous standards, with the quest for excellence and in the best
interests of the general population. All this is, of course, an
integral part of a functioning society, of intellectual development,
of respect for principles and academic standards. Like all changes in
mentality, that in the media, calls for continuous training and in
addition, an improvement in working conditions for Haitian
journalists, whose salaries are almost negligible. We must stress
this emphatically. I should mention, in finishing, that those
problems facing journalists are as difficult as the challenges facing
our society. One sheds light on the other." (Haiti Support Group, 7/14)

Former Official Accuses Latortue of Corruption:
According to one of his former officials who spoke Tuesday to the
AHP, the former interim prime minister Gerard Latortue granted
himself daily personal expenses totaling 44 million gourdes over the
two years of his regime. This amounts to a little over 1 million USD
(1USD = 40 gourdes). Mr. Latortue, who left Haiti abruptly last May
without revealing his total wealth as he had said he would do in
March 2004, went on numerous foreign trips especially to the US,
Canada and various European countries well after President Reni
Preval won the February 2006 elections. The former official in the
Latortue regime, who says that he was not involved in the excesses
engaged in by certain members of the Latortue government, stated that
the scandal of the daily expenses is only the tip of the iceberg. He
also stated that numerous cases of corruption will remain hidden as
long as changes to the public administration are not made. H gave the
example of the funds gathered to provided housing for the victims of
flooding in and around Fond Verrettes in 2004 that were never used
for this purpose. This high official of the former regime also stated
that a number of Mr. Latortue's associates openly disagreed with "his
running away." Several parliamentarians have recently accused Mr.
Latortue of having enacted just before his departure a decree paying
him 15,000 USD per month as a privilege granted to former prime
ministers. These same parliamentarians also accused Latortue of
having taken from the public treasury 90,000 USD in order to buy two
luxury vehicles as soon as he resumed his residence in Boca Raton,
Florida. Several other parliamentarians stated that some 960 million
dollars were invested in Haiti during the two years of the Latortue
regime within the context of the Interim Cooperation Framework, but
living conditions, far from improving, have worsened. They demanded
that the investigations of UCREF, an institution created by the
Aristide government, extend to the period of the interim regime.
(AHP, 7/18)

CEP Blames Financial Problems for Delay in Setting Election Date:
CEP president claims financial problems are the reason an election
date has not yet been fixed for upcoming municipal and local
elections. Max Mathurin, president of the Provisional Electoral
Council (CEP) stated Tuesday that financial problems are responsible
for the delay in fixing a date for the upcoming municipal and local
elections. Several national and international sectors have recently
pressured the CEP to quickly announce a date. The permanent UN
representative in Haiti, Adama Guindo stated Monday that the
international community is waiting for the electoral calendar to be
announced before releasing the necessary funds. "The local and
municipal elections will be organized as soon as the needed funds are
made available" responded the CEP president during an interview
Tuesday with Radio Solidariti. Mr. Mathurin nevertheless confirmed
legislative elections in the Grande Saline district in Artibonite
department will be held July 23rd, 2006. The elections were canceled
on several occasions due to instances of violence and serious
irregularities. According to Mr. Mathurin, the situation in the
region was thoroughly analyzed and measures have been taken to ensure
a fair election. He called on the full cooperation of all candidates
in that district in order to ensure a fair process and to grant
Grande Saline parliamentary representation. Nevertheless, candidates
and partisans of the Latibonit en Aksyon (LAA, Artibonite in Action)
and the Fusion of Social Democrats are accusing each other of wanting
to derail the process. Peasants from the region have said they are
worried by the behaviour of certain LAA supporters who have even dug
ditches across roads in the region, allegedly because voting centers
were not set up in their neighbourhood. (AHP, 7/18)

Massacre in Grand Ravine Not a Spontaneous Attack:
The killings began before dawn. Gunmen walked through this hillside
slum warning of a fire and yelling for residents to come out of their
cinder block and sheet-metal shacks. Those who followed their advice
were fatally shot. Hours later, morgue workers and United Nations'
peacekeepers piled corpses in one of the slum's main thoroughfares, a
rocky streambed at the bottom of the ravine for which this
neighborhood is named. The body count totaled 21, including three
women and four children. Most of the victims were killed execution-
style with a single bullet to the head. "I've never seen anything
like this," said Jean Gabriel Ambrose, the Port-au-Prince justice of
the peace. "What is shocking is that all of the victims appear to
have been innocent."

