When i was a little kid I dreamt of being in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. I used to think of it as the coolest job, you get to travel to new countries and most importantly help people out who are in conflict zones. I would sit in my school library and dream of wearing that cool blue uniform. But as I grew up, I started hating the Peace Keeping Force. For reason obvious, things were not as I used to think. The United Nations has failed us. Its being majorly controlled by the United States, Russia and China and all other countries are just mere viewers. If you have seen House of Cards you must know how countries cut deals. I am eagerly waiting for the Russians to create their version of House of Cards, it would be so much fun to watch.
Few quick facts on United Nations Peacekeeping
besides being established in 1945
- United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) was established in 1948. First mission in Palestine to supervise the truce between the engaged nations. This is when Israel was created.
- And then was created United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) – I think I don’t have to explain you what did this group did.
- Nov 5, 1956 – Establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEFI) – mission was to end Suez Crisis.
- United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon. This entity was established in June 1958 and was closed the same year in December. Lebanon war ended soon, huh.
- Now I’m gonna stop you there and in fact throw you the link from where I have gathered all this information. Obviously I am no smart pants. But my purpose of sharing this detail is to show you how they work. They create forces according to the need and when the problem is resolved, they close the program.
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/historical-timeline-of-un-peacekeeping
Whenever countries engage in war they scrap the rule book of Geneva Convention and instead put their most ruthless battalion out on the field. They won’t accept but they have all massacred civilians. They have all raped women. Those are the tactics they have to use to make the other party loose control so they get out of their hole and step the mines patiently laid out for them by some 19 year old kid who just wanted to support his family. Interestingly some claim that this same tactic is being used by India’s Assam Rifles(oldest paramilitary force in India) in the Northeastern States of Manipur and Nagaland to counter insurgents. I only wish the UN Peacekeeping Force came then to stabilize the situation in those parts of Northeast India. Assam Rifles is so old that they even participated in World War I. Their inception name was Cachar Levy.
The UN Peacekeeping Failure Caused 500,000 civilian deaths in Somalia
The UN Peacekeeping has done some excellent work. They have stabilized the gulf war, the Suez Crisis, the Lebanon War, they were well active in restoring peace in many African nations. They even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
But they have intentionally closed their eyes for the current crisis in Burma where minority tribal groups are being displaced by the Burmese Army everyday. Their villages being burned and women being raped. They failed 500,000 civilians in Somalia. They just sat and watched the Cambodian Civil War in 1975. They watched the killings of 8,000 men and children in Bosnia under the command of General Ratko Mladic in 1995. This was considered the worst mass killing on European soil since World War II.
This was surely not my dream, to have the power and the authority, yet do nothing to stop the killings of civilians. Instead I put my focus on heavy metal music under which I scream in anger and let my feelings out.