Ireland/EU/Congo: The Government has told the EU it can spare just 10 members of the Defence Forces for a European force that will safeguard elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Defence Force officials wrote to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana late last week to confirm that Ireland was willing to provide troops for the mission. But due to the large deployment of Defence Force personnel already on peacekeeping missions, it has indicated that just 10 members will be available.
The offer of personnel for the mission must still be sanctioned by the Cabinet. But Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy indicated yesterday that this was a formality. "We will not be found wanting when it comes to international missions with the EU," said Mr Treacy, while at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.
At the meeting Germany said it was ready to lead the EU mission, which was requested by the UN in January to help 17,000 peacekeepers already in the Congo.
"We took a decisive step forward," said German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has faced internal opposition in Germany to the mission.
Under the scope of the proposed mission Germany will command the overall mission from headquarters in Potsdam, close to Berlin, while France is prepared to take charge on the ground in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. But many EU countries are concerned about committing troops because of the unstable military situation in the Congo. Ireland has existing commitments of 760 troops abroad in Liberia, Kosovo and Bosnia. However, a spokeswoman confirmed that the Government had indicated it was willing to provide up to 10 personnel.
A deployment in Congo would have historical resonances for the Defence Forces, which undertook their first peacekeeping operation in the then Belgian Congo between 1960-1964. Some 27 Irish soldiers died, including nine in an ambush in November 1960, the worst single incident in the Defence Forces' history.
At least 10 EU countries are expected to take part in the mission. Spain and Portugal will each send 100 soldiers, Sweden and Belgium each up to 50.
In a letter to the Taoiseach, members of the Congolese community in Ireland urged the Government to contribute to a peacekeeping force for the DRC.
"Congolese history has always been marked by a positive Irish contribution and we are grateful in that regard," said Dr Jean-Pierre Eyanga, a prominent member of the community here.
"In the late 1890s, Roger Casement, an Irishman, exposed the cruel and inhuman treatment of Congolese people under Belgian rule. In the 1960s Irish faces were also seen in combat uniforms and blue helmets helping keep peace for the first time under United Nations mandate."
Kensika Monshengwo, another Congolese resident of Ireland said: "If the long-awaited elections are not held appropriately, the conflict and its ramifications will literally spread to the entire continent of Africa."