Ban Ki-moon asks SBY to contribute helicopters

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to increase Indonesia’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions by helping to ease transportation difficulties in South Sudan by contributing helicopters.
“South Sudan is roughly twice the size of Malaysia, but it has just a few kilometers of paved roads. Our peacekeepers face major logistical challenges. They urgently need transportation such as helicopters,” Ban said before hundreds of high-ranking Indonesian military and police officials at the Indonesian Peace and Security Center (IPSC) in Sentul, West Java on Tuesday.
“I am constantly calling on UN Member States that have helicopters to provide them for our missions. I am also asking President Yudhoyono whether Indonesia can contribute helicopters. I hope he will respond positively,” Ban said while looking at Yudhoyono, who was also on the stage.
While the audience reacted to the statement with laughter, Yudhoyono looked serious and nodded his head.
South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world, having gained its independence from Sudan in July of last year. For two decades, people in the area were mired in a war that killed over two million people, according to the UN. “About four million people were displaced and left the country,” Ban said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ban and Yudhoyono had a bilateral meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday morning.
Ban arrived in Jakarta on Monday evening as the first stop on an Asian tour that also includes visits to Malaysia, Singapore and his home country, South Korea, where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26.

Source : The Jakarta Post