Fiji’s men and women of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces 1st Battalion serving in Baghdad are doing a difficult job in a dangerous environment and holding Fiji’s name high.
In thanking them, Fijian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Peter Thomson said they were meeting standards of excellence expected of them.
Ambassador Thomson said he had heard nothing but praise from UN representatives in New York and Iraq for the battalion’s conduct of duties.
Ambassador Thomson was in Iraq from May 3 to 7 visiting the 1st Battalion, RFMF, at its Baghdad garrisons.
The United Nations Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) is protected by the UN Guard Unit (UNGU) made up of the 1st Battalion, at a strength of 223 Fijians led by Colonel Netani Rika.
Fiji’s Ambassador told UNGU he was in Iraq to show them the respect they deserved and to thank them on behalf of the Government and people of Fiji for their service.
With the draw-down of US Forces from Iraq he said the United Nations had to increase its security services for UNAMI. Accordingly Ambassador Thomson said he was in Baghdad for talks with UNAMI officials and to take the opportunity to inspect UNGU conditions on the ground.
The RFMF’s 1st Battalion has been in Iraq since 2004. It is tasked with guarding the facilities and personnel of the United Nations as they undertake their work of assisting the Iraqi people rebuild their nation after many decades of war.
At an UNGU church service at Diwan Compound, Baghdad, on May 6, Ambassador Thomson told the gathering that for all Fijians, “It can be said with great national pride, that from just a few years after Fiji’s independence, UN peacekeeping has been central to Fiji’s foreign policy”.
He said this has been so because, “Fiji is determined to play a positive role as a signatory to the United Nations Charter, and because small countries like ours depend on membership of the United Nations for our security, sovereignty and independence. Thus Fiji's firm commitment to peacekeeping and peace-building around the world is a manifestation of Fiji's trust in the multilateralism of the United Nations ”.
To date, Fiji’s peacekeepers have served in Angola, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Namibia, Rhodesia, Rwanda, Sinai, Solomon Islands, Somalia and Timor Leste. Currently, Fijian peacekeepers are deployed with UNAMID in Dafur where 13 Fiji Police officers are located, UNMIL in Liberia which is supported by 30 Fiji Police officers, UNMIS in Sudan with 11 Fiji military and police personnel, and UNMIT in Timor Leste to which Fiji has dispatched a military observer.
Fiji soldiers in Iraq with Ambassador Peter Thomson.
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