IN WREATHLAYING CEREMONY AT ROYAL HOSPITAL IN DUBLIN, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS BLUE HELMETS HAVE BECOME PRE-EMINENT CATALYST FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Press Release
SG/SM/6869
IN WREATHLAYING CEREMONY AT ROYAL HOSPITAL IN DUBLIN, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS BLUE HELMETS HAVE BECOME PRE-EMINENT CATALYST FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
19990122 Following is the text of a statement made today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at a wreathlaying ceremony at the Royal Hospital in Dublin, to honour Irish peacekeepers:I am honoured to be here to pay tribute to colleagues who made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of peace. Permit me to paraphrase the immortal words of one of Ireland's greatest sons -- "nor law, nor duty bade them serve; nor public man, nor cheering crowds". That they gave their lives is all the more moving because they chose to serve of their own free will, in countries not their own.
The past century has not been an easy one on this island. It is, therefore, with all the more admiration that we welcome the contribution you have made to the cause of peace around the world. Since the birth of United Nations peacekeeping, Blue Helmets have saved tens of thousands of lives. They have become a pre-eminent symbol and catalyst for international cooperation. They have been deployed in 49 operations across four continents. Men and women of Ireland have served in more than half of them.
Our thoughts and prayers go today to the families and friends of those who fell. Our prayers go to their colleagues who still risk their lives in the field every day. But we also pray that those we remember today will provide us with a lasting legacy of peace.
I ask you, therefore, to join me in one prayer above all: that they will know, wherever they are, that their work on behalf of the United Nations, and in the cause of peace, will not have been in vain.
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