Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

29 July 2003

NATO

• NATO may step in to mediate in a row which threatens to shut the U.S. military base at Keflavik in Iceland, NATO Secretary-General Robertson said on Monday in Reykjavik. Lord Robertson, who met Prime Minister Oddsson and other Icelandic political leaders during a stopover en route to Washington, said the row was primarily a bilateral issue between the U.S. and Iceland. Prime Minister Oddsson has said that the U.S. navy, which has anti-submarine vessels at Keflavik, may no longer be welcome to stay if the U.S. fighters leave. (Reuters 281848 GMT Jul 03)

IRAQ

• Turkish Foreign Minister Gul said on Monday that the government should ask parliament before accepting a U.S. request to send peacekeepers to Iraq - even though this could mean a delay of weeks or months. Analysts say that if Ankara can secure a deal with the U.S. on the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, this could sway public opinion in favour of a Turkish peacekeeping mission. (Reuters 281607 GMT Jul 03)
  
  
• A group of Greek lawyers filed a complaint on Monday at the new International Criminal Court against top British officials for their role in the death of Iraqi civilians. The Athens Bar Association took the largely symbolic action at the tribunal in The Hague. Britons mentioned in the complaint were referred only as top political and military officials. (AP 281726 Jul 03)

AFGHANISTAN

• Human Rights Watch has sharply criticised the United States and other foreign power-brokers in Afghanistan for failing to stem right abuses in the country, which it says could derail elections due next June. Serious abuses were being committed by gunmen and warlords propelled to power by the United States and its coalition partners after the fall of the Taliban, a statement quoted Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch executive director for Asia, as saying. Human Rights Watch called on the United States, Britain, Iran, Russia and other external powers to end support for warlords involved in abuses and for redoubled efforts to reform the ministry of defence. It also urged NATO to expand Kabul’s international peacekeeping force around the country when it takes command in August and the United Nations to station significant numbers of rights monitors throughout Afghanistan. (Reuters 281439 GMT Jul 03)

CONGO

• The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Monday to increase by 2,000 the number of peacekeepers in the Congo, give them a more robust mandate and impose an arms embargo on rebels killing and maiming civilians. After weeks of haggling, the 15-member council raised the ceiling for the UN force substantially, from 8,700 to 10,800 troops, observers and political officers. It extended the UN mission, known as MONUC, until July 30, 2004. “With this resolution, we will be able to send an expanded force into Ituri just before the multinational force withdraws,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. Specifically, Annan has authorized 3,000 troops to go to Ituri to replace the European force and spread beyond the town of Bunia. (Reuters 282222 GMT Jul 03)

LIBERIA

• The European Union called on Monday for the swift deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Liberia and said it was ready to consider support for such a force. The presidency of the EU said in a statement that a peacekeeping force should be accompanied by Liberian President Charles Taylor stepping down immediately. EU officials would not comment on whether the bloc might consider sending troops, but a diplomatic source close to the EU, who declined to be identified, said the statement referred to financial support. (Reuters 281829 GMT Jul 03)