From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Fri Jan 14 2005 - 10:29:09 EST
Kazakh MP sees no reason to pull peacekeepers out of Iraq
Excerpt from report by Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency
Almaty, 13 January: The chairman of the Majlis (lower house of the
Kazakh
parliament) committee for international affairs, defence and security,
Serik Abdrakhmanov, sees no grounds for withdrawing Kazakh peacekeepers
from Iraq.
"There are no grounds for unequivocally raising the question (of
withdrawing the Kazakh contingent in Iraq) yet," he told journalists
today at an air base outside Almaty, where a funeral for Capt Kayrat
Kudabayev, who died in Iraq, took place.
"The Kazakh contingent in Iraq is a peaceful mission in that country,"
he emphasized. He also said that by taking part in peaceful operations
in Iraq, "Kazakhstan is fulfilling its international commitments".
Abdrakhmanov said the security system of Kazakh peacekeepers in Iraq
should be improved. "We should draw conclusions, we should analyse the
circumstances (in which peacekeepers died and were wounded -
Interfax-Kazakhstan) and warn against and ensure maximum safety of our
peacekeepers in Iraq," the deputy thinks.
Meanwhile, he thinks that the state should pay closer attention to
supporting the families of officers, and Afghan war and WWII veterans.
"This [the death of Kazakh peacekeepers in Iraq] gives us grounds for
thinking about the families of other veterans," Abdrakhmanov said.
[Passage omitted: Background on the death of the Kazakh peacekeeper in
Iraq, Kayrat Kudabayev]
Source: Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty, in Russian 0746 gmt 13
Jan 05
BBC Mon CAU 130105 /ag/qu
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