More talk of possible peacekeeping force

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York that members of the UN Security Council were considering with “more of an open mind” the possibility of getting involved in peacekeeping operations, after its reluctance following the Somalia experience. The DRC is “one of the areas that the Council members have talked about, and are aware that they may have to become engaged in,” Annan said. Meanwhile, Britain has distributed a discussion paper to selected governments which suggests the possibility of sending an international force of about 10,000-12,000 people to the DRC after a ceasefire is secured, AP said yesterday. The deployment of such a mission, however, was still a long way off, AP said, citing Western diplomats at the UN. It quoted outgoing Council president Robert Fowler of Canada as saying “I see very little enthusiasm to pay for such things let alone to participate in such things.”