From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: SOMALIA: Military intervention must
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 06:19:53 GMT

Reference: United Nations
Title: SOMALIA: Military intervention must 'go slow' says Dutch minister


amsterdam, aug 25 (ips) -- the united nations should send more
armed troops to somalia, but at a very slow pace, said dutch
minister for development cooperation jan pronk tuesday, just
returned from a two-day visit to somalia.

massive military intervention may cause further chaos among the
rival parties, resulting in a renewed clash, pronk warned.

''sending more u.n. troops is desirable, but not on a massive
scale and not all at the same time,'' pronk said. the u.n. last
week decided to accept a pakistani offer to send a battalion of
their troops under the u.n. banner to protect food distribution.

pronk thinks tensions may rise after the arrival of the 500
pakistani soldiers, even under the u.n. flag. ''the u.n. have to
be very careful. military presence has to be accompanied by a very
delicate diplomacy''.

the minister offered to send dutch troops as part of an u.n.
operation. ''when they ask us to send troops, we will do so.''

pronk visited the harbour city of kismayu and the capital
mogadishu. he spoke to relief workers from the u.n., the
international red cross and other organisations. ''the situation
is deeply tragic. i've never seen anything like it,'' said pronk.

in camps around mogadishu alone, 2,000 people die of starvation
every day. these are people who came from inland areas in search
of food, said pronk. ''in the camps you see people who are certain
to die in a few days time. i was dumbfounded.''

some sort of military intervention is necessary to guarantee food
distribution, said pronk. five ships with food had entered kismayu
port up to this week, but unloading is subject to the effects of
war and chaos. ''sometimes there is a strike, sometimes the work
pace is intentionally slow,'' pronk said.

on one day alone 56 trucks with food left the harbour to go
inland, of which only 17 arrived at their destination. ''the rest
got stolen or simply disappeared. however, this 'rate of arrival'
was considered a success.''

pronk was told by a relief worker that until recently 80 percent
of supplies of basic foodstuff was stolen. now that rate has gone
back to 20 percent.

sometimes a truck of a gang appears shortly after the relief
truck has left, and villagers are forced by the robbers to load
the food on the other truck, a relief worker in mogadishu told the
minister. (more/ips)

somalia: military intervention must 'go slow' says dutch minister(2-e)

somalia: military intervention (2)

the rival parties of interim-president mohammed ali mahdi and
general mohammed farah aidid -- in control of half of the capital
each -- have agreed to the sending of u.n. troops. yet the
fighting has not stopped, said pronk as the parties are not
fighting for territory any more, but for food.

''everyone with a rifle looks well-fed,'' noted pronk. ''the
situation is more one of chaos than of military struggle.''

one relief worker in somalia compared the chaos and horror of the
situation to the effects of a nuclear attack, he said. all the old
structures have vanished and everyone looks after himself.

''the warlords can't control their own people anymore. it's
complete chaos. there's a whole generation being brought up with
the idea that violence is normal. you see children playing around
a dead body.''

speaking at amsterdam's schiphol airport, pronk also revived his
call for a drastic reform of the military in the netherlands,
turning parts of it into a relief organisation that can be sent
quickly to any crisis in the world.

pronk argues this would solve the problems often faced by the
u.n. where talks on emergency assistance are often held up by a
lack of available troops to move in under the u.n. banner.
(end/ips/ip/cs/rj/92)




-- 
Mr. Aaron Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us -- posting from Evanston, Illinois