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)