INDEPTH: CANADA'S MILITARY
The history of Canadian peacekeeping
Peter McCluskey, CBC News Online | Updated October 30, 2003
The seeds of peacekeeping can be found buried on the battlefields, in the
trenches and in the graveyards of Europe and Asia. The men who fought and
lived through two world wars never wanted to see another. They believed that
by putting an end to regional conflicts they could reduce the potential of the
world ever being consumed by war again. They would create a new international
body to keep peace in the world and support social and economic progress.
The newly formed United Nations seemed the perfect place to put such lofty
ideals into practice; an organization founded on the principle of discussing
and mediating ideological and political differences.
The first United Nations peacekeeping mission was in 1948. Its objective was
to supervise the cease-fire between Israel and her Arab neighbours after
the War of Independence. Monitors were sent to supervise the truce.
But the first peacekeeping force wasn't established until 1956, a time
filled with fears of another global conflict erupting. And once again the
backdrop was the Middle East.
In the midst of summer, Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser declared
he was nationalizing the Suez Canal, cutting out the Anglo-French company
that held controlling interest in the vital waterway that joins the
Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
Nasser told a cheering crowd that the imperialists could "choke on their
rage." From that point on, ships wishing to use the canal would pay a toll and
that money would go toward financing the building of the Aswan High Dam on
the Nile.
France and Britain were worried about Nasser's future plans to control
such a strategically important waterway. They were also worried about what
amounted to a direct challenge from Egypt to their trading interests. Secret
plans were made for Israel to attack Egypt. France and Britain would send troops
to protect the canal.
In October fighting erupted. On one side the Egyptians; on the other,
Britain, France and Israel. Once again it looked as if the major
military powers of the world would be drawn into battle. Would the Soviet Union
come to Egypt's aid? Would the United States become involved in order to keep the Suez open?
The world braced for another deadly meeting of the world's military
powers.
But it was not to be. A former diplomat, relatively unknown on the
world stage, now Canada's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lester B.
Pearson, had a proposal. He argued that a force sponsored by the UN, made up of
soldiers from non-combatant countries, could separate the warring armies
and supervise the cease-fire.
The UN General Assembly accepted his proposal, as did the various
belligerents. Canadian General E.M.L. Burns was named commander of the UN force and
peacekeeping was born.
Although the "Suez Crisis" remains a vivid reminder of how seemingly
regional issues can threaten to draw much larger nations into conflict,
it is equally important to applaud the political and diplomatic courage shown
by UN members who agreed on an untried and untested idea -- peacekeeping.
For his vision of a world where countries would enter a conflict in
order to bring stability and peace, Lester Pearson would receive the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Since then Canada has been at the forefront of peacekeeping operations
around the world. Soldiers, police and civilians have all played prominent
roles in separating armies and in the resolution of conflicts in Cyprus, the
Middle East, Haiti, Bosnia, Cambodia, El Salvador and Angola to name a few.
Currently Canadian peacekeepers are serving in 14 operations in Europe, Asia,
Africa, South America and the Middle East.
But Canada's involvement in so many trouble spots has not come without a
price. More than 100 Canadians have been killed while on peacekeeping duties
around the world.
And operations in both Somalia and Rwanda led to a crisis of
confidence in the Canadian military.
Canada's armed forces have undergone dramatic change over the years
since Pearson proposed that first peacekeeping effort in the Middle East.
Canadian soldiers now find themselves more likely to be disarming combatants than
fighting battles.
The job they will most likely face now is protecting civilian
populations, organizing elections and guarding humanitarian convoys. The military has
also set up a Rapid Response Force to fly to the scene of natural disasters.
Its first deployment came in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central
America. Canadian soldiers and medical staff rushed to provide medical and
humanitarian relief.
Arguments exist for the end to UN peacekeeping operations: too costly,
too ineffective, a hindrance to the development of a stable, lasting peace
negotiated by politicians and diplomats. But in the near future it seems unlikely the UN will abandon what has
become its most highly respected international symbol. The blue helmets of the
peacekeepers are likely to remain as a buffer between the world's
warring factions.
[Photographs courtesy of the United Nations]
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