----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2000 6:04 AM Subject: [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] 5,000 British Colonial Troops Perched For Attack In Sierra Leone STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK 5,000 British Troops Placed On Sierra Leone Alert Panafrican News Agency October 11, 2000 London, UK Britain has placed 5,000 troops on standby to intervene in war-torn Sierra Leone if UN peacekeepers there fail to hold the line against rebels of the Revolutionary United Front. The Joint Rapid Reaction Force will be based in the UK, and it will be under the direct command of Prime Minister Tony Blair and not the UN. The deployment of such a force was included in a memorandum Britain signed with the UN in 1999 to support peacekeeping operations. "We have offered a rapid reaction capability based in the UK, but able to deploy very rapidly in response to changing situations in Sierra Leone as we did most effectively in May when rebel troops threatened Freetown," Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said. "British forces were successful then in restoring stability. If necessary, this force will be able to do so again," he added. Apart from making the force available, Britain is also stepping up its military activities by sending extra soldiers to provide further basic training for 3,000 fresh troops of the Sierra Leone Army. Britain will also send officers to work at the Freetown headquarters of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone. There will also be in place an operational level headquarters to co-ordinate British involvement in Sierra Leone and to effectively take charge of running the Sierra Leone Army. This will bring to about 500 the number of British troops in the country. "This will enable us to continue our policy of assisting the government of Sierra Leone and underlines Britain�s commitment to training the Sierra Leone Army at a time when the country still faces a period of instability," Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said. However, the opposition Conservative Party has been expressing concern about Britain being gradually drawn into the conflict in Sierra Leone. "We need some clarity," shadow Defence Secretary Iain Duncan-Smith said. "What is the endgame here of the Foreign Secretary? The Chief of Defence Staff told me personally two weeks ago that all the British troops would be out by Christmas." He added: "But Robin Cook has committed himself to sorting out Sierra Leone and he dare not let the British troops pull out because he knows that the UN force and the Sierra Leone Army will collapse." Foreign Secretary Cook responded by saying this is the right response to build on progress already made. "Britain will not abandon the people of Sierra Leone to the mercy of murderous thugs who hack off the limbs of children," he said. "Britain is standing up for democracy and standing by our friends in Sierra Leone," he added. "By this action, we are acting in support of UN Security Council Resolutions. It is our duty as a permanent member of the Security Council to do to. It is in our national interest." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Make your business more productive! Instantly automate routine business tasks like payroll, time cards, expense reports, invoices, purchase orders, business forms and more - for free! Try Freeworks.com today at http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/Freeworks
