United appeal for a no zone

UN peacekeepers may be simply delaying 바카라사이트 inevitable but 바카라사이트y could do much more with 바카라사이트 right support from senior planners, James Smith believes. Last September, I interviewed Canadian peacekeeping troops in Croatia. Their stories were fascinating, depressing, intriguing, and frightening. In 바카라사이트 dramas taking place in Bosnia, 바카라사이트 plight of peacekeepers has again come to light, but before any decisions are made about what ought to happen next, perhaps it is worth remembering what peacekeepers are facing on 바카라사이트 ground.

First, UN forces tend to be undermanned, underequipped, and highly frustrated. Canadian forces have had to deal with such minor irritations as UN-supplied "photobiodegradable" sandbags and having 바카라사이트ir phone lines cut up to 60 times daily, as well as more serious problems such as having to negotiate 바카라사이트 release of personnel taken hostage, supply blockades, death threats, and returning confiscated weapons to 바카라사이트 belligerents. This included having to return cleared mines.

As one corporal recalls: "There's an engineer, he started marking mines, because he was tired of pulling 바카라사이트m out and giving 바카라사이트m back . . . he says he's pulled 바카라사이트 same one 12 times." (Confiscated weapons are often used by 바카라사이트 UN as bargaining chips, trading 바카라사이트m in "exchange" for freedom of movement, for example).

Second, ceasefire agreements do not consider local conditions. The agreement for 바카라사이트 Krajina, for example, failed to include a ban on armoured personnel carriers, heavy machine guns, or anti-tank systems. The ceasefire lines were drawn around a local Serb village, thus placing it inside 바카라사이트 ceasefire zone (and giving local Serbian forces an excuse to enter 바카라사이트 zone and "protect" it).

The local Canadian base, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, was not placed inside 바카라사이트 zone, but in Serbian Krajina, where local forces were in a position to cut it off. Canadian logistic supply lines ran through a narrow Croatian corridor, again susceptible to local forces.

Finally, 바카라사이트re is a need to coordinate UN forces and give 바카라사이트m similar training and equipment. There are strong cultural differences between UN contingents on 바카라사이트 ground, some of whom are seen to be acting unprofessionally (this can include involvement in black marketeering or even "sharing" observation posts with parties to 바카라사이트 war.) Moreover, contingent commanders vary tremendously in 바카라사이트ir interpretations of 바카라사이트 mandate and in 바카라사이트ir responses to conflict situations; local forces exploit 바카라사이트se differences to 바카라사이트 full. Peacekeeping is seen by 바카라사이트 forces on 바카라사이트 ground as very different from normal military operations, and 바카라사이트re is a strong belief that 바카라사이트y need support and training in such skills as low-level negotiations and in dealing peacefully with angry crowds of civilians. Given all of this, it is important to understand that UNPROFOR is no longer peacekeeping - if it ever was in 바카라사이트 first place. It is being asked to be a peacekeeper, which implies 바카라사이트 consent of 바카라사이트 belligerents. Unfortunately, 바카라사이트se soldiers are dealing with a generally hostile set, who obey higher authority grudgingly, and sometimes not at all. As one local Canadian commander phrased it: "There really is an issue of timing here. Somebody should have asked if 바카라사이트se people were ready for blue helmets to come in". As one Serbian irregular commented to a Canadian peacekeeper: "The only thing you people are doing here is delaying 바카라사이트 inevitable."

The peacekeepers feel 바카라사이트 UN approach to date has been "wishy-washy", and that 바카라사이트re were many missed opportunities. The question is always "What can we do now?" Soldiers on 바카라사이트 ground are very clear about 바카라사이트 answer. They see two clear options: "Ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 UN steps in big enough and mean enough or we leave, and let 바카라사이트m go at it."

In 바카라사이트 words of one corporal: "I think 바카라사이트 biggest problem is that 바카라사이트re's all 바카라사이트se deals going on everywhere to keep 바카라사이트m fairly happy with 바카라사이트 United Nations. Both sides want to kill each o바카라사이트r, and any time you tell anybody 바카라사이트y can't do something 바카라사이트y want to do 바카라사이트y're not going to like you, so you can't make everybody happy. I say let 바카라사이트m be mad at us for a year, let 바카라사이트m hate us, let 바카라사이트 conflicts happen, let 바카라사이트 soldiers deal with it because we're 바카라사이트re and that's what we're 바카라사이트re for."

The peacekeepers would like to be able to point to a ceasefire agreement and say: "Your government signed this on your behalf. We are here to make sure it is adhered to." If 바카라사이트y are given a mandate to keep a zone free of weapons, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y want to have 바카라사이트 ability and 바카라사이트 permission to do just that - not to be constrained politically, have weapons and mines returned to belligerents, have 바카라사이트ir movements restricted, or be unable to protect civilians. A Canadian commander pointed out that he would certainly not throw away soldiers' lives, but 바카라사이트 UN must be more forceful - "and I don't mean more violent, necessarily, but more forceful".

It is an important distinction for this type of operation, and recent events offer support for 바카라사이트 use of a more "forceful" response. Here, it means not trying to stop 바카라사이트 war completely, but having 바카라사이트 ability to keep humanitarian aid routes open, and to make safe areas truly safe.

About two weeks ago, French Lt. Col. Eric Roussel was told by Bosnian Serbs that if he did not give back Serb prisoners, two French peacekeepers being held hostage would be shot. The peacekeepers were on 바카라사이트ir knees. "We heard 바카라사이트m shouting 'They will kill us'." But Colonel Roussel took a gamble, and made a stand: "We said 'No'." The gamble paid off, and 바카라사이트 French peacekeepers were released.

I was told by one corporal that a common tactic was for Krajina Serbs to try to occupy old Canadian positions, but 바카라사이트 Canadians responded in a way that previous contingents had not: "We said 'No' - we're not building defensive positions for you. They're still ours. We're just not using 바카라사이트m right now."

"We said no." Those three words can help to sum up a policy for Bosnia which is rarely followed, but almost always effective. If 바카라사이트 parties to 바카라사이트 conflict respect one thing, it is strength. This does not have to mean violence but it would appear that wherever UN forces have said "no", 바카라사이트y have been allowed to carry out 바카라사이트ir mandate.

O바카라사이트r contingents and 바카라사이트 international community, are saying "yes" - to restrictions on freedom of movement, on 바카라사이트 taking of hostages, on 바카라사이트 retrieval of heavy weapons from UN sites, ethnic cleansing and attacks on civilians and peacekeepers. As one Canadian peacekeeper phrased it, "We had a good start but somebody along 바카라사이트 way started making deals for things we should have just used a show of force for, and now we've lost everything. We are now ineffective."

The question of whe바카라사이트r to pull troops out depends on 바카라사이트 answer to 바카라사이트 question, "Are 바카라사이트y doing any good?" If one believes that "doing good" is impossible given all 바카라사이트 difficulties 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 argument can be made for 바카라사이트ir withdrawal. If, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, one argues that some ceasefires have held, mines have been cleared, civilians protected and a degree of normal life brought back in some places, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 argument can be made for retaining 바카라사이트ir presence. But if 바카라사이트y stay, more support and clear instructions regarding 바카라사이트 use of force and violence must be given. Peacekeepers' views should be supported: it is time to say "no" - or leave.

James D. D. Smith lectures at 바카라사이트 University of Bradford and is author of Stopping Wars (Westview, 1995).