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 SIPDIS SIPDIS 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. PORT LOUIS 00000743 002 OF 002 /// BIO NOTE /// ¶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 SIPDIS 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 SIPDIS 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