A mission mired in controversy

Most Indian troops are concentrated in South and North Kivu districts and are placed near Congo’s border with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Their mandate is to enforce the ceasefire agreement and initiate a “disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration process”.

Almost all Indian soldiers are placed under the Eastern Division of the UN peacekeeping force. Till last month, an Indian Officer, Major General Bikram Singh, was commanding the Eastern Division.

Apart from being India’s largest peacekeeping mission, Congo has also been the most controversial one. India’s peacekeeping record has been impeccable across the world, but in the last two-three years, there have been murmurs that all is not well with Congo.

These allegations were put up to the UN by non-government organisations working in the region on issues like child and human rights. The UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was last year asked to look into the charges and conduct a ground investigation in Congo. The office took up dozens of charges levelled against Indian and Pakistani troops in the regions. This was the first indication that India’s untarnished UN record was under threat.

While some evidences were found indicating Pakistani troops’ involvement in trading ammunition for gold, the Indian troops were absolved of most charges. However, three peacekeepers were indicted for illegally detaining, assaulting and sexually propositioning a local gold dealer.

The OIOS urged India to independently investigate the other charges as they were of a serious nature and could tarnish the image of the country. No action seems to have been taken by India in the direction yet.

Last month, another case came to light where an Indian Colonel was facing a probe for making statements in support of an armed group. The OIOS started investigations against Colonel Chand Saroha, commanding a unit near Goma, for “expressing sympathy” with the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), led by General Laurent Nkunda, at a public function in April.

On Thursday, the Force Commander of the United Nations Organisation Mission in Congo, Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye, confirmed that the OIOS was in possession of a tape that had recorded the meeting.

The most serious allegation levelled against Indian peacekeepers so far is of sexual exploitation and child abuse. The charges, which even prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to urge India to initiate the ‘maximum degree’ of punishment permissible under the law, are also being investigated by the Army.

Insiders say that the Army will find it difficult to wriggle out of the situation, as there is sufficient evidence to prove that the soldiers were involvement in a child prostitution racket and paid minor Congolese girls in North Kivu for sex in 2007 and earlier this year.

While the Indian military establishment has been shaken by the latest round of charges, the UN Mission in Congo has initiated some steps to keep the peacekeepers under leash. Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye said on Wednesday that the mission is trying to implement a “zero tolerance policy”.

He said that measures to curb “misbehaviour” by peacekeepers included imposing curfews and prohibitions against leaving the barracks after 6 pm. Troops have also been banned from having “any form of entertainment’ outside the barracks.

However, these incidents have prompted calls from defence experts and analysts to rationalise India’s UN peacekeeping deployment. Experts say that India should curb or totally cut down on UN deployments as they do not contribute to the image building of the country in any way. Incidentally, the two other largest troops-contributing nations to UN Missions are Bangladesh and Pakistan.