Peacekeeping and Protection of Civilians

The Indian Air Force in the Congo

Rajesh Isser

• Publisher: KW Publishers
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9789386147431
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Peacekeeping under the United Nations flag is a most noble endeavour. India can rightly be proud of its commitment and contribution to this cause. While the Indian Army's long-standing legacy has been extensively and well documented, IAF's history in peacekeeping is far less known or written about. This book makes a beginning to put the record straight.Employment of air power, dramatic and awe inspiring in all its manifestations, has been dogged by controversies of collateral damage and larger political ramifications. NATO's use is one extreme driven by aversion to own body-bags, while UN peacekeeping represents the other end of judicious and calibrated employment. Various chapters in the book give insights into risks, pay-offs and complexities of air power in UN peacekeeping.Protection of Civilians is a topical subject with controversial issues such as R2P and Libya likely to remain debatable for a long time to come. In future, R2P would be an issue that would need to be closely followed by all instruments of the Govt. involved in peacekeeping. This work makes an effort to put this debate in perspective and poses important questions for the country.

PART-I

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We are talking of a country being held to ransom, a country that has no memory of deciding its own fate, only of desperate need, terrible violence and self-hatred, and the rule of the gun.

— John le Carré on Congo, 15 January 2010

The Serene and Sublime:
Virunga Sanctuary and Mount Niyragongo

Peacekeeping and Protection of Civilians:
The Indian Air Force in Congo

1

INTRODUCTION

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Indian Air Force Contingents (nomenclature Indian Aviation Contingent or IAC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) truly stood tall among all others in the business of peace. Those who were there in DRC from across the world in 2003-2011, may not publicly acknowledge for many reasons, but deep inside know that the will and professionalism displayed was second to none. Even the Indian Army, deployed since 2005, has gone through its ups and downs, including scathing criticism since 2007. But report after report, UN-sponsored or independent, concedes that even before ‘robustness’ became fashionable with the publication and debate surrounding documents such as ‘Capstone’ and ‘New Horizons’, none ever found IACs wanting in robustness. This speaks very highly of the Indian Air Force in terms of ethos, ethics and air warrior-like qualities. While all IACs have repatriated from UNPK, bringing to an end a fruitful chapter, this book is an attempt to throw some light on this unsung but very important experience in peacekeeping.

Why is peacekeeping important? More than any other factor affecting economic growth and development, peace and rule of law are the single biggest pre-requisites. In the absence of peace and security, there is no incentive for investment and entrepreneurship since the future is questionable and returns are doubtful. This encourages private fiefdoms, warlords and nexus that invest into only the highly lucrative illegal economy along with all other manifestations of local and transnational criminal activities. DRC is an example of what peace dividends can be. For example, prior to the arrival of UN peacekeepers, DRC was experiencing hyperinflation, with inflation rates over 100 per cent per year between 1998 and 2001, peaking to around 550 per cent in 2000. Inflation reduced to 25 per cent in 2002, 13 per cent in 2003, and 5 per cent in 2004. It must be stressed that Chapter VII came into effect in MONUC in the second half of 2003. This is the value of peace.

India has been one of the staunchest supporters of the United Nations and the multilateralism it represents. No other single idea or organisation has contributed more to reducing conflicts in the world in the last six decades. The most visible face of the UN at the grassroots level is its peacebuilding endeavours, and a major pre-requisite and constituent of which is the entire gamut of peacekeeping. A thankless job in itself, more often than not, peacekeeping stands heavily criticised from all sides; more so due to the push and pull of individual national interests. The larger aims of the UN Charter remain just noble ideas in the face of country or regional aspirations.

