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Mauritius State Security Services
The People's Militia has existed since the beginning of
the
Ren� 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, Ren� 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 Mah�, 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.
Ren� 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 Ren�,
amounted
to approximately US$16 million.
Data as of August 1994
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