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november 2005.qxp 12/6/2005 3:14 PM Page 1 UNFICYP Military Skills Medal Parade Tested in Pyla november 2005.qxp 12/6/2005 3:14 PM Page 3 THE BLUE BERET Dag Hammarskjöld Building Tolerance Published monthly by the: Centenary marked Public Information Office The month featured two significant international United Nations Peacekeeping Force in days. One, 16 November, is dedicated to promoting Cyprus International (and communal) Tolerance. The at Ledra Palace HQ UNFICYP second, 25 November, the day dedicated worldwide n 22 November, UNFICYP and the Swedish PO Box 21642 to the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Embassy in Cyprus co-hosted a special evening 1590 Nicosia Oin Ledra Palace to mark the 100th anniversary of Cyprus In his 16 November message, the Secretary- the birth of Dag Hammarskjöld, the United Nations General notes that intolerance, a global issue, is on Tel: 2261-4550/4416/4408 second Secretary-General. Hammarskjöld served from Fax: 2261-4461 the increase in many parts of the world at local or 7 April 1953 until his death in a plane crash at Ndola, E-mail: [email protected] national level. This is why efforts to promote global Zambia, on 18 September 1961, at the height of the [email protected] norms against intolerance need to be combined with Congo crisis. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Website:www.unficyp.org local, national and especially individual measures. posthumously. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld at a press Sadly, intolerance of “the other”, whether based As UNFICYP Force Commander Hebert Figoli said in conference in June 1961 Editorial Team his welcoming address, Hammarskjöld was the father on race, ethnicity or creed, is all too pervasive in of UN peacekeeping, laying down many of the precepts Would he have been more successful than any of Brian Kelly this day’s world. Instead of celebrating and Anne Bursey that we now take for granted. UNEF, the UN’s first his five successors? “Despite all his diplomatic skills recognizing the diversity that so uniquely enriches peacekeeping force, was formed during his first term and inventiveness, I am not so sure that he would Capt. Stefan Zemanovic the human condition, communities too often retreat as SG as a result of the Suez crisis in 1956. have been able to achieve much more than they Miriam Taylor into themselves behind barricades of fear and Dag Hammarskjöld was a diplomatic pioneer and managed, in close cooperation with the Security Aldo Henríquez ignorance. pathfinder. He brought to the UN a combination of the Council”, Ambassador Lindahl concluded. Sgt. Adrián Artimovic (Photographer) This fear of the unknown, of the “other”, is rooted self-effacing discipline of the career professional public He pointed out that frustrating all UN initiatives is civil servant and the aesthetic of the thoughtful vis- the fact that Cyprus, like some other regions in the in ignorance, and leaves the community the victim of Unit Press Officers ionary. He was fierce in his defence of the Secretariat’s world, lacks one of the prerequisite for conflict solution Sector 1 Capt. Bruno Varani a hostile mindset that attacks what it does not know independence, resisting the Soviet Union’s demand for – a culture of compromise. This had been commented Sector 2/MFR Capt. Anna Halloran rather than explore what makes us different. his resignation in 1960 over the handling of the Congo on by the first Swedish commander to serve with Sector 4 MSgt. Silvia Lojanová Building tolerance takes time and effort. It cannot crisis, and again, in 1961, famously arguing the case UNFICYP in 1964 and by the last in 1987. The same be achieved overnight. Education is the key. The for an independent, international civil service. sentiment ran through the reports of Secretary- Capt. Tibor Berecz Ambassador Ingemar Lindahl of Sweden pointed Generals Waldheim, Pérez de Cuellar and Boutros- UNPOL Sgt. Jim Flanagan school system is where we inculcate the citizens of tomorrow with the values of tolerance, human rights out how Hammarskjöld's legacy as Secretary-General Ghali to the Security Council. UN Flt was his inventive diplomacy, which extended the The Ambassador quoted Pérez de Cuellar, who also Lt. Wenceslao Bona and fundamental freedoms. FMPU Capt. Jozef Sventek influence of the World Organisation on the basis of its served as Special Representative in Cyprus: “After my Beyond the schools, we do well to remember that charter, and his moral integrity as leader of the efforts during more than 12 years I would like to des- The Blue Beret is UNFICYP’s in-house adults too can benefit from learning about the Organisation, which made it possible to successfully cribe the Cyprus problem as a labyrinth from which Serving UNFICYP’s civilian, military and police personnel Serving UNFICYP’s journal. Views expressed are of the underpinnings of tolerance. As parents, lawmakers, realize his