With the country slated to be an economic giant emerging out of the shadows of a colonial past that systematically reduced it to a completely dependent and vulnerable state, it is time to look at the world through a wider and cleaner lens. Our contribution to UNPK notwithstanding, we need to have a hard-nosed look at the realities on ground. For this, it is important to honestly document and chronicle our experiences so that the perspective gets balanced. This book is an attempt to precisely do so. Besides documenting our use of airpower in Congo, different chapters touch contemporary concepts in UNPK that are still evolving, tempering them with what actually happened on ground. While addressing air warriors and the general reader, the book primarily aims to sensitise a future peacekeeper employing airpower as a tool of peace. Part-I of the book deals with airpower per se, and chronicles the performance and lessons-learnt during IAF’s involvement in Congo. Part-II of the book explores the debates and doubts plaguing contemporary UN Peacekeeping.

Since the chronicled period is mostly between 2003 and 2004, a moot question would be why the main focus on only one year. Firstly, this was the first time military aviation was coming in all-barrels loaded into MONUC (UN Mission in DRC). Secondly, within a month of arrival, Chapter VII of the UN Charter was invoked. This transition allowed the contingent to witness it all: the much vaunted Interim European Military Force (IEMF) operations; robustness under the new chapter; the increasing daily atrocities and massacres in response to the more ‘muscular’ mission; evolution of standard operating procedures (SOPs); rules of engagement (ROE), tactics that stood the test of combat for the next eight years, etc. Thirdly, most tangible and intangible threats and modus operandi of different militia groups had been experienced and analysed after considerable trial and errors. While demanding operations continued after 2004, it can be safely assumed that the largest surprises and vulnerabilities were witnessed in the first year of operations. Lastly, the author had the singular privilege of being there as a commanding officer and chief operations officer. Important events subsequent to this period have been detailed as examples or to make points wherever necessary.

Chapter II brings out core definitions of certain concepts that are a must-know for future peacekeepers. ‘Role of Air Power in Peace Operations’ in the next chapter is a brush on employment in various peace endeavours the world has undertaken in the post-Second World War period. It highlights its legacy, roles, enabling technology and, more importantly, its limitations and risk of collateral damage in peace operations. Before going on to chronicle the IAF’s contribution in ONUC, IAC-I and IAC-II in Chapter V, ‘IAF and Civilian Protection in Congo: Lessons Learnt’ in Chapter IV tries to vividly draw out overall lessons from our contribution and experience to what is admittedly the most burning issue in peacekeeping circles – Protection of Civilians in the Congo. This is the raison-d-être of peacekeepers and has to be kept as a primary concern.

‘A Diary of Selected Events’ in Chapter VI endeavours to paint all the colours, trials and tribulations of operations under a more robust mandate (Chapter VII of the Charter). The two benchmark phases, that is, ‘The Campaign in Ituri’ and ‘the Fall of Bukavu’ would need careful attention and scrutiny to truly understand the vexing issues of this low-tech but very violent operation. At the same time, it also tries to stay in touch with the life and times of the aircrew during the period. It has sincerely tried to capture some of the humour, intended or otherwise, that is there in such long deployments.

Chapters VII and VIII highlight the issues involved in the current debate on Protection of Civilians (POC) and the Right to Protect (R2P). Examples from our experience broaden the debate and provide a reality-check of what happens on the ground. The points of view of the risk-taker (peacekeeper) and the troop contributing countries come out clearly. Also, it is a sort of looking at developments in robust peacekeeping through the Indian eye. At the end of these chapters, perhaps more questions are posed than answers given! Chapter IX is a primer or a guideline for the military peacekeeper to understand the civilian side, especially NGOs, who proliferate during such crises. The understanding is important if any peace mission is to succeed as a whole.

Chapter X examines India’s growing ties with Africa. It suggests a further avenue of cooperation and bonding in an expertise that Indians have gained a highly professional reputation – peacekeeping. Also, it mulls over security issues and Indian capabilities that would interest Africa. Chapter XI is the concluding part that urges for a fresh and objective look at this issue. It makes recommendations for the future, keeping in mind our growing economy, military prowess, areas of national and critical interests, etc.

This book is not only about the success of the Indian Aviation Contingents in Congo, but about the frail and fragile nature of UNPK in Africa. It examines the underbelly and some ‘real’ issues hounding these missions. It hopes to contribute to the understanding of some of these complexities through the eyes of an air warrior. I do hope this will further excite the on-going debate in the country on taking part in such multilateral operations in the future, and the need for a thorough cost-benefit analysis. A chronological overview of the political developments in the DRC up to the arrival of the first IAC and Chapter VII mandate follows.

