German Troops to Help Restore Peace In Congo

By a clear majority vote of 441-30, the German parliament approved the participation of German troops in the European peacekeeping force deployed to restore peace in the Republic of Congo on Wednesday.

However, the German government has mostly limited the mandate of its troops to providing air and logistical support for French troops based in neighboring Uganda who are leading the peacekeeping operation.

Speaking to the Bundestag on Wednesday, Defense Minister Peter Struck said there would be no "direct" deployment of Bundeswehr troops to Congo unless there was an emergency or it was necessary to conduct an evacuation of European troops stationed there. Mostly, Germany will supply Transall and Challenger military cargo planes to aid with supplies, troop transports and logistics for the French troops leading the peacekeeping mission. Germany is also providing MedEvac jets to transport wounded

soldiers.

Ahead of the vote, parliamentarians expressed concerns that Germany could be drawn into a long and ugly conflict.

"A number of my colleagues have had a hard time giving their approval," Christian Schmidt, the defense issues spokesperson for the opposition Christian Democratic Union party, told the daily Berliner Zeitung. "We are concerned that this will be the first step to a large and long-term engagement of the German military." Despite his party's

reservations, Schmidt said before the vote he was certain the mandate would be approved.

A limited mandate?

The mandate approves the participation of up to 350 Bundeswehr soldiers, who will be restricted to mostly support functions, assisting the peacekeeping force's main provider of troops and leadership, France. "Mainly we will provide transport facilities to bring equipment and soldiers from Germany and France to Uganda," said the German Defense Minister Peter Struck. "And we will establish a base in Uganda to provide further logistical support for European peacekeepers." The mandate does not foresee German soldiers engaging in combat in the Congo.

But some politicians fear the lines will blur too easily. CDU politicians expressed concerned about a specific clause in the mandate, which would allow the dispatch of German troops on Congo soil "in an emergency and to assist with evacuation." For some, said Schmidt, this clause was too abstract, and could lead to a more wide-spread participation of German troops, placing them in harm's way lengthening the period of German involvement.

A controversial decision

German politicians have been embroiled in a debate over whether or not -- and to what extent -- Germany should join the international community and their European neighbors in responding to the events in Congo. The situation there, in which the Lendu and Hema militias have been fighting

each other in a bitter ethnic conflict, deteriorated in May, after the Ugandan peacekeeping force withdrew. It has been estimated that more than 400 people have been killed in the latest round of conflict.

In May, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, fearing a repeat of the events in Rwanda, sent an official request to the EU, asking them to put together an emergency peacekeeping force. Although the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana reacted favourably, and the French agreed to take on the leadership role and provide the bulk of the troops, the initial reaction from Berlin was cool.

Sighting existing international commitments elsewhere -- Germany currently provides more than 8,000 troops to the Balkans and Afghanistan -- Chancellor Gerhard Schröder stated that Germany's efforts would be

limited. "We can't do more than help," the chancellor said at a recent bilateral meeting with the French president Jacques Chirac.

Germany's ambassador to the U.N., Günter Pleuger, offered similar remarks. "One must consider that we already play the leading role in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and are also heavily involved in keeping the peace in the Balkans," he said. "I don't know whether the military forces can be available for such a thing right now."

But high-level defense officials are also weary of the nature of the conflict, in which young children have often been pressed into service as soldiers. "In Congo, we are dealing with drugged child soldiers who have no respect for human life whatsoever, and I don't want our soldiers to find themselves in a position where they will have to shoot at some of these children in self-defense," said Struck.

Will it be enough?

Wrangling over German participation aside, critics wonder if the Europe-wide effort to stop the fighting in Congo will be enough. The force, composed of soldiers from Belgium, Spain, Italy, Britain and

France, will number near 1,700.

But the mission itself is very limited and clearly defined: troops won't be dispatched until July and they are expected to return by September. Given the long-standing nature of the hostilities, that might not be enough time. As experience shows, fighting in the region resumed shortly after the Ugandans withdrew in May.

What's more, the international peacekeeping force's efforts will be restricted to the city of Bunia, even though most inhabitants of the city have fled and much of the fighting is happening elsewhere.

The international community, including Germany, has approached the conflict with caution. But the reminder of genocides in the Balkans and Rwanda -- and the refrain "never again" - have promoted more expedient action. Whether or not it will be sufficient, remains to be seen.