Pinoy peacekeepers to stay in Golan Heights

MANILA, Philippines - Unless ordered to do so by the top political leadership, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not pull out the Filipino contingent from the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Golan Heights in the Israeli-Syrian border.

“It’s a political and foreign relations issue and we submit to whatever the decision is going to be. We at the AFP just implement (orders). Let us wait what is the instruction to us,” AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said yesterday in response to questions if the military leadership will recall soldiers assigned to the Filipino contingent to the UN peacekeeping force in Golan Heights after a Filipino soldier was wounded Thursday afternoon.

Mortar rounds fired by alleged Syrian rebels landed inside Camp Ziouni, a UN logistic headquarters in the area, injuring the Filipino peacekeeper.

Fighting among rebels trying to oust Syrian President Hafez Assad and Syrian security forces has spilled over to the Golan Heights.

Bautista said that while risks are always present in all peacekeeping operations, the military leadership is continuously reviewing the security and safety of Filipino soldiers in foreign deployment.

“On our part we are reviewing the security aspect of our deployment. That’s our only job. You cannot remove the risks our soldiers are facing in Golan Heights. That’s one of primary reasons why they are out there – to prevent the conflict,” said Bautista after attending a conference with visiting United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) commander Admiral Samuel Locklear at the Department of National Defense (DND) building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City yesterday.

Due to the mounting conflict in the Golan Heights, Austria, which has forces also deployed for peacekeeping operations under the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), has announced that it is pulling out its troops.

On two separate occasions, two batches of Filipino peacekeepers deployed in the Golan Heights were snatched by Syrian rebels last March and May. The Filipinos were not harmed and later released.

In the latest incident, the wounded Filipino peacekeeper was hit just above his right ankle by shrapnel from a wayward mortar round that landed and exploded inside the UN camp at the height of fighting between Syrian rebels and Assad’s loyalist forces.

The victim is part of the 343 Filipino troops now deployed in the Golan Heights under the AFP’s 6th Philippine Contingent to Golan Heights in line with the country’s commitment to UN international peacekeeping operations.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday that a Filipino peacekeeper was injured in the Golan Heights.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the peacekeeper suffered a leg injury and has returned to the UN camp after being treated at a hospital.

The DFA is awaiting President Aquino’s approval of the recommendation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario for an early pullout of Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan Heights because of increased risk exposure and change in peacekeeping circumstances.

After the first incident of kidnapping of Filipino peacekeepers in March, Del Rosario said the President had directed the DFA to study and do a revaluation of the risk exposure of the Filipino troops there.

The Philippines currently contributes to eight United Nations Peacekeeping Missions worldwide, with a total deployment of 843 personnel.        – With Pia Lee-Brago