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Mauritius State Security Services
The People's Militia has existed since the beginning of
the
René regime. On June 10, 1977, the president called for
volunteers to register for training in the People's
Militia,
which was to guard against a countercoup by James Mancham.
By the
early 1990s, the 800-member People's Militia consisted
largely of
untrained and unfit volunteers. Its mission is to defend
the
country from external aggression and preserve the
revolution. In
June 1989, René assumed overall control of the People's
Militia
while the chief of staff is responsible for running it on
a dayto -day basis. The People's Militia is divided into five
military
regions (north, central, west, south Mahé, and Praslin).
Most
Western observers consider the People's Militia a totally
ineffective force.
The national police, which is organized along British
lines
and commanded by a police commissioner, includes a regular
500-
member unit and a sixty-member paramilitary mobile unit.
Members
of the force normally are unarmed but mobile unit
personnel are
equipped with modern weapons, including 7-62 SLR rifles.
For
operational and administrative purposes, Seychelles is
divided
into the Central Police Division, which comprises the
capital;
North Police Division; South Police Division; and the
Praslin/La
Digue Police Division. A senior police officer commands
each of
these formations. Seychelles maintains a total of
seventeen
police stations in all divisions. The police organization
includes headquarters, Criminal Investigation Department
(CID),
Special Force (Police Mobile Unit), general duties, and
special
branch. A commandant manages the police training school at
Praslin. This school provides fifteen-week and refresher
training
courses for recruits, two-week supervisory officers'
courses,
two-week promotion courses, and four-week basic courses.
Each
district also has field training. Most Western observers
agree
that the national police are under strength and poorly
paid. As a
result, the police have limited military value.
René maintains a 300-man Presidential Guard for his own
protection. This unit, which includes an unknown number of
European mercenaries, possesses high-quality personnel and
weapons.
Information about Seychelles defense spending is
limited. The
1991 defense expenditures, which were decided by René,
amounted
to approximately US$16 million.
Data as of August 1994
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