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Malik prefers peacekeeping under UN command

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Army chief General Ved Prakash Malik on Wednesday criticised over-emphasis on regional representation, blurring of the chain of command and lack of proper analysis of the socio-political situation while executing United Nations peacekeeping operations.

The army chief's criticism is significant following increasing opposition to Major General Vijay Kumar Jaitley, commander of UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone, and reports of his possible expulsion.

Jaitley began his stint at Sierra Leone with stiff opposition from participating African countries, overcame that with the rescue of over 231 captive soldiers, but has now got into a bitter fight with deputies. Jaitley wrote to the UN, accusing a senior deputy of links with diamond traders, who fund rebel fighters.

Delivering his keynote address at the sixth international seminar on the challenges of peacekeeping and peace support in New Delhi, Malik said, "While we agree with regional representation in peacekeeping, we prefer peacekeeping under UN command and control. A regional approach has some distinct handicaps in conflict resolution."

Regional powers around Sierra Leone have been exerting tremendous pressure on the UN to replace Jaitley with an officer from a neighbouring country.

The army chief said, "We are not using the complete moral authority and experience of the universal body that the UN represents."

Expressing concern on various aspects of UN peacekeeping, which have been increasingly failing in recent times, Malik said that it needs to carry out "a very careful politico-military analysis" of the situation "before launching any peacekeeping mission". Without mincing words, he said Somalia and Sierra Leone were examples of missions without proper politico-military analysis.

"The UN should be able to act in a timely and effective manner to ensure that missions are in place at the right time, with full components and sufficient resources to achieve given objectives. We must not make any compromises on scales of weapons and equipment. Operational effectiveness of the force must never be compromised due to political leverages. Successful accomplishment of Operation Kukri in Sierra Leone bears testimony to this fact," the general said.

Two weeks back, peacekeepers in Sierra Leone rescued 231 colleagues being held hostage by the rebel Army of Revolutionary United Front.

The army chief also called on the UN to "give full representation in UNDPKO" to all troop-contributing countries. "The UN needs to have the ability to plan, deploy and manage such operations efficiently. To this end, staffing of the UNDPKO with the right mix of military and civilian officials with experience in diplomacy, military affairs or any other qualifications to deal with specific requirements like logistics is essential," Malik said.

He also questioned the blurring of command structure in peacekeeping. "The UN has a well laid-out structure for command and control of peacekeeping operations which take political, executive and military aspects into consideration. Unfortunately, the structure has come under strain, blurring the chain of command, due to undesirable pressures from different quarters."

He also said the UN should reimburse contributing countries in time, though he was aware of the "precarious financial situation of the UN caused by non payment of arrears and disproportionate shares of contribution by some countries."

Malik also appreciated the "immense contribution by other countries to the UN peacekeeping."

He said a centre for UN peacekeeping had been set up in New Delhi under Lt Gen Satish Nambiar, who commanded UN forces in Yugoslavia in the early 90s. Regular workshops, peacekeeping training seminars, capsules and training of military observers and staff officers would be held at the centre, the army chief said.

Malik pointed out that India has participated in 32 of 48 peacekeeping missions and has lost 94 soldiers in peacekeeping missions.

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