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UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was all praise for Indonesia and its president,
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on Tuesday.
Speaking at
the Indonesian Peace and Security Center in Sentul, Bogor, where soldiers train
before being assigned to serve on UN peacekeeping missions, Ban said Yudhoyono
was the only leader to have served in the blue helmet worn by members of the UN
peacekeeping corps. He once served in Bosnia.
“President
Yudhoyono, to us in the UN family, will always be a Blue Helmet,” Ban said.
Indonesia,
through the Garuda Contingent, has participated in peacekeeping efforts since
1956. Nearly 2,000 Indonesians are currently deployed in seven UN peacekeeping
operations.
Answering
Ban’s call, Yudhoyono said the country will provide three helicopters to
help with mobility in an ongoing UN
operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Speaking at
a reception at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday evening, Ban said the Indonesian
Blue Helmets had also made a substantial sacrifice, noting that 31 Indonesian
members have lost their lives while serving.
Ban earlier
met with Yudhoyono at the Bogor State Palace, where the two discussed the
Middle East, including the conflict and violence in Syria, and the tension in
the Strait of Hormuz.
In regards
to Syria, he said, “the situation has reached an unacceptable, intolerable
level.”
Ban also
said that the priority for the United Nations was to find a way to stop the
conflict and especially the killing of civilians.
He said
that a diplomatic dialog would be the method of choice to settle the crisis in
Syria, as well as easing tension in the Strait of Hormuz.
Having
arrived on Monday evening, Ban is scheduled to spend three days in Indonesia.
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