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We are recommending to the GOH that assimilation of additional personnel, including Guantanamo trainees, into the HNP should be conducted in such a way as to ensure that the professional and apolitical character of the force is not undermined. Many of them have successfully performed static security and traffic control functions for some time. We believe that they should be admitted to become full-fledged sworn police officers only if they meet objective criteria applicable to all other HNP members.

2. Question: Will these 1,400 [sic] new personnel be screened (based on the educational background, psychological screening and background checks) that were required of academy graduates? Will these persons be required to complete the training and evaluation regime required of other academy graduates?

Answer: The 1,511 personnel transferred from the IPSF to the HNP consist of both former Haitian Armed Forces (FAd'H) personnel and Guantanamo trainees.

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Virtually all of the FAd'H personnel were vetted in October 1994 prior to entering the IPSF. A few of the officers were never vetted, or did not pass the vetting process. have strongly urged that any IPSF personnel transferred to the HNP should be screened again to ensure that no one with links to corruption, drugs or human rights violations is assimilated into the Haitian National Police. The U.S. Government is developing, in consultation with the UN civilian police and with UN/OAS International Civilian Mission human rights monitors, our own information on all of these individuals. will bring to the attention of the Haitian Government information on any individuals who fail to meet the above criteria, and strongly urge that they not be retained. In addition, we have recommended that any personnel that will receive full police powers as a regular member of the HNP should meet all educational and testing standards and complete the 16-week basic recruit training course, or the course for supervisors which we have begun to provide to personnel being recruited into higher level supervisory positions. In accordance with the Haitian police law, the 16-week training could be waived for any officers that received equivalent police training in foreign institutions as provided for in the Haitian Police Law.

3. Question: Are any of these individuals believed to be guilty of violations of human rights or other crimes? Are such violations grounds for rejecting these new members? Has a reasonable mechanism been put in place to carry out this sort of screening?

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Answer: We will provide the Committee, as soon as possible, copies of comprehensive questions and answers on this issue provided by the Departments of State and Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on or about October 31, 1995.

4. Question: Are ex-army personnel or Guantanamo recruits being assigned disproportionately to supervisorial roles within the police force? Are supervisors being chosen by merit? Answer: Former FAd'H officers have been assigned to senior Headquarters leadership positions and about 100 former officers from the IPSF have been assigned to top field management positions. The Government of Haiti has been informed by the UN that many of these officers are considered by the UNCIVPOL which has worked closely with them -- to be the best of the IPSF, to have done a good job, and to fill an experience void in the HNP. The U.S. Government does not fully agree with this conclusion and has urged that objective, merit-based criteria be established for them and other supervisors. While we recognize that some of these ex-FAd'H officers represent the only experienced police leadership available to Haiti, we have nevertheless urged against too high a proportion of ex-FAd'H to new, civilian supervisors. In this regard, for the first time, selections made in November at the first-line and mid-level supervisory levels were merit-based. Additionally, a standardized examination for the position of Inspector Sergeant, developed in conjunction with ICITAP, was recently given to all HNP supervisors eligible for promotion to the officer ranks.

5. Question: Does the decision to integrate these persons into the Haitian National Police notwithstanding U.S. strong objections breach the Memorandum of Understanding for this program?

Answer:

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The MOU states that "the Government of Haiti retains the sovereign right to make all final decisions with respect to the police, including organization, development and training, while "the United States retains the sovereign right to determine the conditions under which it will continue to make assistance available." With respect to personnel matters, Annex B to the MOU provides that the Government of Haiti will "appoint qualified personnel to key management positions in the HNP, consistent with the Constitution and Police law, [and] assign personnel to fill professional and administrative positions in HNPTC [i.e., Haitian National Police Training Center] and HNP HQ."

Assimilation of some of the IPSF could be achieved consistent with the Police Law through assignment to such specialized and limited tasks as traffic control, building security guards and other support duties performed by "non-sworn" personnel.

This is provided for in Article 58 of the Police law where reference is made to "employees who are not integrated into the hierarchy" (not officers or police agents). The Police Law also makes explicit provision for the inclusion of ex-army officers in the HNP. The officers would qualify if (a) they have received police training in a foreign police program and (b) they meet whatever objective criteria the GOH establishes pursuant to the police law for appointment of supervisors.