For several weeks, rival gangs had exchanged fire in a turf war over
control of the slum. But family members, neighbors, human rights
observers and police all agree the victims of last Friday's massacre
were not gang members, making U.N. and Haitian officials suspect it
was a politically motivated attempt to destabilize the newly elected
government led by President Rene Preval. "I don't believe it was a
spontaneous attack," said Desmond Molloy, who heads the U.N.
peacekeeping mission's disarmament program in Haiti. "This massacre
creates an atmosphere of fear, and when people are afraid, it's very
hard to establish any degree of stability." The killings in Grand
Ravine shattered five months of relative peace since Mr. Preval's
February electoral victory. The election marked the first sign of
improvement after two years of crisis and violence after the
departure of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile in
February 2004. In Grand Ravine and the neighboring slum of
Martissant, opposing gangs made peace during a March 19 soccer match
sponsored by the United Nations, and they handed authorities a
grenade and a firearm in a symbolic gesture. But the truce did not
last long.

"In recent weeks, we'd been aware of a heightening of tensions among
the gangs in this area along political and territorial lines," Mr.
Molloy said. On one side was a gang based in Grand Ravine associated
with Mr. Aristide's Lavalas party. On the other side were two anti-
Aristide gangs -- one based in a slum called Ti Bwa and a second
called the Little Machete Army. The latter earned its name at a
soccer match in August 2005 that ended with police officers shooting
in the stadium and the machete-wielding gang hacking fleeing
spectators to death. Grand Ravine residents and government officials
blame the Little Machete Army and the Ti Bwa gang for last week's
massacre. What remains a mystery is what provoked it. Haitian Police
Chief Mario Andresol suspects the attack was related to the killings
last year, which appeared to be a joint effort by the Little Machete
Army and rogue police officers to eliminate the Grand Ravine gang,
some of whose members were at the match. Chief Andresol arrested 15
police officers for their participation in the soccer stadium
killings, but the judge handling the case has since released most of
them. "This is my 13th conflict, and it's been the toughest one to
find out what's really going on," said Mr. Molloy, who oversaw
disarmament in Sierra Leone before coming to Haiti. "There are a lot
of smoke and mirrors. It's very difficult to nail down the motives
behind actions in Haiti." (Washington Times, 7/14)

New Wave of Violence in Port-au-Prince:
Hope is dimming two months into Haitian President Rene Preval's term
that new blood can revive the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation as
gang violence retakes the hard-pressed island in its violent grip.
More than 20 people have been confirmed killed over the past week and
some 2,000 UN peacekeepers forced to rush back into the island's
ravaged capital to try to retake control. The violence has injured a
half-dozen in the United Nations contingent. It was initially blamed
on gangs trying to divvy up territory in the city where they could
peddle drugs and oversee common trade in the face of meek government
authority. Kidnappings -- including those of the few foreigners still
remaining in this Caribbean nation -- that had made the nation
notorious but which slowly started to fade back again en force.

The United Nations team for one believes someone is out to discredit
Preval's name. "We are here to keep those who want to destabilize the
country and the government from doing so," UN peacekeeping force
spokesman David Wimhurst told AFP. His 7,500-strong MINUSTAH team has
soldiers ranging from Brazil to Sri Lanka. Troops from both countries
had to be hospitalized this week from gun battle wounds. The
Brazilians were injured in the Cite shantytown, an area that has been
all but ceded to armed gangs. "There are clear indications that
someone wants to disturb the climate," Wimhurst said. Preval however
refuses to say the new violence is aimed at his leadership, just as
it was aimed two years earlier against Aristide's. He instead blames
the unrest on drug gangs, and claims the political system is holding.
"The political insecurity is mainly under control," Preval told a
recent forum of business leaders from the Haitian diaspora. "The
instability that the country is seeing is the result of drug
trafficking and the release from prison of kidnappers" that happened
in the two years of mayhem before his election, Preval said. He
called for the police force to be combed for criminals and the court
system reformed of corruption. (AFP, 7/17)

