German Troops Leave for DR Congo Election Mission
July 10, 2006
Today, Germany starts deploying the bulk of its 780-strong military contingent to Africa, which will help safeguard the forthcoming free elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together with France, Germany is providing most soldiers for the EUFOR mission, which involves 2,500 troops from several European Union member countries. EUFOR is to back up the United Nations’ own MONUC contingent of 17,000 troops, stationed mainly in the more unstable eastern parts of the country.
The German troops are to be fully deployed by the end of this week. They along with other European forces are to charged with filling a security vacuum in the west, since most of the UN force is concentrated in the east of the country, which is as large as western and central Europe together.
"Particularly in the country’s capital, Kishasa, it’ll be important to show the locals that the European troops are there to help them have free and fair elections,” said Albrecht Conze, political director of the UN Congo mission.
Preparing for the elections
130 German soldiers are already in DR Congo. In the coming six days, 650 more troops will join them. They are to police the first free elections in DR Congo in over 40 years, with the first round of voting scheduled to take place on July 30 and a second one to follow in October.
Only 280 German troops will be deployed in the capital Kinshasa, while the rest is to be stationed in neighboring Gabon. The German soldiers will have the specific task of evacuating election observers and providing them with medical treatment, should the situation become violent during or after the elections.
"European troops welcome in Kinshasa"
"Most people there have faith in them and believe that they are well capable of preventing violence and unrest during the election process," said Conze. "I wouldn’t say that two and a half thousand troops are not enough to fulfill this mission, as some critics have remarked."
But he added that troops must be careful not to fuel local suspicions in some places that they are here to support a candidate of their choice or keep somebody in power using military means.
"They’ll have to undertake all efforts to make clear that they’re abiding by the principle of neutrality,” said Conze.
The principle of neutrality
German Christian Democrat defense minister Franz Josef Jung says he has no doubt that this is exactly how things will work out in DR Congo.
“We’re fully committed to the principle of neutrality," said Jung. "Having said this, I do not want to speculate on how successful we’ll be. At the moment, the situation is calm, but I wouldn’t call it stable.”
Length of mission unclear
Despite a clear parliamentary vote in favor of the DR Congo peacekeeping mission, many opposition lawmakers in the German parliament remain skeptical about its usefulness. They doubt whether a four-month mission will be enough to achieve a lasting effect and fear that a new power struggle might break out in the country after the withdrawal of the European troops.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defense Minister Jung have meanwhile indicated that the mission may indeed have to be extended, should such a situation arise and should the United Nations request that the European troops stay longer.