Antara News, Saturday, November 21, 2009 04:38 WIB
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is considering the UN request for the Indonesian military (TNI)`s extended participation in the Maritime Task Force at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"It is true that we have received a request from the UN but we are still considering it," TNI Chief of Staff for General Affairs Vice Admiral Didik Heru Purnomo said at a function here on Friday to greet the arrival of Indonesian warship KRI Diponegoro-365 from joining the task force in Lebanon for six months.
He said his side would thoroughly evaluate TNI`s activities in the UN peace mission including in Lebanon. "We will first evaluate the activities as a whole. We will consider everything."
But he added that the TNI would prepare everything if the government decided to continue the TNI`s participation in the task force.
KRI Diponegoro-365 arrived in Indonesia on Thursday after six-month mission in Lebanon. The UN has asked Indonesia to extend the warship`s mission for another six months or replace it with other warship.
During its mission based on UN Resolution No. 1701 KRI Diponegoro-365 carried out two main tasks, including maritime interdiction operations (MIO), namely to help the Lebanese Armed Forces prevent the smuggling of illegal weapons and increase its capacity.
Deputy Naval Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Moeklas Sidiq meanwhile said Indonesian warship KRI Frans Kaisiepo was most likely to replace KRI Diponegoro-365 in the mission.
Both KRI Diponegoro-365 and KRI Frans Kaisiepo are Dutch-made sigma class corvettes.
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