Showing posts with label Cambodian peacekeeping forces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodian peacekeeping forces. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Cambodian Deminers Headed to Lebanon
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 11 November 2010
Washington, DC Thursday, 11 November 2010
"The 219 soldiers will be sent off after a ceremony Nov. 17."
Cambodia will send more than 200 deminers as UN peacekeepers to Lebanon next week, Defense Minister Tea Banh said.
The 219 soldiers will be sent off after a ceremony Nov. 17, the defense minister said.
The Lebanon mission will add to Cambodia's record of demining. The country was riddled with mines and ordinance after decades of civil war, and now its experts have served tours in Sudan and other countries.
One team is continuing demining in Sudan, said Chhum Socheat, a defense spokesman.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Cambodia to send 200 soldiers to Lebanon … but none to protect Khmer farmers in Svay Rieng?
29 March 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
At least 200 Cambodian soldiers will be sent to Lebanon to join the UN humanitarian peacekeeping effort. Sem Sovanny, the deputy director of the peacekeeping and demining institute, told The Phnom Penh Post on Sunday that the UN plans to request 200 Cambodian soldiers to travel to Lebanon, but that Cambodia does not know about this new plan yet. He added: “We are waiting for the UN evaluation first.” He added that details, including the exact number of soldiers and the date of their departure, as well as their work and responsibility in Lebanon will be known later, after the UN come to review these soldiers. He indicated that a group of UN officials will arrive in Cambodia on Saturday and they will review the Cambodian soldiers on Monday. Sem Sovanny said that this is the first time that Cambodian soldiers are sent to Lebanon.
Monday, March 15, 2010
U.S. to help train Cambodia's peacekeeping forces
March 15, 2010
Xinhua
Xinhua
Visiting U.S. high-ranking military officer Gen. William Crowe has accepted a request by Cambodia's National Center for Peacekeeping Forces and ERW Clearance (NPMEC) to train Cambodian forces on peacekeeping mission, official news agency AKP reported on Monday.
The request was made by Gen. Sem Sovanny, general director of the NPMEC, during a visit to the Oudong military training school on Mar. 11 by Gen. William Crowe who is in charge of South Asia and ASEAN affairs office under the U.S. Department of Defense, AKP said.
The visit to Cambodia is made according to the advice by leaders of the U.S. Department of Defense after a meeting in Washington between a Cambodian military delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Gen. Tea Banh and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Gen. Robert Gate, said Gen. William Crowe.
He said that the U.S. Secretary of Defense fully supported the activities of mine-clearance by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ( RCAF).
Visiting to several activities of mine-marking in the artificial minefields along with the slide show of the past mine- clearance activities made by the RCAF in Sudan and the RCAF joining the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) held in many countries such as in Mongolia, Bangladesh, Indonesia .., Gen. William Crowe highly valued the RCAF's potentiality and remarkable achievements.
He said that he will attend the GPOI-2010, which is due to be held in Cambodia in July this year, as a member of the U.N. high- ranking delegation.
The request was made by Gen. Sem Sovanny, general director of the NPMEC, during a visit to the Oudong military training school on Mar. 11 by Gen. William Crowe who is in charge of South Asia and ASEAN affairs office under the U.S. Department of Defense, AKP said.
The visit to Cambodia is made according to the advice by leaders of the U.S. Department of Defense after a meeting in Washington between a Cambodian military delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Gen. Tea Banh and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Gen. Robert Gate, said Gen. William Crowe.
He said that the U.S. Secretary of Defense fully supported the activities of mine-clearance by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ( RCAF).
Visiting to several activities of mine-marking in the artificial minefields along with the slide show of the past mine- clearance activities made by the RCAF in Sudan and the RCAF joining the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) held in many countries such as in Mongolia, Bangladesh, Indonesia .., Gen. William Crowe highly valued the RCAF's potentiality and remarkable achievements.
