Namibian Police officers contribute to world peace

NAMIBIAN Police officers who recently returned from UN peacekeeping duty in East Timor on Monday received praise for their exemplary service and efforts towards world peace.

At a ceremony to welcome home nine officers who had been serving in East Timor for 18 months, Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga praised the contingent for ‘helping to create a safer environment where communities in countries ravaged by wars are protected and criminal activities prevented, disrupted and investigated.’He also noted that the experience gained by the officers on their mission, along with their commitment to international peace and security, ‘are the best tools to promote the rule of law in line with international democratic standards’.Comparing the services that the officers carried out in East Timor with that of the UNTAG forces in Namibia during the implementation of Resolution 435 and the first democratic elections in Namibia in 1989, Ndeitunga highlighted Namibia’s commitment to peacekeeping efforts worldwide.Another nine officers are set to leave for East Timor this week to join the four who are still there, while the Namibian Police are currently preparing to send a contingent of around 85 female Police officers for deployment with the United Nations and the African Union Hybrid Peacekeeping Mission in the Darfur region of Sudan.The Police have been participating in peacekeeping missions since 2000, when the first mission to East Timor took place, followed by missions to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur and South Sudan, and Somalia. It is also active in the SADC Standby Force arrangement.A total of 28 Namibian Police officers are currently serving with the UN peacekeeping missions.Wife, mother and Police officer Kauna Shikwambi told The Namibian she was excited to be back in the country and that her family was delighted to have her back, adding that while it was difficult to be away from home for a year and a half, the experience she gained in East Timor was worth the while.