ID :
107100
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 15:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/107100
The shortlink copeid
Seoul`s ambassador to Afghanistan urges quick dispatch of aid workers
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top envoy to Afghanistan on Wednesday
called for swift deployment of aid workers to the central Asian country, saying
the war-torn nation is in desperate need of assistance and support for its
rehabilitation.
The call comes as South Korea's National Assembly is expected to vote next week
on a government bill that, if approved, will lead to the establishment of the
country's own Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan, as well as the
dispatch of some 350 troops to protect members of the civilian group.
"The Afghan government believes South Korea is a great role model for its
rehabilitation and hopes the country will share its own development experience
through activities of the PRT," Ambassador Song Woong-yeob in Afghanistan said in
a written interview with Yonhap News Agency.
"(Afghanistan) hopes our PRT will soon be established and begin its activities.
Considering the high hopes of the Afghan government and people toward our PRT, I
hope the government bill on the dispatch will be approved during the
extraordinary parliamentary session this month," he added.
Song took the country's top diplomatic post in Afghanistan in June 2008. He is
set to be replaced in the near future by Ambassador Park Hae-yun.
South Korea already has dozens of aid workers in Afghanistan, working as part of
a U.S.-led PRT in Bagram, Parwan province. The government bill seeks to establish
the country's own PRT in the city of Charikar, about 10 kilometers northwest of
Bagram, by increasing the number of its PRT workers to 120.
The move, however, has faced some resistance here as it also requires the
dispatch of troops to protect the civilian workers, a fact that was noted and
opposed by opposition parties.
Seoul pulled out its contingent from Afghanistan after a five-year deployment in
late 2007, but armed Taliban insurgents had claimed the pullout was part of a
secret deal for the release of 19 South Korean church volunteers abducted in July
that year.
The Taliban had also claimed the Seoul government had promised not to send troops
again to Afghanistan. The group posted a threat against the planned South Korean
PRT and its troops late last year on a Web site in Afghanistan.
The South Korean ambassador in Afghanistan dismissed the claimed deal between
Seoul and the insurgent group.
"Taliban's threat was widely expected, but we will continue to build our PRT
under complete safety measures," he said.
Song stressed that South Korea rose from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War with
support of the international community and it is time for the country to return
the favor.
"Afghanistan desperately needs our help and the difficult conditions here (in
Afghanistan) only make our help more valuable," he added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top envoy to Afghanistan on Wednesday
called for swift deployment of aid workers to the central Asian country, saying
the war-torn nation is in desperate need of assistance and support for its
rehabilitation.
The call comes as South Korea's National Assembly is expected to vote next week
on a government bill that, if approved, will lead to the establishment of the
country's own Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan, as well as the
dispatch of some 350 troops to protect members of the civilian group.
"The Afghan government believes South Korea is a great role model for its
rehabilitation and hopes the country will share its own development experience
through activities of the PRT," Ambassador Song Woong-yeob in Afghanistan said in
a written interview with Yonhap News Agency.
"(Afghanistan) hopes our PRT will soon be established and begin its activities.
Considering the high hopes of the Afghan government and people toward our PRT, I
hope the government bill on the dispatch will be approved during the
extraordinary parliamentary session this month," he added.
Song took the country's top diplomatic post in Afghanistan in June 2008. He is
set to be replaced in the near future by Ambassador Park Hae-yun.
South Korea already has dozens of aid workers in Afghanistan, working as part of
a U.S.-led PRT in Bagram, Parwan province. The government bill seeks to establish
the country's own PRT in the city of Charikar, about 10 kilometers northwest of
Bagram, by increasing the number of its PRT workers to 120.
The move, however, has faced some resistance here as it also requires the
dispatch of troops to protect the civilian workers, a fact that was noted and
opposed by opposition parties.
Seoul pulled out its contingent from Afghanistan after a five-year deployment in
late 2007, but armed Taliban insurgents had claimed the pullout was part of a
secret deal for the release of 19 South Korean church volunteers abducted in July
that year.
The Taliban had also claimed the Seoul government had promised not to send troops
again to Afghanistan. The group posted a threat against the planned South Korean
PRT and its troops late last year on a Web site in Afghanistan.
The South Korean ambassador in Afghanistan dismissed the claimed deal between
Seoul and the insurgent group.
"Taliban's threat was widely expected, but we will continue to build our PRT
under complete safety measures," he said.
Song stressed that South Korea rose from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War with
support of the international community and it is time for the country to return
the favor.
"Afghanistan desperately needs our help and the difficult conditions here (in
Afghanistan) only make our help more valuable," he added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