Fierce clashes have broken out between UN troops and gunmen in the
Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, reports say. According to witnesses,
between two and six people were killed in the clashes in the north of
the city. UN officials were unable to confirm the deaths. Reports
describe gangs going on the rampage and kidnappings taking place.
"Two ladies who work in a nearby factory were killed by bullets," a
young man who identified himself as Maxime told Reuters news agency.
"A man who was running away from the scene of the incidents was shot
and fell on the ground," he said. "It was a real war," another
witness told Reuters. UN spokesman David Wimhurst said peacekeepers
had come under attack and returned fire. The unrest follows a gang
massacre in the Martissant neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince earlier
this month, in which about 20 people died. (BBC News, 7/20)

Two gunmen were shot to death on Thursday as gangs continued to
battle Haitian police and U.N. troops in the troubled Caribbean
nation, authorities said. The gunfights took place near the Cite
Soleil slum not far from Haiti's international airport, the same area
where several people died in gunfire on Wednesday. "They (gunmen)
attacked us. We returned fire and two were killed," said Frantz
Lerebours, a spokesman for the Haitian police. "We are not going to
surrender the country to bandits." He said one police officer was
wounded during the clashes. A U.N. spokeswoman said no peacekeepers
were hurt. Five people died on Wednesday in similar incidents. Four
were killed in Port-au-Prince and a policeman was gunned down in the
northern city of Gonaives. Authorities could offer no immediate
explanation for the surge in gunfire and kidnappings in recent days.
At least nine people were abducted on Wednesday, according to police
sources and radio reports. (Reuters, 7/21)

New Wave of Kidnappings in Port-au-Prince:
Two North Carolina missionaries kidnapped on their way to church in
Haiti's capital were freed Thursday after a ransom was paid, the FBI
said. Tom Barron, a minister at The Mustard Seed church, and
congregation member William Eugene Seastrum were driving to church
early Sunday when assailants stopped their car and dragged them out,
said Leslie Dallemand, chief of the U.N. peacekeeping mission's anti-
kidnapping unit. Both missionaries are from High Point, N.C. The
captors initially sought $500,000 but lowered their demand to
$100,000 during negotiations with the FBI, Dallemand said. The men
were released Thursday after a ransom was paid, FBI spokeswoman Judy
Orihuela said from Miami. "They negotiated the amount and they were
released," Orihuela said. She declined to say how much ransom was
paid and had no information about the men's conditions. "As far as I
know, they're pretty healthy," Dallemand said earlier. "The
kidnappers didn't speak English. They made (one missionary) call his
wife in North Carolina, and he did say he was OK." Separately,
Orihuela said another American was released Thursday after a day in
captivity when an undisclosed ransom was paid. Also, a Haitian
employee of the U.S. Embassy was kidnapped Wednesday while driving in
an embassy vehicle with diplomatic license plates.

The United Nations, which has about 8,800 peacekeepers in the
country, believes that much of the violence is aimed at destabilizing
the new government. But Preval says drug traffickers, corrupt police
and other criminals are behind the problems. The special U.N. envoy
to Haiti, Edmond Mulet, met with Preval on Wednesday and Thursday to
discuss the deteriorating security climate, officials said. On
Wednesday, gunmen stopped dozens of cars traveling along a main road
leading to the airport in the impoverished capital and tried to seize
the occupants, Dallemand said. At least two Haitians were reported
kidnapped. The attacks were followed by heavy shooting that killed at
least six people and injured several others in different parts of the
capital, radio Kiskeya reported, suggesting a level of coordination
among the gangs not seen in months. It is unclear how long Barron and
Seastrum have been in Haiti. Dallemand said the two were staying at a
hotel in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Delmas, where many
kidnappings occur. Dallemand said the FBI is working with U.N. and
Haitian authorities to free the men, the latest foreign missionaries
to be kidnapped.

