Deaths in Congo

However, the deaths have drawn our attention to certain aspects of the UN peace missions. Of course, we, as a peace-loving nation, want to do our bit in keeping this world free from violence and bloodletting. We are also aware of the hazards associated with such missions, but, surely enough, we do not like to see our troops become cannon fodder in places where insurgency has assumed an intractable form. The UN mission designers have to make sure that all operations or movements of peacekeepers on the ground are undertaken after due reconnaissance and assessment of the risks involved. The government must insist on getting a clear picture of the arrangements and the elements of risk in any mission before sending our troops abroad.

It is assumed that when war ends, peace begins. But the matter is not so simple in the flash-points. The ground reality can be different from what the paper prepared for a mission had envisaged. The paper-work might have been done with relative ease, but that might not hold good about what the troops could be encountering while working in an unfamiliar and hostile setting. In other words, it is not black and white. We need to be better informed about the reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering and risk-evaluation arrangements for a mission and the assignments thereunder before taking a plunge.

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In other words, our positive response to any request for troops must be preceded by a careful weighing of all the factors so as to avert dangers to our men in peace-keeping operations.

Hats off to our valiant soldiers who died in the line of noble duty, and our hearts go out in sympathy for the members of their bereaved families.