From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: SOMALIA: 10,000 Blue Berets needed
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Gagme Public Access UNIX, Chicago, Illinois.
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 14:35:46 GMT

Title: SOMALIA: 10,000 Blue Berets needed, German NGOs say


bonn, aug 19 (ips/ramesh jaura) -- more united nations troops are
needed in somalia to prevent a new war between rival factions --
this time over food -- warned three german non-governmental
organisation (ngos) wednesday.

the 'pro africa' initiative, 'germanwatch' and 'third world
network of german journalists' have concluded that the 500 blue
berets to be sent to protect the badly needed food supplies will
not be enough. more will die from both guns and hunger, they said
in a joint statement.

for the last 19 months somalia has been in the grips of a vicious
civil war, with the various factions which united to drive out
dictator mohammed siad barre, having since turned against each
other.

on top of that, months of drought have resulted in serious food
shortages and an estimated 1.5 million somalis are now threatened
with starvation.

the decision to send 500 blue berets to protect food
distribution in mogadishu followed a breakthrough agreement last
tuesday by the u.n. with warlords in somalia.

but in the statement the ngos urged foreign minister klaus kinkel
to exert his weight with the u.n. to encourage the world body to
dispatch at least 10,000 troops.

''that is the number authoritative political groups from
somalia have themselves been asking for,'' the ngos noted in the
statement. ''we must put an end to creating the impression that
u.n. troops for 'black' somalia are too expensive, but not those
for 'white' yugoslavia.''

chair of 'germanwatch' holger baum said in an interview that
the ngos had made their request in a letter to be sent to kinkel
thursday. the letter urges kinkel to visit somalia ''soonest'' to
underline that in the face of preoccupation with yugoslavia,
germany has not forgotten africa.

the ngos also reminded kinkel of the commitment he made last
may to african ambassadors in bonn to attach greater attention to
the continent than there had been over the past several years.

kinkel has also been asked to mobilise international support
for a national reconciliation conference on somalia. the
conference, to be held under the auspices of the u.n. and the
western donor countries, should be joined by ''all the somali
political groups and traditional leaders'', the statement said.

''such a conference is necessary if the somali nation is not to
cease to exist, after the somali state has already come to a
naught,'' the ngos pointed out. (more/ips)

somalia: 10,000 blue berets needed, german ngos say(2-e)

somalia: german (2)

the groups also urged the bonn government to initiate a
discussion within the u.n. on ''whether it is not necessary that,
as in cambodia, the world body, takes over for a transitional
period the business of governing in somalia''.

also, national and international relief measures should be put
into practice ''without any further loss of time''.

''the escalation of the super catastrophe and subsequently a
part of the deaths on a mass scale could have been prevented if
u.n. troops had been sent to somalia at an earlier stage,'' the
ngos said. ''but let us not lose any further time and act soon to
reverse the situation,'' they added in the statement.

as if to answer the call, hanns schumacher of the foreign
office said wednesday that two german 'transall' transport planes
will leave for momabasa in kenya friday -- one carrying food and
medical supplies and the other know-how and equipment for
disbursement of the relief in somalia.

the decision to launch a relief effort was announced aug. 12 by
kinkel, and details of the planned action were discussed
subsequently with officials of the economic cooperation ministry
and ngos.

schumacher also noted that in addition to friday's airlift,
germany has already given 24 million marks (16.4 million dollars)
in humanitarian aid to somalia since january. he did not mention
the value of the new aid package.

however, the somalia relief group at the foreign office was
told last week by an economic cooperation ministry official that
the bonn government was willing to provide some 35 million marks
(24 million dollars) from the unused funds initially allocated for
technical cooperation with somalia in past years.

meanwhile, several ngos launched a public donation campaign
last week to collect funds for ''hunger help'' to africa in
general and somalia in particular. (end/ips/ip-cd/raj/cpg/92)





-- 
Aaron (Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us) -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african