Battlegroup is no place for Irish troops
Tuesday February 05 2008
Rebel troops are battling in Ndjemena, the capital of Chad, in their efforts to overthrow the French-supported dictator General Idriss Deby.
It is likely that they are also battling against some French troops, especially air force elements, who have been supporting Gen Deby since his coup in 1991.
Gunship helicopters, supplied by France, have been used against the rebels over the past few days.
Into the middle of this fray, 430 Irish troops are due to arrive, not as blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers, but as part of the European Union force (EUfor, or EU Battlegroup). More than half are French soldiers
In such a conflict the rebels will have no effective way of distinguishing which, if any, of the white European soldiers are friends, and which are their French enemies.
Irish soldiers have no valid reason for being in Chad, in spite of the EUfor being approved by a UN peace-enforcement (not peacekeeping) mandate.
The Irish people have also not been clearly informed that this EUfor is not only designated for Chad, but also designated, according to Javier Solana, as the European Force for Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).
The CAR is located just south of Chad, and both are on the border of Darfur, where genocide is ongoing.
There is also an ongoing civil war in the CAR, which was notorious for the human rights abuses of former 'Emperor' Bokassa.
By protecting the refugee camps in Chad, the EUfor will only be facilitating the ethnic cleansing that is being perpetrated by the Sudanese government and its Janjeweed terrorist allies.
The Irish troop commitment for the EUfor Chad and CAR should be cancelled immediately.
Instead, Ireland should be advocating a strong peace-enforcement mission to Darfur.
Since China is likely to veto a Security Council mandate, Ireland should propose a UN General Assembly 'Uniting for Peace' resolution, which is the alternative means of establishing peace missions.
Ireland should also volunteer troops for such a genuine UN peace mission and abandon its alliance with EU battlegroups.
Edward Horgan, COMDT (retd)
International Relations Researcher, University of Limerick
