Karnavian Sees off Policemen for UN Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur

Jakarta, (Antara) - National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian led a ceremony to see off 140 Indonesian policemen of the Garuda Bhayangkara II Formed Police Unit (FPU) serving the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in Darfur, Sudan, Africa.

"This is a UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur. You are expected to be able to create and maintain peace in Sudan following a prolonged conflict there," the general stated here, Thursday.

He urged the officers to conduct their duties optimally and vowed to punish those failing to complete their tasks.

"You will interact with police officers from other countries. Expand your horizon. Do not think local any longer, but think about the world," he emphasized.

The officers will fly to Sudan on Friday (January 20) from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base located in East Jakarta.

The 140 police officers comprise 100 tactical members and 40 members of the support staff.

They will join the FPU IX in Sudan for a year, replacing the FPU VIII team that had completed its assignment.

An FPU comprises approximately 140 police officers, trained and equipped to function as a cohesive unit capable of accomplishing policing tasks that individual police officers failed to accomplish. Well-trained FPUs can operate even in "high-risk" environments.

FPUs have three core duties: maintain public order, protect UN personnel and facilities, and support such police operations that require a concerted response but do not respond to military threats.

To be eligible for deployment in UN missions, FPUs have to undergo pre-deployment training that meets the requirements envisaged in the UN Temporary Training Standards for FPUs and successfully pass the assessment of operational capability conducted by the Formed Police Assessment Team in line with the Standard Operating Procedure for Assessment of Operational Capability for FPUs for Service in UN Peacekeeping Operations.(*)