He said that he will attend the GPOI-2010, which is due to be held in Cambodia in July this year, as a member of the U.N. high- ranking delegation.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
A Peacekeeping Success, With Caveats
"Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares" United Nations, New York (Photo by Soeung Sophat)By Soeung Sophat, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
12 March 2010
In recent years Cambodia has sent peacekeepers to three African countries. It is poised to host a major multi-national peacekeeping exercise later this year. And although Cambodia has not yet achieved all its goals, the author of a new book on peacekeeping says Cambodia’s experience was a success.
Mats Berdal is a professor of war studies at King’s College in London and the author of a new book about peace-building.
He warns that peacekeeping goals can often be over-ambitious. But he said in the case of Cambodia, peacekeepers brought many benefits that should not be overlooked.
“Cambodia perhaps doesn’t meet the standards of a mature liberal democracy, but it’s a very different place from what it used to be. It has a flourishing civil society, it has a free press, it has had elections.”
Berdal acknowledged that he had not been to Cambodia, but he noted that the country could have benefited from more follow-ups on issues like human rights following the UN withdrawal.
“The UNTAC mission was designed to transform, or help transform, the political, institutional, and social fabric of society in order to overcome deep-seated internal animosities,” he said.
But while the $1.6-billion mission helped restore fundamental peace in Cambodia, it did not stamp out rights violations and left an internal power struggle well after the UN had left.
In a recent discussion of his 2009 book, “Building Peace After War,” at a think-tank in Washington, Berdal noted that peacekeeping can be difficult anywhere, because it is so broadly defined.
“According to the UN, peacekeeping covers everything from integrated and coordinated actions aimed at addressing the root causes of violence where the political, legal, institutional, military, humanitarian, human rights related, environmental, economic, social, cultural and demographic,” he said.
He said the problem is that such comprehensive term lacks "any sense of priorities." Nor does it seek “to differentiate in the strategic sense between these objectives.”
Peace operations have traditionally been ambitious in their mandates and numbers. Professor Berdal said their number exploded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, and at present stands at 61 missions with 170,000 troops deployed worldwide.
Ambassador Wegger Strommen of Norway, who was a participant in the book discussion, called peace-building a tedious process with multiple phases that requires sustained commitment.
“You need to take a look at institution-building as well and we try to do that,” he said. “Take Haiti for instance. What we’re trying to do in Haiti is to help out a little bit. We’re trying to build up certain institutions. No matter what Haiti is going to look like in the future, they really need to get some of these institutions up and working.”
Berdal says this governance structure is crucial to the legitimacy of intervening outsiders, but that traditionally there has been an overemphasis on a Western approach of social “re-engineering,” ignoring local dynamics of conflict.
He cited Iraq as an example. A 20-year record suggests that “stability cannot really be imposed on war-torn societies from the outside” and has to be elicited, he said.
“The relative success of a peace-building intervention depends not only on the conduct and actions of the outsider, but also on the degree to which governance structures are put in place and promoted and that it command legitimacy in the eyes of local parties, neighboring states, and the wider international community,” he said.
However, Berdal believes that given the seemingly “operational overstretch” of peace missions at a time of global economic crisis, we should be more “humble” and realistic about goal-setting in peace-building.
Mats Berdal is a professor of war studies at King’s College in London and the author of a new book about peace-building.
He warns that peacekeeping goals can often be over-ambitious. But he said in the case of Cambodia, peacekeepers brought many benefits that should not be overlooked.
“Cambodia perhaps doesn’t meet the standards of a mature liberal democracy, but it’s a very different place from what it used to be. It has a flourishing civil society, it has a free press, it has had elections.”
Berdal acknowledged that he had not been to Cambodia, but he noted that the country could have benefited from more follow-ups on issues like human rights following the UN withdrawal.
“The UNTAC mission was designed to transform, or help transform, the political, institutional, and social fabric of society in order to overcome deep-seated internal animosities,” he said.
But while the $1.6-billion mission helped restore fundamental peace in Cambodia, it did not stamp out rights violations and left an internal power struggle well after the UN had left.
