FIJI, TONGA CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD UN PEACEKEEPING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SUVA 000138 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2016 TAGS: PREL KPKO FJ TN SU SUBJECT: FIJI, TONGA CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS IN DARFUR REF: A. STATE 51778 ¶B. SUVA 137 Classified By: AMBASSADOR LARRY M. DINGER. SECTIONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (SBU) Embassy delivered Ref A talking points to the governments of Fiji and Tonga. We do not expect an answer from Fiji anytime soon, since the government is in caretaker mode prior to elections May 6-13. Tonga has not yet responded. We understand that both Fiji and Tonga have been approached by UNPKO in New York. ¶2. (C) Fiji has three observers with the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS),and has recently agreed to deploy an additional five. Tonga plans to send five observers to Sudan. The Tongan soldiers require training and certification from the UN. ¶3. (C) Because of manpower considerations, neither Fiji nor Tonga is likely to be in a position to provide a significant number of troops to Darfur in the near future. Fiji is expanding its role with UNAMI in Iraq, has a battalion in the Sinai, and continues to contribute to RAMSI in the Solomon Islands. Tonga is expected to deploy a platoon in Iraq this fall (Ref B) and to RAMSI this October. DINGER