Germany, Netherlands Take over Peacekeeping Mandate in Afghanistan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Germany, Netherlands Take over Peacekeeping Mandate in Afghanistan

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Germany and the Netherlands on Monday took over the leadership of the peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan from Turkey, as Afghan Transitional President Hamid Karzai lauded the troops' role in providing security to Kabul and helping his country learn under the law and order.

The command of the 22-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was handed over here to German general Norbert Van Heyst by Turkish commander Hilmi Akin Zorlu, who had completed hiseight-month mandate since last June.

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi and the defense ministers of Afghanistan, Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands were present at the handover ceremony, which was held at a German-built high school in downtown Kabul.

President Karzai told an audience of senior government officials, diplomats and ISAF soldiers that the international security troops had made major contributions to the security in Kabul and the country as a whole.

The troops have been "providing people with security and safety,with which children return to school, women go to work and earn money, people start business and life begin to function" in Kabul,Karzai said.

He added that he was sure that the new ISAF command by the German-Dutch corps would contribute significantly to peace and security in Kabul.

The UN-mandated ISAF troops, currently with strength of nearly 4,000, have been mainly responsible for security and order in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, and its surrounding areas during their mission since December 2001.

However, the security troops, which were led by a British general before the Turkish command, were also involved in different development affairs in Kabul, including school rehabilitation, humanitarian aid work and the training of local security personnel,ISAF officials said.

German Defense Minister Peter Struck told a press conference following the handover ceremony that the mission of the German-Dutch command would be limited to six months, and suggested a NATOleadership of the international security troops after his mandate.

Even if a NATO leadership of the ISAF troops could not be approved, "NATO members Spain, Italy and Canada have agreed to be the candidates for next ISAF mandate from August 2003," Struck said.

Reports said that Germany had proposed NATO to eventually take responsibility for the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

After meeting with the German Defense Minister and his Dutch counterpart Hank Kamp later in the day, Afghan President Karzai told reporters that his government would welcome any country to beselected by the international community to lead the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

"The countries that have taken the lead of the ISAF so far are all members of NATO, (and) it's really up to the international community to decide" which country to lead the next ISAF command, Karzai said.

"Afghanistan is happy with any country that will come forward" to lead the peacekeeping efforts here, he added.

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