In a recent discussion of his 2009 book, “Building Peace After War,” at a think-tank in Washington, Berdal noted that peacekeeping can be difficult anywhere, because it is so broadly defined.
“According to the UN, peacekeeping covers everything from integrated and coordinated actions aimed at addressing the root causes of violence where the political, legal, institutional, military, humanitarian, human rights related, environmental, economic, social, cultural and demographic,” he said.
He said the problem is that such comprehensive term lacks "any sense of priorities." Nor does it seek “to differentiate in the strategic sense between these objectives.”
Peace operations have traditionally been ambitious in their mandates and numbers. Professor Berdal said their number exploded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, and at present stands at 61 missions with 170,000 troops deployed worldwide.
Ambassador Wegger Strommen of Norway, who was a participant in the book discussion, called peace-building a tedious process with multiple phases that requires sustained commitment.
“You need to take a look at institution-building as well and we try to do that,” he said. “Take Haiti for instance. What we’re trying to do in Haiti is to help out a little bit. We’re trying to build up certain institutions. No matter what Haiti is going to look like in the future, they really need to get some of these institutions up and working.”
Berdal says this governance structure is crucial to the legitimacy of intervening outsiders, but that traditionally there has been an overemphasis on a Western approach of social “re-engineering,” ignoring local dynamics of conflict.
He cited Iraq as an example. A 20-year record suggests that “stability cannot really be imposed on war-torn societies from the outside” and has to be elicited, he said.
“The relative success of a peace-building intervention depends not only on the conduct and actions of the outsider, but also on the degree to which governance structures are put in place and promoted and that it command legitimacy in the eyes of local parties, neighboring states, and the wider international community,” he said.
However, Berdal believes that given the seemingly “operational overstretch” of peace missions at a time of global economic crisis, we should be more “humble” and realistic about goal-setting in peace-building.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Cambodia won't send troops to Afghanistan, Iraq
2010-01-27
Associated Press
Associated Press
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday he will not send peacekeeping troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hun Sen said some countries, which he did not name, had requested 1,000 Cambodian de-miners be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I will not send Cambodian sons to die in those two countries," he said in remarks at the groundbreaking for a new road in the central province of Kampong Thom. "The Cambodian people have seen enough war and suffered enough casualties from land mines."
Cambodia was wracked by almost three decades of war and unrest after a 1970 military coup and became one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. It has trained a large corps of skilled de-miners.
In April 2006, Cambodia sent 135 soldiers to help U.N. peacekeepers clear mines in war-torn Sudan. Hun Sen, however, rejected requests from the U.S. to deploy Cambodian troops to Iraq that same year. He said he questioned the overall legitimacy of the war in Iraq and that it was too dangerous for Cambodians to operate there.
In early 2009, Cambodia sent several dozen troops to Chad and the Central African Republic.
Hun Sen said some countries, which he did not name, had requested 1,000 Cambodian de-miners be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I will not send Cambodian sons to die in those two countries," he said in remarks at the groundbreaking for a new road in the central province of Kampong Thom. "The Cambodian people have seen enough war and suffered enough casualties from land mines."
Cambodia was wracked by almost three decades of war and unrest after a 1970 military coup and became one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. It has trained a large corps of skilled de-miners.
In April 2006, Cambodia sent 135 soldiers to help U.N. peacekeepers clear mines in war-torn Sudan. Hun Sen, however, rejected requests from the U.S. to deploy Cambodian troops to Iraq that same year. He said he questioned the overall legitimacy of the war in Iraq and that it was too dangerous for Cambodians to operate there.
In early 2009, Cambodia sent several dozen troops to Chad and the Central African Republic.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Cambodia To Send Peacekeepers to Chad
By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
05 October 2009
Original report from Washington
05 October 2009
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces will send 40 peacekeepers to the central African country of Chad for a one-year tour of duty, starting this month or November, a senior military official told VOA Khmer.
The peacekeeping tour coincides with Cambodian plans to hold a multi-national peacekeeping exercise, with US support, next year.