Last month, Canadian missionary Ed Hughes was abducted from a rural
town north of Port-au-Prince where he runs an orphanage. The 72-year-
old was freed a week later after an undisclosed ransom was paid. At
least 29 people have been reported kidnapped in Haiti so far in July,
and about a third of them are U.S. citizens, Dallemand said. Last
year, 40 Americans were kidnapped in Haiti and three more were killed
in attempted abductions, according to the U.S. State Department. (AP,
7/20)

In less than 24 hours an upstate New York man was kidnapped, robbed
and released - without providing the ransom demanded by his captors,
his longtime friend said. Charles Adams, of Queensbury, was in Haiti
working on a water treatment program for Pure Water of the World, a
Rutland, Vt.-based nonprofit organization, when he and his driver
were captured just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, said Saundra Aubin, a
friend and colleague who has been in contact with Adams since his
release. "I heard that the kidnappers were actually polite," Aubin
told the Associated Press. "He and his driver had a room to
themselves to sleep in last night." He was released at about 8 a.m.
Thursday with minor injuries from the initial struggle when his
kidnappers grabbed him, she said.

Rep. John Sweeney's office was told by the State Department and
multiple sources that no ransom was paid for the release, but the
kidnappers took Adams' clothes, computer and money, said Rob Doherty,
a spokesman for the Clifton Park Republican. The captors had asked
for $500,000 in exchange for Adams and $70,000 for his driver, Aubin
said. It was unclear why they dropped the demand, but Aubin said that
Adams is "a very charismatic person." His driver escaped earlier in
the morning when the kidnappers allowed him to use the bathroom,
Aubin said. The bathroom had no roof and the driver managed to escape
by climbing out, she said. Adams stayed with a friend in Haiti
Thursday night. He declined to immediately comment on his experience.
"He sounded just very, very tired," Aubin said. "He actually just had
a pacemaker put in. I can't remember the date, but his stitches
weren't even healed when he went down." Adams' parents were
missionaries and he first went to Haiti with his mother before she
passed away. This was his third trip to Haiti this year, and he has
long been committed to helping the people of Haiti improve the
quality of their water supply, Aubin said. "He hopes to stay and
continue what he went down there for," Aubin said. Adams' ordeal was
separate from the kidnapping and release of two U.S. missionaries in
Port-Au-Prince. Tom Barron and William Eugene Seastrum, both of High
Point, North Carolina, were released Thursday after their families
paid an undisclosed ransom, the FBI said. (AP, 7/20)

A new rash of kidnappings has raised fears that well-armed,
politically aligned street gangs are seeking to destabilize Haiti's
new government, threatening U.N.-led efforts to restore security 2
1/2 years later. Others say the gangs are simply after cash and see
kidnappings as a lucrative source of revenue to buy more arms and
fuel other criminal enterprises in this impoverished country. But
most agree on one thing - the problem is getting worse. It reached
boiling point this week when scores of people - including three
Americans - were snatched by gunmen in an unprecedented series of
bold, daylight attacks in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Almost no
one has been spared - missionaries, employees of foreign embassies
and Haitians rich and poor have fallen victim to the trend that has
given Haiti the highest kidnapping rate in the Americas.

"We are beyond afraid," said Patrick Gadere, owner of ceramic tile
factory that has been forced to close its warehouse because of
violence and whose brother was abducted. "We've been shot at, robbed,
kidnapped. We have no other way to make a living." The kidnapping
surge has destroyed a tense calm that prevailed since President Rene
Preval took power in May, and prompted new criticism against the U.N.
peacekeeping force. At least 30 people have been kidnapped so far in
July, about the same number for all of June, said Leslie Dallemand,
chief of the U.N.'s anti-kidnapping unit in Haiti. The number is
likely much higher because many families prefer to negotiate with
kidnappers rather than notify police. "I haven't had this high of
volume since last year," when gangs went on a kidnapping spree before
elections, Dallemand said.

Among the victims were three Americans, including two missionaries
grabbed by gangsters on their way to church. All three were released
unharmed Thursday after negotiations involving the FBI. Charles
Adams, a 70-year-old from Queensbury, N.Y., was working on a water
treatment program. He was stuck in traffic, driving back from a
meeting, when armed men ambushed his vehicle near the capital's
international airport. "All the sudden I looked up, doors were being
ripped open and there were all these people with revolvers and long
guns walking around. It was quite an awakening," said Adams, who was
freed after a day without paying a ransom. The abductions come amid
sharply rising violence in the capital, including this month's slum
massacre of 22 people. Police blamed the killings on warring gangs
but have made no arrests. U.N. and Haitian officials disagree on
whether the recent violence is politically motivated. The U.N.
mission says the coordinated nature of the recent attacks suggest an
attempt to stir chaos by the gangs, many of which are loyal to
Aristide and are demanding his return from exile in South Africa.
"Their violence is motivated to draw attention to the government that
they are dissatisfied," U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst said. "It
obviously has a destabilizing effect." But Preval insists the
troubles are criminal - not political - acts by wanted fugitives,
corrupt police and drug traffickers.

