GOING, GOING, NOT YET GONE -- TURKS AND CAICOS

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000191

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR ZSYED; LONDON FOR CPALMER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV BF TK UK
SUBJECT: GOING, GOING, NOT YET GONE -- TURKS AND CAICOS
PREMIER RESIGNS, SEEKS BAHAMAS, CARICOM SUPPORT

REF: NASSAU 169

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Timothy Zuniga-Brown for reasons
1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) The embattled premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
(TCI),Michael Misick, resigned March 23 in favor of his
successor as party leader, Galmo Williams. The move came
after he and a small delegation, including Williams, visited
Nassau March 20 and met with government and opposition
leaders. The bid for Bahamian support followed a March 16
announcement of the UK's planned partial suspension of the
TCI constitution (reftel). Williams appealed to the Bahamian
public to speak out against the "unfair" British move, and at
least one religious leader issued a statement calling for
support for the people of TCI in their democratic
aspirations. The GCOB did not comment on the visit or the
talks.


2. (C) The opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has
adopted a wait-and-see attitude, after initially giving
Misick's delegation a sympathetic hearing according to a
party source. PLP leaders traveled to TCI March 22 in a show
of support to consult with politicians there. The PLP has
not issued any statements on the meetings, but ex-Foreign
Minister Fred Mitchell implicitly criticized the "drastic"
British move to curtail democracy as soon as it was
announced. Noting that TCI is a member of CARICOM and the
Commonwealth (through the UK),he said that the suspension of
the constitution was antithetical to the Commonwealth's
Harare principles of respect for democracy and human rights
and the CARICOM civil society charter. Mitchell backtracked
after visiting TCI, telling Nassau media the opposition there
was also concerned about systemic government corruption.

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COMMENT
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3. (C) Mitchell told Charge that the PLP was favoring
taking a stand in support of TCI home rule, but quickly added
that the trick was to avoid being seen as condoning the
massive corruption that Misick's government is alleged to
have committed. The GCOB is unlikely to support Misick
against the UK absent an unlikely groundswell of support for
Misick among the Bahamian public or unless pushed into
joining any "CARICOM consensus" which may yet emerge.
ZUNIGA-BROWN