No SADC troops for DRC poll
2006-04-07 21:14
Kinshasa - South Africa and other Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will not deploy troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to help secure the country's landmark election later this year.
A SADC troika including South African deputy defence minister Mluleki George, Tanzanian Defence Minister Djuma Kapuya and headed by Namibian Defence Minister Charles Namoloh, visited the country this week to assess the security situation ahead of the election.
Asked after a meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila whether SADC would deploy troops, he said the SADC troops would only be on standby.
"The name says it all, it would be a standby force being somewhere when the need arises it would be deployed," Namoloh said.
Although the SADC never promised to send troops for the elections it hinted at several occasions that it would do so.
EU force 'unwarranted'
In February South African Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said the European Union's plan to send a security force to back up United Nations peacekeepers during the election were unwarranted as troops from the region could provide the necessary support.
"It is improbable that it will be necessary to get troops from other parts of the world to secure the election. If necessary, the SADC brigade could provide the necessary backup," he said at the time.
"It is good to have a neutral force"
On Wednesday, DRC Defence Minister Adolphe Onusumba requested the SADC delegation to deploy a force saying he was worried about the EU's troop deployment. But he changed his stance the next day, saying any force which could assist the country in holding a peaceful election would be welcome, including the Europeans.
"It is good to have a neutral force in Kinshasa to assure everyone of the neutrality and give people confidence that the process would be transparent," he said.
Onusumba was also disappointed by the SADC delegation which said they would not immediately provide all the things his defence force requires. The list included transport aircraft and vehicles, speedboats, uniforms, sleeping bags and other equipment.
Election postponed
The war-ravaged country was to go to the polls on June 18, but this has since been postponed to a yet unannounced date. The election would be the first since the country gained independence from Belgium in 1961.
More than 17 000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in the DRC to help secure the election.
The EU planned to send 1 250 troops, and the African Union was also planning to deploy extra troops during the election.
South Africa currently has almost 1 400 troops in the country as part of the UN peacekeeping force.
South Africa has also sent a few dozen police and defence force officers to help train the DRC's new police and army.
- SAPA