MAURITIUS MOVES TOWARDS GREATER PEACEKEEPING ROLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT LOUIS 000743

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ADDIS ABABA FOR AU MISSION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2016
TAGS: MARR PREL PINR MP AU UN SADC
SUBJECT: MAURITIUS MOVES TOWARDS GREATER PEACEKEEPING ROLE

Classified By: DCM Stephen Schwartz. Reason: 1.4 (b/d)


1. (SBU) Summary. Top Mauritian security officials committed
publicly to increasing participation in international
peacekeeping efforts. U.S. military officers training
Mauritians say their constabulary Special Mobile Force is
ideal for PKOs. Additional Mauritian attributes are the
population,s racial, religious, and linguistic diversity.
They are also healthy, well-equipped, and well-trained.
Mauritius is considering whether to send an officer to New
York to liaise with DPKO. Post estimates that Mauritius
could field up to 50 people by 2012, up from two in December

2006. End summary.


2. (U) Mauritius will significantly increase its
participation in international peacekeeping, Secretary for
Home Affairs Raj Mudhoo said December 8. Mudhoo was speaking
at the graduation ceremony for trainees in an
Embassy-sponsored seminar by the Defense Institute for
International Legal Studies on Peacekeeping and the Rule of
Law. Khemraj Servansingh, head of the country,s
paramilitary Special Mobile Force (SMF),confirmed to DCM
that his forces were eager for peacekeeping opportunities.


3. (U) Mauritius currently has only two police officers
participating in peacekeeping operations (PKO),both in
Haiti. In recent years up to five were sent to Darfur, two
to Sierra Leone, two to Comoros, and one to Bosnia.
Ambassador Cabrera noted in a meeting with Foreign Minister
Dulloo in November and in his remarks December 8, that
Mauritians could play a particularly useful role in Haiti
because the Creole spoken in Mauritius is almost identical to
that spoken in Haiti.


4. (SBU) Servansingh told DCM that Mauritius could easily
field a platoon (about 24) from the SMF to a PKO. He said
Mauritius had accepted a request by its partners in the
Southern Africa Development Community to take the lead in the
civilian-policing component of the organization,s stand-by
peacekeeping brigade. Commissioner of Police Ramanooj
Gopalsingh, who oversees all security organizations, has told
Embassy staff that he intends to establish a 100-person unit
within the police force dedicated to peacekeeping.


5. (U) The SMF,s constabulary character makes them
particularly desirable for PKOs, according to George Oliver,
a retired U.S. Army officer in Mauritius as part of a course
organized by the Defense International Institute for Legal
Studies (DIILS) as part of Post,s International Military
Education and Training program. Oliver, a professor at the
Naval War College who was a military advisor at USUN, noted
that few countries besides France, Italy, and Mauritius have
policing units organized and trained in a military manner.
The SMF comprises 1340 people out of a police force of
10,576. Mauritius has no military. Another DIILS trainer,
retired U.S. Navy JAG Gregory Noone said Mauritius, racial,
religious, and linguistic diversity were also assets for any
peacekeeping assignment. All the instructors said the
Mauritian students were able and interested in PKO
assignments.


6. (SBU) Oliver suggested to Mudhoo that Mauritius send a SMF
member to join the country,s mission to the United Nations.
The officer would serve as a liaison with DPKO, would learn
about how PKOs are fielded and funded, and could facilitate
Mauritian participation in a PKO. Mudhoo said he would
consider that option.

/// COMMENT ///


7. (SBU) Mudhoo,s public commitment is a milestone in Post's
effort to spur a greater contribution by Mauritius to
international peacekeeping. The Embassy,s efforts have been
aided greatly by training offered by USG law enforcement and
military organizations over many years, which have helped
give Mauritius the skills and confidence to play a bigger
role internationally. Post would welcome any additional
assistance or guidance that would help make Mauritius,
commitment a reality. Post anticipates that as Mauritians
gain experience in peacekeeping, by 2012 they might field up
to 50 people at one time. While not large numbers, their
skill and diversity should amplify the impact of their small
numbers.


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8. (SBU) Secretary for Home Affairs is the second highest
civil service position in Mauritius. The Prime Minister has
always filled the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister
of Defense portfolios. The Secretary for Home Affairs
reports directly to the PM on security issues. The incumbent
does not supervise the Commissioner of Police or the Director
of the National Security Service (also a part of the police
force),both of whom can and do report directly to the PM,
but the Secretary for Home Affairs can convene and guide
them, acting on his own authority, not only that of the PM.


9. (C) Raj Mudhoo is 54 years old and in poor health. He
would normally ascend to the top civil service billet, the
Secretary for the Cabinet, but that position usually requires

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that the incumbent travel with the PM, something Mudhoo,s
poor health would prevent him from doing. The current
Secretary for Cabinet, Suresh Seeballuck, is already at the

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mandatory retirement age of 60 and has been kept on until a
more permanent arrangement can be devised. Post expects that
position to go to Krish Ponnusamy, currently 58 and the third
ranking civil servant and the Senior Chief Executive to
Deputy Prime Minister Beebeejaun.


10. (C) Mudhoo told DCM that his poor health and excessive
weight are due to a kidney condition in which water is not
properly excreted from the body, possibly related to his
being diabetic. He is seeking a new drug made by Eli Lilly
called Byetta which doctors have told him would help him. If
his condition worsens he will require dialysis. Mudhoo is a
Hindu but is open to aspects of all faiths. He proudly
displays a cross on his office wall.
CABRERA