I’m not going to deny the shitshow it was last time the UN sent troops to Haiti but here’s me naively hoping that this kind of mess doesn’t repeat.
On thing I read these days it’s a good thing they’re sending police officers (who are generally charged to return things to order and peace) and not soldiers (who, generally, are tasked to destroy an enemy).
Granted that’s a broad generalisation since I don’t believe UN peacekeeping troops are sent to places with the explicit orders to destroy something but I think there is a difference in the general mindset and training between police an military.
So maybe, maybe this will do some good? If Kenya is allowed to send police officers.
If you read the wiki it details that police and soldiers took part in the abuse alike. Of course this doesn’t happen with every U.N. deployment, but the bad blood and amnesty towards peacekeepers will not be easily forgotten by the locals.
The courts are probably saving everyone some trouble here.
I was about to respond “but that was the Haitian police, wasn’t it?” But to be fair I don’t think that matters. You are right police was involved and that whole mess will not have led to acceptance of UN troops.
But I’m not sure if the courts are saving people from trouble because the situation in Haiti obviously reached a point where the Haitian police and government are not able to handle that kind of crime rate. Otherwise they wouldn’t have asked for outside assistance. And I think the first time they asked was about a year ago.
I would also hope that smart people have thought things through and came to the conclusion that this would be helpful the most likely and did not willy nilly decide that sending troops would be a famous idea. 🤷
