The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service announced in a statement last week that the Bahamas was committed to sending 150 officers to Haiti. This came as Kenya committed to deploying 1000 officers as part of a multinational force to that country.
Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis along with Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Michael Pintard and the Leader of the Coalition of Independents Lincoln Bain gave comment on the issue.
Pintard said, “the Free National Movement believes that there has to be a solution in Haiti and that this requires the entire Caribbean collaborating with respect to making this happen. We have yet to be briefing by the government on what their plans are and their intentions. And it is critical that they do so so that we are in a position to make an informed decision about our decision.”
Lincoln Bain was of the view that sending 150 troops would do nothing for Haiti. He said, “if they can’t control the situation here The Bahamas why would you send some of our reinforcements to Haiti where its wasted. We need those 150 on our sea. We need them at our borders. We need them to process illegal immigration. We need them home man and we should not put our Bahamians at risk for another man’s country.
For his part Prime Minister Davis stated, “our commitment, along with other Caribbean countries, is to lend assistance to ensuring that we bring peace and stability in Haiti.”
The Prime Minister has also stated that the United Nations has yet to make a decision on sending troops to Haiti and that the decision should come within thirty days.