“We don’t know the specific day of their departure yet, because we are now processing their plane tickets, but they will leave soon,” Chhum Socheat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said. “Now we are dealing with the finances, because it’s the UN’s budget.”
Cambodia has sent deminers to Sudan four times so far, totaling 495 soldiers, since signing an agreement with the UN in 2006, he said.
“We have shown the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces,” he said. “So far, Cambodia suffered domestic war and civil war, from 1970 to 1998, and we completely ended the war and ended the Khmer Rouge insurgency.”
The UN provided training in peacekeeping and mine clearance. “In 2006, we transformed from a country that was a landmine victim to a country that helps other countries clear landmines,” he said.
Cpt. Ek Veasna, who served in Division 315 in Sudan in 2008 and 2009, said the soldiers were well supported by the Sudanese and the international community.
“Our Cambodian military there was always committed to work for the best, even during rain or lightning,” he said. “Our soldiers always struggle for success to clear landmines for the people.”
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said he was happy for the deployments, which provide a good salary for soldiers and their families.
The first 40 soldiers will be followed by another 80 for mine clearance.
The peacekeeping tour coincides with Cambodian plans to hold a multi-national peacekeeping exercise, with US support, next year.
“We don’t know the specific day of their departure yet, because we are now processing their plane tickets, but they will leave soon,” Chhum Socheat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said. “Now we are dealing with the finances, because it’s the UN’s budget.”
Cambodia has sent deminers to Sudan four times so far, totaling 495 soldiers, since signing an agreement with the UN in 2006, he said.
“We have shown the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces,” he said. “So far, Cambodia suffered domestic war and civil war, from 1970 to 1998, and we completely ended the war and ended the Khmer Rouge insurgency.”
The UN provided training in peacekeeping and mine clearance. “In 2006, we transformed from a country that was a landmine victim to a country that helps other countries clear landmines,” he said.
Cpt. Ek Veasna, who served in Division 315 in Sudan in 2008 and 2009, said the soldiers were well supported by the Sudanese and the international community.
“Our Cambodian military there was always committed to work for the best, even during rain or lightning,” he said. “Our soldiers always struggle for success to clear landmines for the people.”
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said he was happy for the deployments, which provide a good salary for soldiers and their families.
The first 40 soldiers will be followed by another 80 for mine clearance.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Cambodia to send 42 peacekeeping forces to Central African Republic and Chad: officials
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will dispatch 42 peacekeeping forces to Central African Republic and Chad under the peacekeeping mission of the United Nations, the local media said on Sunday.
"Our forces will depart for these countries in November after Prime Minister agreed to send our soldiers," DAP News quoted Nhim Savat, director general for general department of politics and international relations of Ministry of National Defense, as saying.
"And in earlier mid-2010, we will send other 80 armed forces of light engineering Unit for the two countries under the U.N. peacekeeping mission," he added.
Cambodia and the U.N. have already signed on MOU of deploying the peacekeeping armed forces in Chad and Central African Republic," he said.
"The UN side will not send their monitors to train our armed forces for this time after they have confidence in the abilities and capacities of forces training and our experiences in previous times," said Sem Sovanny, director general of the national center for peacekeeping forces management, mine clearance, unexploded ordnance waste of post war.
"Five senior military officials from National Defense Ministry will also accompany our Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to these countries," Sem said.
Cambodia is used to take part in joint military exercises in several countries, such as Indonesia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, and also Sudan's de-mining activities under the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Cambodia will also host the military exercise which is to be supported by the United States under a program titled "Global Peace Operations Initiative or GPOI" which will take place in June or July in 2010.
"Our forces will depart for these countries in November after Prime Minister agreed to send our soldiers," DAP News quoted Nhim Savat, director general for general department of politics and international relations of Ministry of National Defense, as saying.
"And in earlier mid-2010, we will send other 80 armed forces of light engineering Unit for the two countries under the U.N. peacekeeping mission," he added.
Cambodia and the U.N. have already signed on MOU of deploying the peacekeeping armed forces in Chad and Central African Republic," he said.
