By: Staff Writer
August 4, 2023
The Bahamas joins with Kenya to send troops to Haiti amid the civil unrest in that island nation.
In a release to the media by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Bahamas they said, “Bahamian Government welcomes the Government of Kenya’s decision to answer the Haitian Government’s request for security support with a commitment of 1,000 police officers to lead a multinational force. For our part, The Bahamas has committed 150 persons to support the multi-national force once authorized by the United Nations Security Council. We now urge the passing of a UN Security Council Resolution in support of this force.
“The Bahamas looks forward to working with Kenya and other partners in Haiti to assist in efforts to bring about peace and stability. We appreciate that this is, as the Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua stated, a decision to, “[stand] with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union’s diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism.” We also look forward to cooperating with hemispheric partners including the United States and Canada.
“The Bahamas will continue to support the CARICOM led Eminent Persons Group, which includes former Prime Ministers Perry Christie, Dr Kenny Anthony of St Lucia, and Bruce Golding of Jamaica, and the Organization of American States’ Haiti Working Group chaired by Trinidad and Tobago. These regional and Diasporic approaches to addressing insecurity caused by gang violence are critical to creating a safe space to foster political consensus and to restore democratic order.”
In an interview with the Tribune newspaper, Commodore of the Bahamas Defence Force, Raymond King, said “The Royal Bahamas Defence Force prepares for all eventualities. He added: “I was made aware of the article from a Kenyan news source today. However, I have not been advised from the government on that matter as purported.”
The Ministry of National Security in The Bahamas also sent a note, acknowledging the need to send 150 troops to help in building a potential internatonal police force to help stabilize Haiti. The note said: “We note that Canada has already deployed a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft to provide much-needed surveillance and reconnaissance capacity and has also supplied specialized vehicles for the Haitian National Police.
“Because stabilizing the situation in Haiti is important to our national and regional security, The Bahamas continues to express our willingness to send up to 150 personnel to assist the Haitian National Police, in the eventuality that a multinational stabilizing force is authorized and materializes. We anticipate that Bahamian personnel would largely be engaged in offering technical and training support to the Haitian National Police.”
This move comes as Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had pledged to send troops to Haiti back in February. Holness’s announcement came after the United Nations special envoy for Haiti, Helen La Lime, said she hoped the UN Security Council would deal “positively” with the pending request from Haiti’s government for international armed forces, despite Canada and the United States showing no interest.
Crime and violence is crippling Haiti as gangs have taken over much of the country and just this past week an American volunteer and her daughter was kidnapped.
Haiti still has no elected government after the assassination of its president Jovenel Moïse in July, 2021. The country has been in free-fall with little hope or prospects on the horizon as the international community tries to summon their efforts to help the Haitian people decide what’s next.