6. Question: What type of weapons or material support (with detailed descriptions of any firearms) have been provided to the Haitian National Police or the Interim Public Security Force under the U.S. assistance program?

Answer: The Department of Justice ICITAP program is prohibited from providing lethal weapons to recipient police services, including the HNP. Therefore, no U.S. assistance monies were expended on providing weapons or material support to the Government of Haiti under ICITAP's police development project. Training: As part of the basic recruit training program, and pursuant to the Haitian Police Law which mandates only issuance of sidearms to HNP personnel, ICITAP secured 459 model 10/15 Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolvers for firearms safety and firing practice. Of these weapons, 170 are inoperable therefore non-lethal and used for handling and

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familiarization purposes. The ICITAP training weapons were obtained from Defense Material Reutilization Command (DMRO DoD surplus) and are retained as U.S. Government property and safeguarded by ICITAP personnel at all times. In addition, ICITAP has purchased 400 speedloaders, 200 sets of duty gear (belts, holsters, handcuff cases, baton rings, speedloader pouches), 3,500 dummy rounds of ammunition and 600,000 rounds of .38 caliber ammunition between April and December. All of this equipment is used in training, stored and secured by ICITAP personnel. ICITAP has provided no weaponry or ammunition to Government of Haiti personnel or representatives.

HNP Deployment: Service revolvers and ammunition for use by HNP sworn officers, following graduation from the U.S.-sponsored basic training, are provided by the Government of Haiti. The Government of Haiti secured approximately 500 .38 caliber revolvers directly from Smith and Wesson and an additional 5,400 model 15 Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolvers and ammunition purchased from the DMRO at Crane Arsenal in Indiana. These weapons were sent from the Crane,

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Ind., DMRO facility to the Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., HNP training site where they were used by ICITAP to train the cadets. The weapons were packed and shipped back to Haiti for distribution, by the Government of Haiti, to HNP cadets upon graduation and deployment. Inventory of these weapons is exclusively in the hands of the Government of Haiti. As of December 26, 1995, 2,155 remained, enough to equip the remaining cadets with a few left over. ICITAP has provided each HNP graduate with a baton, handcuffs, and uniform items, in addition to some vehicles (including bicycles), office furniture and supplies for police stations.

Regina trainees:

Canadian-trained police cadets, the so-called Regina trainees, were issued new .9 mm automatic weapons by the Government of Haiti. ICITAP provided no training on these weapons.

IPSF: ICITAP provided a five-day training program for former FAd'H personnel entering the IPSF. The training focused on human rights and non-lethal police skills. No firearms training was provided nor was any material assistance given to the IPSF by ICITAP. Only very limited firearms instruction was provided to the IPSF by the Philippines contingent of the Multinational Force. It must be noted that as a result of the Haitian government's decree disbanding the IPSF, the former FAd'H array of automatic and semi-automatic military-type shoulder weapons and a mix of handguns, both revolvers and automatics, and any additional weapons and related material purchases for the IPSF made by the GOH (including purchases made in the United States) which were already in the possession of the Ministry of Justice are now probably included in the HNP arsenal.

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Question: Does any U.S. agency have information implicating any of the individuals involved in the Haitian government's decision regarding these forces (including but not limited to Dany Toussaint, Pierre Cherubin, or Jean-Marie Fourel Celestin) in human rights violations or other crimes or corruption.

Answer: We will provide to the Committee, as soon as possible, copies of comprehensive questions and answers on this issue provided by the Departments of State and Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on or about October 31, 1995.

Attorney General Janet Reno has asked me to write you to confirm the following points of agreement reached in our July 3 meeting with Associate Deputy Attorney General Seth Waxman and Deputy Assistant FBI Director William Perry:

1. The FBI will proceed with the Bertin invartigation, pursuant to the following guidelines:

(a) While the FBI of course reports to the Attorney General of the United States, the investigation ic being conducted for the benefit. and assistance of the Haitian Ministry of Justice. At the conclusion of the investigation, a report will be provided to the Haitian Government. In the interin, the FBI team will continue to coordinate when and requested with the Juge d'Instruction to whom the Bertin assassination investigation has been assigned.

(b) The FBI may solicit and conduct

interviews of any individual it believes may have relevant information, without any requirement of advance notice to the Haitian Government or any Haitian Government official and without any requirement that officials of, or attorneys for, the Haitian Government be present during interviews.