BURUNDI - POLICY OF DEFENSE / MILITARY GEOSTRATEGIE: EUROPE UNDER PROTECTION OF NATO; BEHIND RECAMP OF THE FRENCH BILATERALISME; SOUTH AFRICA - THE USA, FROM NOW ON TOGETHER IN THE AFRICAN BUSINESSES; TOWARDS A BURUNDIAN AND AFRICAN FDN.

AGNEWS -DAM - NY, 28/06/2006

The EUROFOR has just unloaded to KINSHASA.  This European military force is able in the AREA in order to facilitate the behaviour of the elections envisaged in July 2006 in DRC CONGO.   This European army is set up little by little in EUROPE, pushed by a primarily FRANCO-GERMAN initiative.  The difficulty which it tests to be carried out is related to the existence of another operational Western military force: NATO.    This international military institution is under command American and British since his creation.

PROJECT RECAMP, known as multilateral, is initially FRENCH. It aims at reinforcing the capacities of maintenance of the peace of the African military apparatuses. The DIFFICULTY is that it hides the acceptance of a military agreement bilateral with PARIS. In short, a multilateralism which hides bilateralism.  It remains nevertheless an ambition without enough financial means. From where, the Quay of Orsay tries to return it European.

SOUTH AFRICA has just strengthened its military co-operation with the USA.  It is in particular about the ACOTA “African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance” (in the past ACRI), program financed with height of several million dollars by the PENTAGON which aims at reinforcing the capacities of maintenance of the peace of the African military apparatuses.  A very large machine… the program IMET (“International Military Education Training”) which trains foreign soldiers will help to harden the bonds between the officers of the two countries.  Let us note that the USA have the strongest army in the world at the side of that of CHINA.

Burundi is spirit to create a new force of military defense following the victory of the CNDD-FDD over the old FAB (Force Armed Burundian). The new entity names the FDN or Forces National Defense. The idea being, in addition to occupying itself with defense of the country (national entity), to become a link interesting for future the forces regional and African, for the globalisation which we live.

In Bujumbura, “small” quarrels still exist between those, on the one hand, which wish to join again with PARIS and, the others, with the government order, which understand that the world military stakes geostrategic have strongly evolved/moved for 40 years.

AGNEWS 2006