DISQUALIFIED MAOIST COMBATANTS THREATEN INDEFINITE STRIKE TO PRESS DEMANDS Kathmandu, 8 Sept: The former Maoist combatants disqualified by UNMIN Saturday gave one week’s ultimatum to meet their demands amid threats of an indefinite strike and other forms of protests. The threat was issued in the capital by former combatant Lenin Bista The group is pressing for removal of disqualified tag along with other demands. nnnn NA ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING EFFECTIVE Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: The significant medium for Nepal to present itself in international forums including the United Nations with much glory is the superb performance and success exhibited by Nepal Army (NA) in establishing peace in the world. The NA has been able to present itself as one of the oldest organisations that has a disciplined and dignified history in the country. The NA has also been contributing as an important medium for implementing the foreign policy of the country and in the task of establishing global peace since 1958. NA has the main responsibility of maintaining sovereignty and national integrity, and protecting unity among all providing a sense of national security and defense. The Nepal Army's long association with the UN peace keeping operations had begun by sending five military observers in the Middle East (United Nations observer group in Lebanon) in 1958. Similarly, the Purano Gorakh Battalion was deployed in Egypt in 1974 as the first Nepalese contingent. The participation of Nepalese Army in the UN Peace Keeping Operation (PKO) spans a period of 54 years covering 37 UN Missions until December 2011, in which over 87,000 NA officials participated. During the time, NA has served its military missions in Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Liberia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Congo, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Georgia, Sudan, East Timor, Morocco and other counties. The NA personnel's devotion to duty and excellent performance has been widely acclaimed. Also, four NA officers have successfully completed the responsibility of Force Commander in the peace keeping missions, and 170 small and big contingents have successfully completed their responsibilities in such missions. In recent days, a total of 50 NA officials have been deployed as the military observers in the UN peacekeeping missions every year. Nepal being a staunch believer in the ideals of the UN, considers peacekeeping to be an effective instrument for defusing conflicts and maintaining peace in the world. Hence, Nepal has been responding to every call of the General Assembly and Security Council for the cause of prevention of conflicts and for peacekeeping efforts. To date, Nepal stands as the sixth largest troop contributor to the UN Peacekeeping Operations. It is said that NA has the major contribution behind UN peacekeeping missions and former Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, to receive Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 and 2011 respectively. The women troop of NA have also contributed in providing nursing, legal, military observers and Military Police in UN peacekeeping missions and 93 officers, 52 junior commissioned officers and other ranks have already shared the experiences of working in the UN PKO missions till date. During the process of global peacekeeping missions of the UN, a total of 58 persons had sacrificed their life while 58 others were seriously injured and living a life with disability. A NA personnel deployed in the UN PKO is paid 1058 US dollars and other allowances per month. At present, a total of 13,570 NA officials have been participating in various 13 UN PKO missions in different countries in the world. The UN has given priority while selecting the armies for the peace keeping mission appraising the bravery and expertise of the NA in the UN PKO. Nepal being an active member of the UN, its good diplomatic relations with all the countries of the world, its profound belief on UN charter and adoption of a non-aligned foreign policy and NA's contribution in the global peace operations are the major factors to keep NA in UN PKO. It is our pride that the UN, a common organization of the 193 countries, has prioritized NA in all peace keeping missions for their high level of professionalism. An army officer said that the government should take initiative to create comfortable environment by visiting NA officials in UN PKOs and holding diplomatic talks with the governments of the conflict affected countries where NA officials have been carrying out their peacekeeping operations under the UN PKO facing difficult situations and false charges while working for the peacekeeping missions. NA Spokesperson Ramindra Kshetri said, "The politics of the country from where the armies are sent for the mission and good relations between the government and the UN are responsible for creating comfortable environment in the concerned country. Visit by our political leaders to the mission area would have no difference at all. Especially, the UN Force Commander should have significant role to manage the team in the mission." In addition to the NA, around 500 police personnel of Nepal Police have been deployed in various six missions in different counties, currently. Nepal Police has started its participation since 1992 in the UN peacekeeping operations, said UN Branch Chief of the Nepal Police Ramesh Kharel. As many as 5,396 police personnel have contributed to the UN missions for peace keeping so far. Similarly, the Armed Police Force (APF) has started its participation since 2002. Currently, there are 328 personnel of APF deployed in around half a dozen countries in the world and 4,210 APF personnel participated in the peace keeping missions through UNPOL and Front Police, according to Narayan Babu Thapa, the APF Spokesperson. The amount of money earned through the UN PKO is deposited at the Welfare Fund of the security forces and spent on various sectors like education, health, social welfare for the security forces. It is necessary for the NA and other security bodies to make further efforts for taking a leading role in the UN PKO and the government should also take proper initiatives so as to encourage their efforts for peace. . Nnnn