Brunei's Best For Lebanon Peace
By Waleed PD Mahdini

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam will be sending peacekeepers to join the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) early next year, said the Ministry of Defence officials.

A senior defence official told The Brunei Times that the Sultanate's contingent will be incorporated with Malaysia's, adding that it will consist of fewer than 100 troops. The Government earlier planned to send more than 200 soldiers to the Mideast country.

Brunei's contingent will consist of non-combat officers from the Royal Brunei Land Forces as well as from the Royal Brunei Support Services.

"They will include some of its best, fittest and brightest officers and soldiers from a variety of units, such as communications and signals specialists, the medical corps and logistics experts," said the official.

It will be the Royal Brunei Armed Forces first-ever deployment outside the Asean region. It has sent peacekeeping troops to Mindanao, Aceh and Vietnam.

He said the main concern at the moment is acquiring accommodations for the contingent. There are also concerns that Lebanon's security situation remains volatile, he added.

To prepare for any eventuality, he said, the contingent would be made to undergo intensive refresher courses in first-aid, humanitarian assistance, combat engineering and joint planning skills prior to their deployment.

Extra physical conditioning will also be drilled into the contingent for the expected physical and mental hardship that they may endure whilst performing their peacekeeping operations.

Ever since the first agreement of military chiefs from SouthEast Asia's three mainly Islamic countries in Jakarta less than two months ago to contribute peacekeepers to Unifil, both Malaysia and Indonesia have received formal invitations from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to join in the international peacekeeping effort.

Brunei's increased physical commitment to the maintenance of peace has been underscored by the many royal addresses by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam at many local and international events.

Malaysia's 360-strong peacekeeping contingent will leave for Lebanon next month. According to Malaysia's Deputy Defense Minister Zainal Abidin Zin, the personnel were picked based on experience.

"We choose these individuals not merely based on their mental and physical strengths alone, but also their expertise and experience," the Minister said.

Malaysia, which previously offered to send as many as 1000 troops, has said it remains ready to dispatch more peacekeepers if asked to do so by the UN.

Moreover, Indonesia expects its 1000-strong contingent to be on the ground in Lebanon by the end of the month. An advance party of 125` Indonesian peacekeepers is expected to arrive in Lebanon next week.

Meanwhile, Major General Alain Pellegrini of France, the commander of Unifil forces warned that he would have to delay the arrival of some troops.

He warned that while a beefed-up UN presence is an "indisputable" step towards peace, "it must be understood that Unifil is only one party to the solution of a problem that extends to the entire Middle East".

Under a UN-brokered ceasefire following the recent vicious fighting 'between Israel and Hezbollah, as many as 15,000 peacekeepers are needed to maintain the fragile truce in southern Lebanon, under UN Resolution 1701, alongside the deployment of another 15,000 Lebanese as Israeli troops progressively withdraw from the area. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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