TFHA01: St. Lucia, Dominica may have Creole-Speaking Police

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000162

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR - KAREN MCISAAC
USUN FOR JEFFREY RENEAU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UN KPKO MASS HA XL
SUBJECT: TFHA01: St. Lucia, Dominica may have Creole-Speaking Police
Available for Deployment


1. (SBU) Embassy contacts in St. Lucia and Dominica have each
signaled that they may be able to supply up to 15 Creole-speaking
law enforcement personnel for assignment with the UN in Haiti. St.
Lucia is much further along in its thinking; the special services
unit (SSU) deputy chief told Emboff that Creole speakers in the
force have been instructed to be prepared to deploy, but
acknowledged that there have been no detailed discussions
internally about how a force contribution might play out.
Meanwhile, neither country's foreign ministry has received
communication from the UN or from their own UN missions in New York
about any requests for such assistance by MINUSTAH or UNDPKO.




2. (SBU) While there is political will and even desire in St. Lucia
at least to provide such assistance, it is unlikely the government
will move absent a formal request for personnel by the UN system.
While there will be some domestic sensitivity to supplying police
overseas in the midst of a domestic crime boom, we believe St.
Lucia will probably be willing to contribute the personnel. It
should be noted, though, that the personnel themselves lack the
resources to be self-sustaining on arrival. By our estimate, they
would require:



MREs (90 per person for 30 days)

Water (6 gallons per person for 3 days)

Uniforms (2 per person)

Boots (1 pair per person)

Tents (1 tent per each 12 personnel)

Cots (1 per person)

Airlift




3. (SBU) If these needs can be accommodated by the UN system and/or
the USG, St. Lucian SSU officers - even in small numbers - could
serve a useful role as embedded interpreters in larger units
deployed in Haiti.
HARDT