FORUM (Spotlight Weekly)

PRAJWALLA SUMSHER JBR,
CHIEF-OF-THE-ARMY STAFF, Royal Nepalese Army

During the coronation of His Majesty the King, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Nepalese Army, on 25 Feb 1975, His Majesty stated, " And if today, peace is an overriding concern with us, it is only because our people genuinely desired peace in our country, in our region, and everywhere in the world. It is with this earnest desire to institutionalize peace that I stand to make a proposition that my country, Nepal be declared a Zone of Peace". This institutionalization of peace as envisioned by His Majesty has given us inspiration and moral courage to keep peace as a focal point in our endeavor for peace keeping.

Nepal in UN peacekeeping: Nepalís contribution to the UN peacekeeping effort dates back to 1958. |More than 35,000 Nepalese soldiers have served in various UN missions. Nepal has committed a total force of 3000 for UN peace-keeping duties. We seriously intend to increase our peacekeeping capability and commitment by sharing the experiences of other peace-keepers worldwide.

Today, peace cannot merely be an absence of war. It is rather the desirability of security, which encompasses an environment of stability conducive to development and ultimately prosperity. In recent years, the world has witnessed numerous armed conflicts both between and within states. The concept as well as structures for the management of intra-state conflicts demand concentrated focus, means and method of inculcating different dimensions as opposed to conventional wars. Conflict resolution and maintenance of international peace and security are distinct objectives enshrined in the UN Charter. Therefore, the enhancement of the credibility of the United Nations - an aspiration which we the member nations uphold, requires effective multi-national peacekeeping operational capability. To be able to adjust with fast changing nature of the present day conflicts, the multinational UN troops need to understand fully the necessity to develop new peacekeeping partnership amongst the units hailing from various regional, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds and be able to undergo cross cultural dimensions of modern peace keeping. As UN members, we must not forget the saying left to us by former UN Secretary General, Dag Haamarskjold, which states, "peacekeeping is not a soldiers job but only soldiers can do it."

This first UN sponsored MPTE in South Asia is designed to derive a common standard of operation among participating platoons along various training lanes. The training duration is expected to develop coordinated operational procedures and drills for an efficient multi-national UN Rapid Reaction Force to avert unwarranted tragedies to mankind. We also intent to identify and solve various command and operational problems originating from variations in leadership, cultural and language proficiency. By the end of event, we aspire for the participants to be more acquainted with various traits and behavior patterns required of a peacekeeper. In the light of this peace-keeping endeavor, distinguished Guests, may I seek your endorsement to the proposal that this Panchkhal training site be declared a South Asian Regional Peacekeeping Training Center to enable us to exchange our professional experiences in our endeavors and pursuits to universal peace.

With the aim of resolving the interpretability problems that have often been confronted by the UN while performing peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance missions, we proposed the Multi Platoon Training Event. We remain much obliged to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations for endorsing or proposal and also for the provision of observers and controllers for necessary supervision and appropriate support for the eveng to be conkducted under an UN controled environment. We remain fully appreciative of the invaluable skilled guidance and support extended to us by the US Pacific Command for the conduct of this event. We are very indebted to the troop contributing national Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United States of America and Nepal and nationals represented by observers namely Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom.

I wish all participants to the South Asian Peacekeeping Operations Multi Platoon Training Event an enjoyable nd pleasant stay in Nepal. I hope during the course of the training program the participants will avail of the opportunity to comprehend the nature of our missions and foster a relationship of unbounded goodwill. I remain confident that on completion of this training event the participants will develop cooperative professionalism, in the honorable endeavors they are to undertake as UN Peacekeepers. We hope you understand the deep aspiration of the Nepalese people for the cause of peace.

Excerpts of the speech delivered at South Asian Peacekeeping Multi-Platoon Training Event