UK DIRECT RULE COMING SOON TO TURKS AND CAICOS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000349

NOFORN

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, UK DESK ZSYED, LONDON FOR CPALMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SMIG PHUM ECON ETRD EFIN BF TK UK
SUBJECT: UK DIRECT RULE COMING SOON TO TURKS AND CAICOS


1. (SBU/NF) SUMMARY: The UK is set to introduce direct rule in the
British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to
address evidence of official corruption and financial mismanagement
as the protests of the embattled ex-Premier and his successor fall
on deaf ears. Domestic opposition to the move is weak, but may
increase as the government's financial woes become clear and the
economy worsens. The insular nature of the small islands'
population will also impact UK efforts to reform governance and
accountability. END SUMMARY.

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GOVERNOR: CONSTITUTIONAL
SUSPENSION GUARANTEED
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2. (SBU/NF) Gordon Wetherell, Britain's new governor of the tiny
Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) British Overseas Territory just to
the south of The Bahamas, told Embassy Nassau Charge that he is
certain that the final report from a Commission of Inquiry into
gross mismanagement by ex-Premier Michael Misick - due to be made
public in the next few weeks - will cause London to suspend TCI's
constitution and its elected House of Assembly. Wetherell admitted
that the suspension of local elected government is a harsh but
necessary step toward rectifying years of financial mismanagement
the by the Misick administration. In a separate conversation May 29
with Embassy London Poloff, an FCO officer who covers TCI issues
observed that "the situation has not improved" in TCI since the
issuance of the interim report. The FCO officer affirmed that the
final report should be complete soon, that HMG would spend a few
weeks "digesting" the report, and would "almost certainly" suspend
the constitution and take steps to introduce direct British rule.

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EX-, CURRENT LEADERS PROTEST IN VAIN
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3. (SBU/NF) Misick launched a bitter tirade on a radio show May 5
that blasted Wetherell personally as an arrogant dictator and called
for TCI independence as the only way to stop the suspension of local
government and save TCI from losing its "sovereignty." Misick
charged that the proposed suspension of the constitution contravened
the EU Convention on Human Rights, but according to Wetherell and
local press the UK has withdrawn its commitment to the section of
the Convention which guaranteed the territory's right to
self-determination, making the point moot. Misick is also engaged
in a series of legal motions in British courts to forestall the
suspension but Wetherell said he expected the motions would not
delay the final report, noting the UK High Court had rejected
Misick's case and he was confident that an appeal to the Court of
Appeals would similarly fail.


4. (SBU/NF) Galmo Williams, who became Premier on March 25,
traveled to the UK May 17 for a last ditch direct appeal to London,
met with members of the House of Lords as well as FCO
Under-Secretary Gillian Merron, who has responsibility for Overseas
Territories. Williams presented actions already being taken by his
fledgling government to address recommendations of the Commission of
Inquiry's interim report, such as a Code of Conduct for government
officials and beefing up laws on apportioning Crown lands. He also
explored whether Britain would consider becoming financially
responsible for the TCI. Failing to secure an audience with Prime
Minister Gordon Brown or Opposition leader David Cameron, Williams
returned with little to show for his effort.

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PREMIER BLAMES BRITS, SAYS
SUPPORT FOR UK WILL FIZZLE
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5. (SBU/NF) Speaking with the Charge just before his trip to
London, Premier Williams warned that Governor Wetherell's plan to
appoint consultative bodies to act as counsels instead of the House
of Assembly would be a fiasco. Wetherell separately confirmed to
the Charge that he was compiling a "representative list" of TCI
locals, known as Belongers, which would include "every element" of
TCI society. These would include Belongers of Haitian descent, a
highly sensitive issue in a territory of 30,000 of whom half are
estimated to be illegal Haitian migrants (non-Belongers). Williams
acknowledged that the suspension of local governance currently had
strong support among some Belongers but cautioned that the 17,000
Belongers were all interrelated and resentment against UK rule would
build rapidly, particularly as the cost of returning TCI to
financial soundness began to bite amidst the economic pain of the
global recession already affecting the islands.


6. (SBU/NF) Premier Williams passionately argued that the British
bear some responsibility for TCI's mess. He pointed out that

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Governor Tauwhare, who left under a cloud last July, sat in on
cabinet meetings and "signed off" on budgets, investment decisions
and disposition of Crown lands. Wetherell acknowledged to the
Charge that the relationship between Tauwhare and Misick was
uncomfortably close, but ruefully added that the governor's role,
until now, had been largely ceremonial and pro-forma.

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THEY AGREE: NO KID GLOVES THIS TIME ...
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7. (SBU/NF) Governor Wetherell insisted to the Charge that the UK
would not repeat the mistake of being too soft on TCI, a reference
to what he characterized as London's lenient approach when it was
forced to intervene against former Chief Minister Norman Saunders'
government after Saunders was arrested in Miami on drug charges in

1985. After serving time in the U.S., Saunders returned to a hero's
welcome and is currently a sitting member of the Assembly.
Wetherell noted that trial by jury would be suspended when UK rule
took effect because the pool of jurors was too small for the
expected criminal prosecutions against senior TCI officials.
Premier Williams seemed to unintentionally support Wetherell's
comments when he told the Charge that any prosecutions would
inevitably hit leaders of powerful local families, which "in a short
time" would alienate many Belongers.


8. (SBU/NF) Williams predicted that Wetherell would likely seek to
change the deep- seated patronage system in TCI under the "guise" of
good governance measures. Williams pointed out that the opposition
People's Democratic Party (PDM) was already divided over the
constitutional suspension, an indicator of the fragility of the UK's
position. The point on the fractured nature of TCI's political
leadership was reinforced by former Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred
Mitchell. Mitchell, shadow foreign affairs leader for the Bahamian
opposition party, recently led a delegation to TCI that wanted to
explore ways to rally CARICOM against London resuming direct rule.
Mitchell told the Charge that they found surprising ambivalence
among TCI government officials and that the opposition PDM refused
even to meet with the Bahamian delegation. Mitchell said that this
explained the lack of serious Caribbean-wide efforts, at least for
now, against the resumption of direct UK rule.

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... AS FINANCIAL WOES RUN DEEP
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9. (SBU/NF) Wetherell and a team of UK experts are preparing for
the daunting task of taking direct government responsibilities for
running TCI, insisting that the UK must suspend local government to
give the colony "breathing space" to sort out its problems. He
"hoped" the constitutional suspension would remain in effect for two
years, when the next Assembly elections were scheduled to take
place, a requisite amount of time needed particularly to resolve
TCI's dire financial situation. Wetherell said that the final
Commission report would reveal a larger fiscal hole than widely
believed. Misick had overdrawn TCI official lending limits, USD 5
million, "by well over four-fold" and other debts were also in the
millions. Misick himself was apparently settling in the Dominican
Republic to avoid extradition, but the UK was already working to
identify his bank accounts.

ZUNIGA-BROWN