75 Philippine U.N. peacekeepers defy Syria rebels after 43 Fijians seized

[WuMaoCleverbot]

GREAT ESCAPE | AFP chief mum after UNDOF chief's 'act of cowardice' jibe
By: Thom Andrade, InterAksyon.com and a report from India Today
September 4, 2014 7:26 PM

MANILA, Philippines -- Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. has refused to rise to the bait after the commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights called the escape of Filipino troops from encirclement by Syrian rebels an "act of cowardice."

AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala ripped into Indian Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha, saying it was the UNDOF chief who showed cowardice by "ordering the (Filipino) troops, endangering them unnecessarily by surrendering (their) firearms and raising the white flag instead of repositioning them. I think that's the act of cowardice."

A report on the website of India Today quoted Singha as saying, "It is an act of cowardice to desert posts especially when a delicate ceasefire was in place," referring to 40 Filipino peacekeepers who broke out of the Syrian rebel encirclement after coming under fire for seven hours.

Catapang and other Philippine defense officials earlier claimed Singha ordered the Filipino peacekeepers to surrender to prevent possible harm to 44 Fijian soldiers captured previously by the Syrian rebels.

But the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, backed Singha and denied the Indian general had ordered the Filipinos to surrender their weapons.

Singha told India Today that, "The non-professional actions of the Filipino troops have endangered the lives of the Fijian soldiers. They have defied orders at a time when we had negotiated a ceasefire with the rebels to ensure that all troops in the conflict area could exit."

"They broke the chain of command and UN orders," he added.

Following Singha’s statement, Catapang said in a text message: "We (AFP) decided that we should just keep our silence ... about the incident. We have asked DFA to reply to all queries about this unfortunate incident. We will just submit all the reports as directed by the President. After saving our troops from being massacred, the last thing we want to do is to be involved in a blame game ..."

Before this, however, Zagala, in an interview, justified the breakout of the Filipino peacekeepers, saying that, while their mission was to "keep the peace" and act as a buffer between Israel and Syria, "what is part of our mandate ... both the United Nations and the Armed Forces of the Philippines ... is ... ability to defend ourselves, and what we did there is we defended ourselves from attack after a seven-hour firefight with Syrian rebels."

He added, "General Singha, instead of bringing his men to safety, even allowed us to continue (the) seven-hour firefight when he could have repositioned us earlier together with (another Filipino-held outpost) Position 69, but he did not. He left us there, our ammunition (was) low and he told us if we are attacked again for us to lay down our arms and raise the white flag."

"Now which one is cowardice, his orders or (our) doing what is the best option to save Filipino soldiers' lives?" Zagala asked.

GREAT ESCAPE | AFP chief mum after UNDOF chief's 'act of cowardice' jibe

 

[Cossack25A1]

If this is the case, then it is time to get out the UNDOF in Golan Heights and prevent the AFPh from being involved in ANY Peacekeeping operations.

 

[Bienvenido]

General Singha called the Pinoy retreat an act of cowardice! Yet the Pinoys boast they are heroes They backstabbed the Fijian peacekeepers leaving them to get beheaded. It turns out they backstabbed because the Fijians are Muslims. The Pinoys must hate Muslims deep inside.

so you want our soldiers to join the hostages? look what happen to the Fijians, they lay their weapons and they were taken as hostages. common sense please.

 

[Cossack25A1]

Then why not let the PLA send soldiers in the Golan Heights? I am sure the Syrian rebels would piss their pants if they see PLA soldiers shooting at them en masse.

 

[Huaren]

Then why not let the PLA send soldiers in the Golan Heights? I am sure the Syrian rebels would piss their pants if they see PLA soldiers shooting at them en masse.

Lol It should be the responsibilities of western allies, China didnt agree with the western approach which lead to the mess so PLA should not get involved.