Political Developments: A Chronology

1200s	Rise of the Kongo Empire, centred in modern northern Angola and included extreme western Congo and territories round lakes Kisale and Upemba in central Katanga (now Shaba).
1482	Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao became the first European to visit the Congo; Portuguese set up ties with the king of Kongo.
16^th-17^thcentury	The British, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants engaged in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries.
1870s	Commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium, explorer H. M. Stanley established the King’s authority in the Congo basin.
1884-85	Leopold’s claim on the Congo was formalised at the Berlin Conference. The “Congo Free State” was created as a personal fiefdom of the Belgian Crown.
1908	The Congo became a Belgian colony.
1960	The Congo became an independent state, with Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister and Joseph Kasavubu as President.
1961	Lumumba was murdered, reportedly with US and Belgian complicity.
1965	President Kasavubu was ousted by General Mobutu, army chief of staff.
1990	Mobutu announced multiparty democracy but kept significant powers.
1991	Anti-Mobutu sentiments exploded in mass rioting and looting by unpaid soldiers in Kinshasa.
1992	Riots and looting by unpaid soldiers in Goma, Kisangani, Kolwesi; ethnic tensions rose between the Hunde, the Nyanga and the Nande, and the Banyarwanda in North Kivu.
1993	Ethnic strife between the local populations and the Banyarwanda broke out in Masisi area. The coup in Burundi against new Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye resulted in the arrival of some 80,000 Burundian refugees in Zaire.
1994	Genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda. Following the Tutsi led counter offensive, one million refugees, mainly Hutus, crossed the border with Zaire.
1995	Renewal of the ethnic war in Masisi.
1996	Revolt of the Zairian Tutsis “Banyamulenge” in South Kivu; the ADFL’s (Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire) “Liberation” war led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila began from the east.
1997	Mobutu was ousted by the ADFL forces and fled in exile to Morocco.
1998	Congolese rebel forces, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, started attacking Kabila’s forces and conquered the east of the country. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe came to Kabila’s aid and pushed the rebels back from Kinshasa.
1999	First confrontation of Rwandan and Ugandan troops in Kisangani. Signature of a cease-fire agreement by all six of the countries involved in the conflict; MONUC observers were deployed in the DRC.
2000	Six-day war between Rwanda and Uganda in Kisangani.
2001	President Kabila was shot dead by one of his bodyguards; his son Joseph took over.
2002	Eruption of volcano Nyiragongo in Goma. Accord signed between Presidents Kabila and Kagame of Rwanda committing Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DRC and Kinshasa to address Rwanda’s security concerns in the DRC.
2003	Indian Aviation with medium lift utility and attack helicopters deployed in Kivus and Ituri. MONUC put under Chapter VII immediately thereafter. Bangladesh Mi-17s deployed in Ituri. Arrival of South Asian troops starts.

2

UN PEACE OPERATIONS: UNDERSTANDING CONCEPTS AND CHALLENGES

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In an effort to bring clarity on core concepts for all involved in UNPK, the UN Capstone Doctrine was brought out in 2008. The ideas and definitions have been around for a long time, but misinterpretation and confusion were the common features. The document quite comprehensively captures concepts in a standardised form so that everyone involved at all levels can start with common basic understanding. A few definitions need to be highlighted. Fundamentally, international human rights and humanitarian laws are an integral part of peacekeeping. Peacekeeping personnel must be able to recognise human rights violations or abuse, and be prepared to respond appropriately within the limits of their mandate and their competence. They should strive to ensure that they themselves do not become perpetrators of human rights abuses. Some core definitions of the Capstone document are:

• Conflict Prevention involves the application of structural or diplomatic measures to keep intra-state or inter-state tensions and disputes from escalating into violent conflicts. Ideally, it should build on structured early warning, information gathering and a careful analysis of th...