Members of Preval's Lespwa party and the business community are
calling on the 8,800-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission to take a
harder line against gangs. "This is the first time in our country's
history that we've had so many armed forces and yet we're still in
this mess," said Gadere, the tile factory owner. U.N. and police
officials say they're doing all they can and blame Haiti's
notoriously corrupt justice system for releasing suspected kidnappers
and other criminal suspects who can afford bribes. "We can't keep
criminals off the streets if the courts keep letting them go," police
chief Mario Andresol said. Kidnappings were once rare in Haiti, the
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The trend flourished after
Aristide's departure but leveled off shortly after elections in
February. Foreigners have been particularly vulnerable because they
fetch a higher ransom, usually around $10,000, compared to about half
that for a Haitian. Last year, 43 Americans were kidnapped in Haiti,
including three who were killed in attempted abductions, according to
the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs. "We have
agents down there almost constantly working kidnappings," said Judy
Orihuela, an FBI special agent in Miami. "It's surpassed
Colombia." (AP, 7/22)

European NGOs Offer Analysis of the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF):
In advance of the international donor conference on Haiti in Port-au-
Prince on 25 July, the Coordination Europe-Haiti (CoE-H - a network
of European NGOs) and Haitian partner organisations have issued a
brief analysis of the progress and shortcomings of the Interim
Cooperation Framework (ICF) for Haiti. The paper focuses on two
aspects of the ICF of particular concern:

1) 7 The ICFs serious shortcomings with regard to economic
recovery, particularly in agriculture. The paper refers to figures
compiled by the Cellule du Coordination Strategique of the Haitian
Prime Ministers office in May 2006 which indicate that the
agricultural sector has received 74%% less funding than the original
ICF plans had identified this sector would need. Rapid job creation
received 87%% less than identified in 2004. Aside from quantity, the
paper also questions the quality of ICF assistance. The CoE-H asserts
that the ICF is a very piecemeal attempt at agricultural regeneration
that has failed to address the twin issues of developing competitive
agricultural supply chains and reducing Haitis huge dependence on
food imports (accounting for 80%% of its export earnings). The CoE-H
calls on donors and the Haitian government to:
- - make economic recovery the area of focus for future donor
engagement;
- - formulate and invest in a coherent, sustainable agricultural
development policy which reduces Haitis food imports, targets
particular agricultural supply chains, and invests more in addressing
Haitis severe environmental degradation.

2) 7 The lack of civil society participation in the ICF, from its
inception through to implementation, monitoring and evaluation over
the past two years. The poorest and most marginalized sectors of
Haitian civil society those who are supposed to benefit most from
the ICF - have been completely absent from any consultation
processes. The CoE-H calls on donors and the Haitian government to:
- - Carry out a participatory evaluation of the ICF
- - Create mechanisms for civil society engagement in the joint
steering committee for implementation and follow-up of the ICF (COCCI)
- - Open up the dialogue between donors and the Haitian government
to public scrutiny and disseminate information to Haitian civil
society about the progress and implementation of the ICF.

The Coordination Europe-Haiti (CoE-H) a network of European
solidarity and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working directly
with Haitian partner NGOs and grassroots movements. COE-H
incorporates 60 organisations in 8 European countries: Belgium,
Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Spain and
Switzerland. The CoE-H works closely with Coordination Haiti-Europe
(CoH-E) in Haiti, formed by Haitian NGOs to engage with European NGOs
and the EU. The full paper can be read online at: http://
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/whats_new_index.html (Haiti Support
Group, 7/19)

