23116: (Chamberlain) Sri Lanka sending 750 troops to keep Haiti peace (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     COLOMBO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is sending 750 troops who waged
war against the Tamil Tiger rebels to bolster peacekeeping efforts in
Haiti, the army said on Wednesday, in the South Asian island's first United
Nations peace mission.
     The first of the troops, who have been retrained for peacekeeping by
U.N. experts, will depart later this week, Army Commander Shantha Kottegoda
said at a ceremony to mark the milestone for Sri Lanka's armed forces.
     "As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, this is the first time we have got
the opportunity of sending a contingent on a peacekeeping mission,"
Kottegoda said. "It is a step ahead."
     Sri Lanka has been mired in more than two decades of war with the
separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, but fighting has stopped since
the government and rebels agreed to a ceasefire in early 2002.
     "It is a morale booster for our troops and it will also be a good
incentive for others to join the forces," Kottegoda said.
     The troops will be a welcome boost for the Brazilian-led peacekeeping
force in Haiti, which has complained it does not have a big enough force to
stop renewed conflict in the poorest country in the Americas.
     The U.N. has authorised a force of 6,700 troops for Haiti, but there
are currently less than half that number in place.