EU to launch "humanitarian" occupation of Congo

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This move -- which has Washington's assent, in a likely trade-off
for French approval of the US occupation of Iraq in the UN Security
Council--
aims a savage new blow at the devastated people of the Congo.
Fred Feldman


EU Approves Congo Peacekeeping Mission

By PAUL GEITNER
.c The Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union agreed Wednesday to send
peacekeeping troops to strife-torn Congo in what will be the first
deployment of its nascent force outside Europe and without NATO help.

EU ambassadors in Brussels approved the mission, to be dubbed Artemis
after the Greek goddess of hunting, diplomats said on condition of
anonymity. EU ministers will formally ratify the decision Thursday.

The 1,400-member force, under French command, was authorized by the
U.N. Security Council last Friday. It will be only the second military
mission undertaken by the EU, which will have political responsibility
for the operation.

The bloc took over peacekeeping duties in Macedonia last March with
about 400 troops, but received planning and logistical support from
NATO, which includes the United States.

A mission to northeast Congo, where tribal fighting over the past
month has killed more than 500 people, would be a far bigger test of
the EU's effort to develop a military wing independent of NATO to add
muscle to its foreign policy.

The EU aims to increase its influence on the world stage - especially
in American eyes - by speaking with a single voice in foreign affairs.
Those aspirations took a battering during the Iraq crisis, when the EU
found itself hopelessly divided, but remain alive.

Last month, EU defense ministers declared their rapid-reaction force
ready - a pool of 60,000 troops available at short notice for
peacekeeping, humanitarian operations and regional crises.

European leaders insist it is not aimed at weakening the Atlantic
alliance, but would instead strengthen NATO by sharpening Europe's
military capacity.

Having the mission under EU auspices will also ease concerns of the
Rwandans, who have considerable influence in eastern Congo but who
were uneasy over a French-led operation.

The Congo mission would be the riskiest yet. ``The situation is
anything but safe or stable at the moment,'' EU spokesman Diego de
Ojeda conceded.

France, which has extensive experience intervening in African trouble
spots, will supply the commander of the Congo force and about 700
troops. Britain, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland may also participate
along with non-EU nations such as South Africa, Brazil, Canada and
Ethiopia, European diplomats say.

The vanguard of the force is expected in the city of Bunia this
weekend.

France will hold a conference Tuesday in Paris for countries that want
to contribute troops. The final order to deploy and an operational
plan should be approved the next day, diplomats said, adding that both
were considered formalities.

The force will take over from about 750 beleaguered U.N. peacekeepers
from Uruguay until Sept. 1, when a larger U.N. force led by Bangladesh
is due to be in place.

Diplomats said the EU force would be well armed, backed by mechanized
units and would operate under robust rules of engagement to allow it
to defend itself and civilians. Its main tasks will be to secure Bunia
and its airport and protect aid agencies and tens of thousands of
refugees around the city.



06/04/03 09:34 EDT



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