Meles commends success of Ethiopian Peacekeeping Force in Abyei

(29 May 2012, Addis Ababa)--Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the peacekeeping mission in Abyei has its own unique features in the peacekeeping history of Ethiopia and the United Nations. Meles made the remark on Monday in a message he conveyed to the members of Ethiopian Peacekeeping Force in Abyei, marking the victory of May 28.

He said though the UN peacekeeping system does not encourage deploying a single country’s peacekeeping force in an area, Ethiopian Peacekeeping Force was accepted because the two countries did not trust any other force. This clearly shows Ethiopia’s growing diplomatic recognition and reliability of its defense force, he said.

The fact that the deployment of the peacekeeping force in Abyei took shorter time than any of such activities in UN before and the majority of the logistics carried out by the defense force itself are other unique features of the mission, Meles stated. He said the peacekeeping mission in Abyei has been complex, calling it an operation of peacekeeping in a certain area while the two sides are fighting in other fronts.

It was said of Abyei that it can’t be an island of peace while other areas around it are set on fire, Meles sated. But the unthinkable happened and an island of peace surrounded by fire has been created. According to Meles, the Abyei mission has prevented civil war in that region. Dinka and Messriah who were anticipated to fight each other are now leaving in peace.

He attributed the success to the commitment of the Ethiopian Peacekeeping Force to align itself with the society wherever it appears as well as to its courageous behavior. Meles said the mission has given a lesson to the UN on how to make it possible for people who could not live together or separate dwell together peacefully.

Source: ERTA

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