China's first senior military officer in charge of the UN
peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara said his appointment shows
the UN's full recognition of China's outstanding contributions to
UN peacekeeping missions.
Maj. Gen. Zhao Jingmin, who was appointed as force commander of
the United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara
(MINURSO) in September, told Xinhua in a recent interview that his
being awarded the post also demonstrates the trust the UN has in
the quality of Chinese soldiers.
Zhao, who succeeded General Kurt Mosgaard of Denmark, is the
first Chinese officer to be appointed by the UN as a peacekeeping
force commander.
"The appointment has shown the UN's trust in the quality and
ability of Chinese military officers and its full recognition of
China's 17 years of active participation in UN peacekeeping
missions," Zhao told Xinhua.
Since 1990 when China first sent five military observers to a UN
peacekeeping force, China has participated in 17 UN peacekeeping
operations with a total of 8,883 military personnel, Zhao said.
With a total of 1,648 officers and men currently stationed in 10
mission areas, China is now the country offering the largest number
of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council.
"China won the opportunity to compete for a senior post in the
peacekeeping force thanks to the UN's recognition of China's
prominent contributions to peacekeeping missions," Zhao said.
Although more and more middle- and high-ranking officials in the
UN are Chinese, parallel to China's active participation in UN
affairs, the number of Chinese officials is still lower than those
from other major world powers, which does not match China's
international standing, Zhao said.
In efforts to further strengthen its support for UN peacekeeping
operations, China needs to participate more and more in the
discussion, decision-making and implementation of UN missions, he
said.
No direct conflict has broken out between the two warring sides
in the Western Sahara during the past 17 years of UN involvement in
peacekeeping, he said, calling it the biggest achievement of the UN
mission there.
Western Sahara, a mostly desert region, is located on the
northwest African Atlantic coast. Morocco, which currently controls
Western Sahara, and the Algeria-backed Popular Front for the
Liberation of Western Sahara fought a war over the territory for
more than a decade in the last century.
He noted that the issue of Western Sahara remained unsettled due
to various reasons.
He said MINURSO has nine contingents and one liaison office with
more than 230 military observers from 27 countries.
The main duty of the military observers, who have set up posts
along a 1,500-km wall of sand, is to supervise the ceasefire
between the two sides and do coordination in some related
affairs.
Zhao has made calls to all sub-divisions, detecting problems and
working out solutions, and he has paid visits to high-ranking
officials of the conflicting parties and the embassies concerned
over the past two months since he took office.
He pledged to fulfill the peacekeeping mission through
continuous learning while endeavoring to better perform in the
role.
The UN peacekeepers, who play a role in mediation, shall never
be involved in the dispute, Zhao said.
"What our peacekeepers should do is to fully understand the
spirit of the mission, strictly abide by the UN rules and
regulations, remain neutral, and communicate with both conflicting
parties in a timely manner to enhance mutual trust," Zhao said.
Zhao urged peacekeepers to study the UN resolutions on the
problem of Western Sahara and reports delivered by the UN chief, as
well as the agreements the UN has signed with the parties
concerned.
"As long as you have a deep understanding of all the documents,
our peacekeepers can catch the spirit of the policies involved in
the problem so as to do an even better job of supervising the
ceasefire," He added.
Being the force commander is no easy job, since his 230-odd
military observers come from 27 countries with different cultural,
religious and historic backgrounds, he said.
He called for mutual tolerance, understanding and respect from
all observers to build a harmonious relationship.
There are 13 Chinese military observers to the Western Sahara
region, Zhao said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2007)