"The UN side will not send their monitors to train our armed forces for this time after they have confidence in the abilities and capacities of forces training and our experiences in previous times," said Sem Sovanny, director general of the national center for peacekeeping forces management, mine clearance, unexploded ordnance waste of post war.
"Five senior military officials from National Defense Ministry will also accompany our Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to these countries," Sem said.
Cambodia is used to take part in joint military exercises in several countries, such as Indonesia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, and also Sudan's de-mining activities under the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Cambodia will also host the military exercise which is to be supported by the United States under a program titled "Global Peace Operations Initiative or GPOI" which will take place in June or July in 2010.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hun Sen To Send Soldiers To Africa [... because Cambodia is tronger than Iraq and Afghanistan?]
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 March 2009
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday Cambodia will send a group of soldiers to Africa for UN peacekeeping missions.
“We will send our soldiers to Chad and central Africa, following a request by the UN secretary-general and the Francophone secretary-general,” Hun Sen said during a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia has sent soldiers to help with demining operations in Sudan on three annual rotations since 2006. But Hun Sen said they could do more.
“I just decided last week to send the troops to Chad and central Africa,” Hun Sen said, without specifying dates or numbers of soldiers to be sent. “I have decided to send our troops to two more nations, after our soldiers were in Sudan.”
The announcement follows a report last week by the Economist Intelligence Unit warning that Cambodia’s political stability was at risk from the worsening global economic crisis. The Intelligence Unit warned that Cambodia was more likely to face political instability than Chad, as well as two other African countries.
“If Cambodia has similar political stability to Chad and is worse than Iraq and Afghanistan, the United Nations would not request Cambodia to send our troops to Chad and central Africa,” Hun Sen said. “Why is Cambodia prepared to send troops to Chad, why do the United Nations and Francophones need Cambodia’s help, if Cambodia is weaker than Iraq and Afghanistan?”
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 March 2009
“Why is Cambodia prepared to send troops to Chad, why do the United Nations and Francophones need Cambodia’s help, if Cambodia is weaker than Iraq and Afghanistan?” - Hun Sen
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday Cambodia will send a group of soldiers to Africa for UN peacekeeping missions.“We will send our soldiers to Chad and central Africa, following a request by the UN secretary-general and the Francophone secretary-general,” Hun Sen said during a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia has sent soldiers to help with demining operations in Sudan on three annual rotations since 2006. But Hun Sen said they could do more.
“I just decided last week to send the troops to Chad and central Africa,” Hun Sen said, without specifying dates or numbers of soldiers to be sent. “I have decided to send our troops to two more nations, after our soldiers were in Sudan.”
The announcement follows a report last week by the Economist Intelligence Unit warning that Cambodia’s political stability was at risk from the worsening global economic crisis. The Intelligence Unit warned that Cambodia was more likely to face political instability than Chad, as well as two other African countries.
“If Cambodia has similar political stability to Chad and is worse than Iraq and Afghanistan, the United Nations would not request Cambodia to send our troops to Chad and central Africa,” Hun Sen said. “Why is Cambodia prepared to send troops to Chad, why do the United Nations and Francophones need Cambodia’s help, if Cambodia is weaker than Iraq and Afghanistan?”
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Second contingent of Cambodian peacekeepers sent for demining operation in Sudan
Cambodian peacekeeping forces before leaving to Sudan (Photo: Sok Serei, RFA)Monday, May 28, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
139 Cambodian demining soldiers left Cambodia on Saturday to complete its demining mission in Sudan. This group of soldiers are sent to replace a previous contingent of 138 soldiers who just completed their one-year mission in East Sudan. Sem Sovandy, the deputy director of the Cambodian Main Action Authority, told The Cambodia Daily that ‘we are very proud that our soldiers were not injured in this mission.’ The demining mission is Cambodia’s first participation in a UN peacekeeping mission. Sem Sovandy added that ‘the UN Secretary-general gave us honor, we are very proud to participate in the peacekeeping mission.’ The contingent of 138 returning soldiers will arrive in Cambodia today.
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