 

[nvKyleBrown]

The UN commander is insipid. This is the kind of approach that saw the Dutch stand by while Serbian paramilitaries executed 8000 muslims. Srebrenica massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The job of a peacekeeper is to ensure all the factions are behaving. If you are only going to stand around and watch while the peace is violated, there is no point in being there. You have to be willing to use military force, to maneuver and engage as required to ENFORCE the conditions you are there to enforce. The least helpful thing you can do is get captured and give one party leverage/advantage in negotiations (or money for ransom).

UNDOF needs a turnover at the top.

 

[Cossack25A1]

The UN commander is insipid. This is the kind of approach that saw the Dutch stand by while Serbian paramilitaries executed 8000 muslims. Srebrenica massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The job of a peacekeeper is to ensure all the factions are behaving. If you are only going to stand around and watch while the peace is violated, there is no point in being there. You have to be willing to use military force, to maneuver and engage as required to ENFORCE the conditions you are there to enforce. The least helpful thing you can do is get captured and give one party leverage/advantage in negotiations (or money for ransom).

UNDOF needs a turnover at the top.

Unfortunately, the head of the UN Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous agrees with the UNDOF Force Commander General Iqbal Singh Singha. There is no guarantee that the Syrian Islamist militants will free their hostages even if the Filipino peacekeepers surrenders.

 

[WuMaoCleverbot]

AFP stands by Golan troops, to analyze actions during crisis
Published 5:37 PM, Sep 04, 2014
Updated 10:50 PM, Sep 04, 2014

NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines – When Philippine military chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr handed over a new M4 rifle to Army Private Kevin Amarille on Thursday, September 4, it was as if he was repeating his orders to Philippine troops in the Golan Heights over the weekend: Never surrender your firearm to the enemy.

"Siguraduhin niya na tratuhin itong baril na ito na kung binata pa siya, girlfriend niya. O kung may asawa na siya, asawa niya. At huwag niya ipamimigay sa kalaban," Catapang said in his speech at the turn-over ceremony of 829 new rifles at the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

(He should make sure that he will treat his firearm like his girlfriend if he is single, or like his wife if he is married. He should never give it to the enemy.)

The unauthorized escape of 40 troops from Syrian rebels in Golanon Sunday, September 1, is now the subject of controversy after theUnited Nations denied the complaint of Filipino peacekeepers that UN Disengagement Observer Force commander Lieutenant General Iqbal Singha had ordered them to surrender their weapons to the rebels.

UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous said the order was only "to leave the weapons quiet so as to give some space but never to hand over weapons."

Catapang said the orders of Singha were clear. "Based on our report, ganoon talaga. Hindi naman kami gagawa ng ganoong pasiya kung hindi naman po talaga inorder (It was really like that. We wouldn't have made that decision if that wasn't the order)," he said.

Nevertheless, the military will create a "study group" to analyze its actions during the crisis. An after-battle report is normal procedure in the military to lay down the lessons learned in every operation.

"I-a-analyze pa 'yan kasi dumadaan yan sa proseso. Sasabihin na ito ang dapat, ito ang mali. May study group na i-ki-create tayo(That will be analyzed. It has to go through a process to determine what should be done and what is wrong. We will create a study group)," said Catapang.

Singha's orders were supposedly relayed verbally to Philippine Battalion Commander Colonel Ezra Enriquez.

"We were asking him (Singha) to put it in black and white. Noong sinabi na i-surrender ang firearms, nanghingi ng guidance ang ating mga sundalo. Sabi ko, kung ganoon ang gusto niya, he must put it in black and white because he is ordering us something that we feel is not authorized."

(We were asking Singha to put it in black and white. When he said surrender the firearms, our soldiers asked for guidance. I said, If that's what he wants he must put it in black and white because he is ordering us something that we feel is not authorized.)

'No blame game'

The military has been discouraged from further talking about the issue. "Ang (Our) guidance namin ngayon (now is) we will not anymore speak to rebut. We will just submit the report. It is up to the higher headquarters to decide. We don't want this to be a blame game," Catapang told reporters in Nueva Ecija.

Inspite of the controversy, the important thing, Catapang said, is that the troops are safe.