July 25th International Donors' Conference on Haiti:
Anthony Dessources, the coordinator of the technical secretariat for
the next donors' conference on Haiti, stated on Wednesday that
preparations were going as planned for this event scheduled for July
25 in Port-au-Prince. "This conference, which is simply an extension
of the Interim Cooperation Framework (CCI) scheduled to end in 2007,
will be a high-level activity with the participation of Foreign
Affairs ministers, Presidents of large international financial
institutions like the World Bank, the IDB and other regional
organizations," stated Mr. Dessources who was speaking during a
program of the privately owned station, Radio Solidariti. "This
conference will be the occasion for the new government to convince
donors of the necessity to support efforts aimed at the economic and
social development of the country," he said. Anthony Dessources
indicated that the government is taking this event
seriously and is already adopting measures in order to ensure its
success. "The President of the Republic Reni Prival, Prime Minister
Jacques
Edouard Alexis and other personalities and friends of the
international community are directly getting involved in preparation
for this conference," underlined the coordinator of the conferences9
technical secretariat, taking advantage of the opportunity to also
minimize rumors claiming that President Prival wasn't doing well.

In terms of the conference, Anthony Dessources stated that the
government will keep track of who was programmed into the conference
within the framework of the CCI, what was spent, what savings remain
and to see how such savings could be better used and redirected
towards the priorities of the government. It will also be the
occasion, he said, to see what kinds of funding can be mobilized
within this framework to complete the programs and projects
envisioned for President Prival9s five-year term. Invited to specify
the amount already released by donors within the CCI's framework,
Anthony Dessources was careful not to comment since he wasn't sure of
the numbers. He stated however that there is a problem in following
up when it comes to this dossier. Of the 1.2-billion dollars
promised, 964-million were handed over to the interim authorities
over the past two years. (AHP, 7/12)

The International Fund Providers Conference that will begin on
Tuesday in Haiti, with attendance of a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
delegation, has boosted expectations in the country. The results of
that meeting will be determining to finish important lines of the
national budget for the fiscal year 2006-2007. Economy and Finance
Minister Daniel Dorsainvil confirmed that President Rene Preval4s
government will wait for this delegation4s visit to officially
announce the State budget for that period. Nobody knows exactly how
much money will be allocated to the social sector, but payments in
the last years have been increasingly questioned by the Haitian
social movements. Preval revealed that his government is getting
ready for the International Fund Providers Conference, and its
strategy is undoubtedly aimed to facilitate three priorities: road
infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture. (Prensa Latina, 7/22)

The Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community
(Caricom) will participate in theB fifth aid donors conference on
Haiti's future social and economic development in Port-au-Prince
tomorrow. Both the 34-member hemispheric body and the 15-member
Community have stated that they are looking forward to "specific
development priorities" emerging from tomorrow's one-day meeting. OAS
Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin told the Express in a
telephone interview yesterday that the time had come for "us (the
member states) to shift the focus from Haiti as a 'problem' to that
of a 'solution' now that a democratically elected President and
government are in place". Ramdin, who will represent the OAS at the
meeting, noted that since the political crisis of 2004 with the
downfall of the administration of then President Jean Bertrand
Aristide, there have been four aid conferences under the rubic of an
"Interim Cooperation Framework on Haiti". The first conference took
place in Washington, DC in cooperation with the United Nations and
the World Bank.

"What is now most desirable", said the OAS envoy,"is that without
minimising the importance of strengthening the security environment,
clear priorities are established for social development and economic
progress. The OAS Secretariat would be keen to learn of President
Rene Preval's priorities." In a subsequent telephone interview with
Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington from Georgetown, he
disclosed that the Community's two-member team for tomorrow's meeting
will comprise Assistant Secretary General for Foreign and Community
Relations, Colin Granderson, and Hugh Cholomondeley, chairman of
Caricom's Task Force on Haiti. "The Community's interest in
tomorrow's meeting on Haiti's future development", said Carrington,
"would reflect the spirit of discussions already held with President
Preval at the 27th Heads of Government Conference held earlier this
month in Basseterre." "Those discussions", he added, led to, for
instance, an agreement for a Caricom Technical Mission to travel to
Haiti to makeB on-the-spot assessment of specific needs to which the
Community could assist out of its own limited resources while
continuing to lobby for international development assistance"

