 |
Kathmandu,Wednesday January 19, 2000 Magh 5th, 2056.
|
A very welcome event
At the inauguration of Exercise Shantiprayas, a South Asian
Peacekeeping Operations Multi-Platoon Training Event (MTPE) involving one platoon each
from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the USA, the Chief of Army Staff sought endorsement
for the proposal that the UN Peacekeeping Training Centre for Royal Nepal Army
peacekeepers be declared a United Nations South Asian Regional Peacekeeping Training
Centre. This was certainly a most befitting way of affirming Nepal’s commitment to
peace throughout the world and the region in particular. The Assistant Secretary General
of UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Commander-in-Chief of the United
States Pacific Command not only praised the calibre of Nepali peacekeepers but also
supported the proposal. The subsequent UN commitment that it will back the proposal for
establishing a peace centre in Nepal is no doubt a recognition of Nepal’s
contribution to UN peacekeeping efforts as also the priority the UN attaches to peace in
South Asia.
The
MTPE is the first event of its kind to be held in South Asia. Apparently, the concept of
regional peace centres is quite new and there are only a few such centres in the world.
Nepal, with four decades of involvement in UN missions to its credit, has contributed
thirty-five thousand peacekeepers in various UN peacekeeping missions. While this
contribution cannot by any means be called insignificant, the level of
experience gained through involvement in peacekeeping missions will certainly
be of great value in training peacekeepers from the region and elsewhere as well.
The
relevance of a UN regional peacekeeping centre for South Asia cannot be overemphasized.
South Asia is no doubt a most neglected region of the world. It is also the most backward
with a high percentage of population living below the absolute poverty line.
Economically insecure and politically unstable, the region is prone to conflict. Moreover,
the longstanding rivalry of over fifty years—that has resulted in three wars over
Kashmir including the most recent Kargil conflict—between the region’s largest
countries, India and Pakistan, does not make South Asia a very safe region.
The
end of the Cold War has not really made the world a safer place. The frequency of regional
conflicts has increased. And in the context of South Asia, the nuclear capability of both
India and Pakistan has made things worse.
In
this backdrop, a ready UN South Asian regional peacekeeping body that can ensure peace
when the situation so demands has become imperative. The MTPE must therefore be seen as a
pioneering initiative in peacekeeping in South Asia.
Other Stories
|