diplomatic initiatives. every promising exit only leads back to the point of authors concerned, and do not neces- and law-enforcers, for example, informed adult role He also noted how Kofi Annan had once said there departure.” sarily conform with official policy. models can be catalysts for progress and openness in could be no better rule of thumb for a Secretary- Lindahl pointed out how Sir Kieran Prendergast, multicultural communities. General as he approaches each new challenge or crisis “the latest UN envoy to Cyprus”, had reported last Articles of general interest (plus photos than to ask himself how Hammarskjöld would have June that there remained “a considerable gap” with captions) are invited from all The same is true when it comes to the drive to handled this? How might Hammarskjöld have handled between the positions of the two parties, making it members of the Force. eliminate violence against women because on this the Cyprus situation? difficult to embark on a new UN initiative. Copyright of all material is vested in UN issue there are no grounds for tolerance and not “Hammarskjöld believed that the UN must be an publications, but may be reproduced tolerable excuses. organic instrument, all the time developing new forms with the Editor’s permission. of dynamic action to solve long-standing conflicts. Hopefully, that kind of belief and determination will be shown in the case of Cyprus also by his successors – as well as by the local political leaders – resulting in a Contents new forward-looking initiative for the reunification of the island. In his literary testament, Waymarks Editorial/Contents . .2 (Markings), Hammarskjöld says that ‘only those who Dag Hammarskjöld/Nobel Peace Prize awarded . .3 can look forward will be able to find the way’.” UNFICYP Medal Parade in Pyla . .4-5 Later, two speakers from Sweden – Professor Peter Wallensteen, conflict resolution expert and holder of Military Skills Competition . .6-8 the Dag Hammarskjöld chair at Uppsala University, International Days: Tolerance/ and Ambassador Kaj Falkman, writer, diplomat, author, President of the Swedish Haiku Society, and former Elimination of Violence Against Women . .9 special adviser on the Cyprus issue to the Swedish Sector 2 News . .10 Foreign Minister – spoke respectively of Hammarskjöld’s Ambassador Lindahl with Senior Adviser Susan Allee, diplomatic achievements as Secretary-General and Remembrance Sunday/Bonfire Night . .11 Ambassador Falkman and Professor Wallensteen at about his creative persona as writer, poet and Keeping up with the Training . .12 the old Nicosia International Airport philosopher. New Faces . .13 De-Mining Update/Notices . .14 IAEA Awarded Nobel Peace Prize Sporting Features . .15 he 2005 Nobel peace prize has gone crowns ($1.29m) will be presented in Tjointly to Mohamed ElBaradei and the December in Oslo. International Atomic Energy Agency he In keeping with tradition, it is awarded Front Cover: UNFICYP Medal Parade in Pyla leads, the Nobel committee announced in in the Norwegian capital, while the other Oslo on 7 October. ElBaradei was recently Nobel prizes – for excellence in physics, Back Cover: Military Skills Tested confirmed as IAEA director for a third chemistry, medicine and literature – are term. The prize of 10 million Swedish awarded in Stockholm. 2 November 2005 - The Blue Beret November 2005 - The Blue Beret 3 november 2005.qxp 12/6/2005 3:14 PM Page 5 Pyla’sPyla’s FirstFirst MedalMedal ParadeParade –– “.... Pyla ChiefChief ofof Mission’sMission’s LastLast is a village we in the UN hold in special regard ....” s the sun disappeared over the top of the UNPOL Netherlands, India, Ireland and Italy. The assembled theme in a spirit of strengthening the link between the UNPOL contingents. The band also entertained the Station, members of the UN Police Component of police officers in their magnificent array of dress people of Pyla and UNPOL. This was achieved in no crowd with a repertoire of well-known tunes. AUNFICYP stood to receive their UN Medal from uniforms from four different continents presented a small measure. The UNPOL officers put a great deal of effort into Chief of Mission Zbigniew Wlosowicz. On 17 November, truly United Nations spectacle. A sense of duty and Pyla residents, UNPOL officers and their families preparing the village for the occasion. However the the UNPOL medal parade took place in the lovely pride were clearly the order of the day. were joined by many guests including Irish Ambassa- success was not theirs alone. Thanks are also due to village of Pyla. Pyla, the only bi-communal village in the buffer dor John Swift, Dutch Ambassador M.E.C. Gevers, SLOVCON Sector 4, who provided the catering, It was the SRSG’s final medal parade as he nears zone, is home to one of UNPOL’s 10 stations. It is Italian Ambassador Luigi Napolitano, Deputy Australian BRITCON, who provided logistical support, ARGCON, the end of his assignment after five and a half years under the command of Supt.