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France, Denmark, Indonesia Offer Help in Darfur
NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007
PARIS -- France, Denmark and Indonesia offered Wednesday to contribute to a
joint United Nations-African Union mission for Darfur, a 26,000-strong force
expected to be made up mostly of peacekeepers from Africa with backup from
Asian troops.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the force Tuesday to help end
four years of rape and slaughter of civilians in the vast Sudanese desert
region. If fully deployed, it would be the world's largest peacekeeping
operation.
Coming up with such large numbers of new troops could be difficult, as many
militaries are already overstretched in existing peacekeeping efforts and
conflicts such as Iraq, observers say. Britain's military, for example, has
7,100 members in Afghanistan and 5,500 in Iraq.
"We would consider requests to support the United Nations-Africans Mission
in Darfur once we receive a formal request to do so," Britain's Defense
Ministry said Wednesday, adding that it is already assisting the existing AU
mission in Darfur in areas including logistics and planning.
But a spokeswoman at the British foreign office - who spoke on condition of
anonymity, in keeping with the ministry's regulations - said Britain would
not send ground forces.
"We're not going to be putting soldiers with guns and tanks in Darfur," she
said.
The conflict in Darfur began in February 2003 when ethnic African tribes
rebelled against what they considered decades of neglect and discrimination
by Sudan's Arab-dominated government. Sudan's government is accused of
retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed -
a charge it denies. More than 200,000 people have died, and 2.5 million have
been uprooted.
The new peacekeeping force will take over from the beleaguered 7,000-strong
AU force now in Darfur no later than Dec. 31. The U.N. said the force,
called UNAMID, will have "a predominantly African character," as Sudan
demanded. African troops already in Darfur will stay there.
France offered to send soldiers and participate in the chain of command, as
well as take part in reconstruction and humanitarian efforts, Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner said. He did not say how many troops France might
contribute.
Kouchner said UNAMID showed "a very new, very important phenonemon, which is
that Africans want to take care of African affairs." Speaking on RTL radio,
he added that U.N. troops in the force "would come mostly from Asia."
Denmark's Defense Minister Soeren Gade said his country would definitely
help.
"Beside the fact that there is a need for quite a lot of soldiers, there is
a need for logistical staff, people in the headquarters, ships that can
ferry equipment on long distances, planes that can move equipment and
personnel," he said in an interview from Iraq with the TV2 News channel.
Desra Percaya, spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry, said the country
was willing to contribute troops but was waiting for details on how many
non-African troops are needed.
Several countries - including Italy, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands,
Thailand and South Africa - said they had not made a decision yet.
China made no immediate response, though its special envoy on Darfur said in
June that his country would seriously consider sending peacekeepers.
The 15-member Security Council's approval of the peacekeeping force ended
weeks of negotiations between its main sponsors - Britain and France - and
the Sudanese government and its key backers including China, which imports
two-thirds of Sudan's oil.
The text was watered down several times to remove the threat of sanctions,
which Sudan and China opposed, and authorization for the new force to seize
or collect arms.
The force will include up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360
military observers and liaison officers, a civilian component including up
to 3,772 international police, and 19 special police units with up to 2,660
officers.
The ultimate troop strength depends on the willingness of U.N. member states
to contribute troops, police, logistics and sophisticated military hardware.
Dominique David, executive director of the French Institute of International
Relations, said he expected that not very many powerful, rich militaries
would contribute troops, and that most troops would come from the developing
world.
"In truth, there are few powers ... ready to run the risk of getting into a
situation like this - which is extremely complex and extremely demanding -
without having any idea of the political solution that would make it
possible to set an exit date," he said.
France, Denmark, Indonesia Offer Help in Darfur
NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007
PARIS -- France, Denmark and Indonesia offered Wednesday to contribute to a
joint United Nations-African Union mission for Darfur, a 26,000-strong force
expected to be made up mostly of peacekeepers from Africa with backup from
Asian troops.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the force Tuesday to help end
four years of rape and slaughter of civilians in the vast Sudanese desert
region. If fully deployed, it would be the world's largest peacekeeping
operation.
Coming up with such large numbers of new troops could be difficult, as many
militaries are already overstretched in existing peacekeeping efforts and
conflicts such as Iraq, observers say. Britain's military, for example, has
7,100 members in Afghanistan and 5,500 in Iraq.
"We would consider requests to support the United Nations-Africans Mission
in Darfur once we receive a formal request to do so," Britain's Defense
Ministry said Wednesday, adding that it is already assisting the existing AU
mission in Darfur in areas including logistics and planning.
But a spokeswoman at the British foreign office - who spoke on condition of
anonymity, in keeping with the ministry's regulations - said Britain would
not send ground forces.
"We're not going to be putting soldiers with guns and tanks in Darfur," she
said.
The conflict in Darfur began in February 2003 when ethnic African tribes
rebelled against what they considered decades of neglect and discrimination
by Sudan's Arab-dominated government. Sudan's government is accused of
retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed -
a charge it denies. More than 200,000 people have died, and 2.5 million have
been uprooted.
The new peacekeeping force will take over from the beleaguered 7,000-strong
AU force now in Darfur no later than Dec. 31. The U.N. said the force,
called UNAMID, will have "a predominantly African character," as Sudan
demanded. African troops already in Darfur will stay there.
France offered to send soldiers and participate in the chain of command, as
well as take part in reconstruction and humanitarian efforts, Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner said. He did not say how many troops France might
contribute.
Kouchner said UNAMID showed "a very new, very important phenonemon, which is
that Africans want to take care of African affairs." Speaking on RTL radio,
he added that U.N. troops in the force "would come mostly from Asia."
Denmark's Defense Minister Soeren Gade said his country would definitely
help.
"Beside the fact that there is a need for quite a lot of soldiers, there is
a need for logistical staff, people in the headquarters, ships that can
ferry equipment on long distances, planes that can move equipment and
personnel," he said in an interview from Iraq with the TV2 News channel.
Desra Percaya, spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry, said the country
was willing to contribute troops but was waiting for details on how many
non-African troops are needed.
Several countries - including Italy, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands,
Thailand and South Africa - said they had not made a decision yet.
China made no immediate response, though its special envoy on Darfur said in
June that his country would seriously consider sending peacekeepers.
The 15-member Security Council's approval of the peacekeeping force ended
weeks of negotiations between its main sponsors - Britain and France - and
the Sudanese government and its key backers including China, which imports
two-thirds of Sudan's oil.
The text was watered down several times to remove the threat of sanctions,
which Sudan and China opposed, and authorization for the new force to seize
or collect arms.
The force will include up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360
military observers and liaison officers, a civilian component including up
to 3,772 international police, and 19 special police units with up to 2,660
officers.
The ultimate troop strength depends on the willingness of U.N. member states
to contribute troops, police, logistics and sophisticated military hardware.
Dominique David, executive director of the French Institute of International
Relations, said he expected that not very many powerful, rich militaries
would contribute troops, and that most troops would come from the developing
world.
"In truth, there are few powers ... ready to run the risk of getting into a
situation like this - which is extremely complex and extremely demanding -
without having any idea of the political solution that would make it
possible to set an exit date," he said.
