UN wants Indonesian troops for missions in Africa
UN wants Indonesian troops for missions in Africa
JAKARTA (JP): United Nations Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali has asked Indonesia to join the UN peacekeeping
missions in three troubled African states -- Angola, Rwanda and
Burundi.
Boutros-Ghali personally made the request when he met with
Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung at the UN
headquarters in New York on Thursday, Antara news agency reported
yesterday.
Feisal responded that Indonesia's Constitution mandates that
the country take an active part in helping to maintain
international peace.
But he said he would have to consult with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs first to determine whether Indonesia's
participation in the peacekeeping missions in the three African
states was considered consistent with Indonesia's foreign policy
priorities.
The conflict in Angola dates back to 1974 when a left-wing
revolution spelled the end of Lisbon's 500-year-old African
empire. The conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi are caused by
continuous ethnic violence between the majority Hutu tribe and
the minority Tutsi tribe.
During the meeting, Boutros-Ghali praised Indonesia's active
participation in various UN peacekeeping missions in the past,
including the most recent one in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Indonesia has sent a detachment of Army medics to the war-torn
former Yugoslavia republic, as well as a group of military and
police observers, all part of the UN Protection Force to help
restore peace and order there. Indonesia has formally informed
the United Nations that it is prepared to send additional troops
if necessary.
Indonesia also sent troopers for similar missions earlier in
Cambodia and other world's troublespots.
During the meeting, Feisal asked Boutros-Ghali about the
possibility of giving Indonesian officers commanding positions in
any future UN peacekeeping missions to further enhance
Indonesia's role in such tasks.
He based the request on the fine performance of Indonesian
troops during previous peacekeeping missions.
Feisal said Boutros-Ghali would take the request into
consideration.
On Thursday, the Indonesian commander also traveled to
Washington for a meeting with Gen. John Shalikashvili of the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Antara reported. Feisal said he went to
the Pentagon to strengthen bilateral defense ties.
His visit to Washington came amid the effort by the U.S.
military to revive military education aid for Indonesia.
The International Military and Education Training program was
slashed out of the U.S. government budget by Congress in 1992 in
protest over allegations of human rights violations in Indonesia,
particularly in East Timor.
Feisal did not rule out the possibility that the revival of
the program would be discussed during his meetings in Washington.
Since 1992 and the termination of the U.S. aid, Indonesia has
sent its officers to other countries, including Australia, for
training.
The U.S. government, however, has indicated that it would
revive the IMET fund to train Indonesian officers in America.
Admiral William Owens, the vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said during his visit here last month, that from the
military perspective, he was keen to proceed to find ways through
which the two countries could re-establish the IMET training.
(imn)