SBY Will Always Be a Blue Helmet, UN Chief Says

Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia & Arientha Primanita, March 21, 2012

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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.