Infrastructure needs identified in Caricom's talks with Preval
included road construction, sanitation, pure water supply and health
facilities. In addition to Caricom's impending technical mission to
Haiti, the conference in Basseterre also agreed to send a
representative ministerial mission to demonstrate the Community's
"keen interest" in and support for the Haitian people. (Trinidad and
Tobago Express, 7/24)

Haiti will ask for $7 billion from international donors meeting in
Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to help the troubled Caribbean country
revive its moribund economy, a government minister said. Haitian
Foreign Affairs Minister Renald Clerisme said on Monday that the
government needs several billion dollars to implement medium- and
long-term projects likely to have a sustainable impact on the social
and economic situation in the poorest country in the Americas. "We
are seeking $7 billion in the long term," Clerisme told Reuters. "But
what we need for the next months and the next fiscal year is about
$500 million." Road building, agriculture, tourism and institutional
reform projects top the long list of proposals Haiti will present to
international donors.

About 40 delegations from bilateral and multilateral institutions
have registered to take part in the conference, including the World
Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union and the
U.S. Agency for International Development. The U.S. assistant
secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, Thomas Shannon, and
the U.N. Development Program's director for Latin America and the
Caribbean, Rebeca Grynspan, also will attend the meeting. The new
government led by President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Jacques
Edouard Alexis is counting on the meeting to help it access badly
needed funding for capital spending and operating costs. The
government has been unable to submit its budget to Parliament for
approval because it could not provide funding detail until it
receives donors' pledges, officials said. "We need to know the
commitment of the international donors before we can actually plan
what we're going to do," Finance Minister Daniel Dorsainvil said.

The donor community pledged $1.3 billion in July 2004 to help Haiti
rebuild after a bloody rebellion toppled the government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide five months earlier. The interim government
that replaced Aristide complained that less than half that amount had
actually been disbursed. But diplomats said Haiti's very weak
absorption capacity and fund release procedures were among the
reasons for slow and delayed disbursements. The U.N. Development
Program's representative in Haiti, Adama Guindo, said donors have
been working to simplify procedures, especially in the case of Haiti,
which is recovering from a conflict, while ensuring funds are used
properly. (Reuters, 7/24)

The Inter-American Development Bank is making the collection of trash
in urban areas among its short-term areas of priorities in Haiti. In
a meeting held at the Presidential Palace with President Reni Prival,
Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis and members of the national
cabinet, yesterday, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno said the IDB
would respond to short-term urgencies like garbage collection.
Earlier this month, the IDB approved a US$50 million soft loan that
is slated to also help areas like densely populated Carrefour with
trash collection. The plan is to reorganize trash by placing large
dumpsters in areas that generate great amounts of solid waste and
small bins along the main roads. The metropolitan trash collection
service is set to be reinforced with extra trucks.

Carrefours collector roads are also slated to be improved in order
to ease traffic congestion and provide greater access for trash
collection trucks and public transportation. Trash has emerged as a
health and environmental problem in Haiti, home to about 8 million
people with garbage piling up on streets, especially in the capital
and filling, streams, waterways and open sewers. And government has
seemed unable to boost the trucks needed to cart away the rubbish or
the incineration facilities to destroy it. In the medium term,
however, they will concentrate on basic infrastructure such as
transportation, electricity and drinking water services, agriculture
and education. In addition, in response to a request from President
Prival, the IDB will support the governments efforts to engage the
Haitian Diaspora to increase their involvement in local investment
and strengthening the public sector.

The IDB also said it expects to provide support for private sector
development, ranging from loans for expanding cellular
telecommunications coverage to improving the business climate and
fostering microfinance. The disclosure came as the international
donors conference for Haiti got underway yesterday. The United States
is among participating international donor countries. The conference
wraps up today and pledges from the international community are
scheduled for the July 25 session. Almost 30 countries and
international organizations are participating in the conference,
which includes the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank,
the International Monetary Fund and CARICOM, a 15-nation bloc of
Caribbean nations. At a July 2004 donors' conference for Haiti held
in Washington, the international community pledged $1.3 billion in
Haitian assistance. The goal of the Port-au-Prince event is to raise
a similar amount following Prival's February 7 election as Haiti's
president and his subsequent May 14 inauguration. (Hardbeatnews.com,
7/25)

*
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