"Blame game na ngayon. But ayaw naman natin magsisihan tayo kasi tapos na ito e. We will just follow orders kung ano man ang sasabihin sa atin ng mahal na Pangulo (It is now a blame game. But we don't want to do that because it's over. We will just follow orders; whatever our dear President tells us to do)."

The military has submitted to Malacañang a blow by blow account of what happened in the Golan Heights. The Department of Foreign Affairs was furnished a copy.

Catapang said the controversy should not affect the country's relationship with the UN, since authorities are only questioning one person's decision, referring to Singha.

The Philippine military is now volunteering to put up the United Nations Standby Agreement, he said.

"Nandito tropa natin continuously training. Kung biglang kailangan at okay naman ang deployment, we can provide the UN the necessary forces (Our troops are here continuously training. If they suddenly need us, and the deployment is okay, we can provide the necessary forces)," he said. – Rappler.com

AFP stands by Golan troops, to analyze actions during crisis

 

[Cossack25A1]

http://www.3news.co.nz/world/fiji-army-chief-defends-troops-surrender-2014090421#ixzz3COXA12zm&f

------------------------------

Fiji army chief defends troops surrender
Thursday 4 Sep 2014 9:33 p.m.

Fiji's army chief has dismissed a "sick" suggestion the Pacific island's Muslim minority will face a backlash if 45 UN peacekeepers taken hostage by Islamic rebels in the Golan Heights are harmed.

Brigadier General Mosese Tikoitoga also defended the action of his troops in surrendering to al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front rebels, even though a contingent of 75 Filipino peacekeepers who defied an order to lay down their weapons all escaped unscathed.

Tikoitoga, speaking to reporters in Suva just hours after the UN Security Council demanded the Fijians' immediate release, said the location of the Blue Helmets was still unknown.

He also revealed that talks with their captors had hit a "lull", but said specialised UN negotiators flown in from New York to deal with the crisis had told him this was normal in a hostage situation.

"They [the rebels] do not establish contact so that they can regain the initiative on negotiations," he said.

"But these are [just] tactics they use and I hope that we will resume discussions soon and we can get them back on the line."

The Islamic fighters have made at least three demands, including that the Al-Nusra Front be removed from the UN's list of terrorist organisations.

Former Fiji prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka told Radio New Zealand yesterday that Fiji's Muslim community, which numbers about 60,000 in an overall population of 900,000, could face retaliation if the islanders serving with the UN were harmed.

"If anything should happen to the 45 then the unsuspecting and probably undeserving people who will bear the brunt of the feelings of the people could be the Muslim civil society and community in Fiji," he said.

Tikoitoga said the Fiji military was committed to treating all citizens equally and accused Rabuka of inflaming ethnic tensions.

"It's very irresponsible and I think it's closing in on inciting violence in Fiji. We should condemn it ... it only shows the sick attitude of that individual," he said.

"The RFMF [military] will look after all Fijians and we don't hold anything against any Fijians for what's happening. This is a time we should all stand together, it is not the time to start pointing fingers at each other, especially internally."

Asked why his men surrendered, Tikoitoga said they were following a direct order from the commander of the UN Disengagement Observer Force.

"At no stage in an operation would I expect any of my officers not to follow the decisions of the first commander," he said. "The Filipinos chose to do so and the Philippines government have supported them for having chosen that path.

"We cannot criticise them for it, nor can we follow the decision they have made, we live by our own ethos of following command."

He said officers on the ground had to make a snap decision in a fraught situation.

AAP

 

[Aepsilons]

This is Gen. Singha,

 

[Cossack25A1]

This is Gen. Singha,

It is strange as to why he ordered the Fijian and Filipino peacekeepers to lay down their arms and surrender. If that article about the Fijian peacekeepers is to be judged, then the order of surrender did came from Gen. Singha as he is the commander of the UNDOF in the Golan Heights.

 

[Aepsilons]

It is strange as to why he ordered the Fijian and Filipino peacekeepers to lay down their arms and surrender. If that article about the Fijian peacekeepers is to be judged, then the order of surrender did came from Gen. Singha as he is the commander of the UNDOF in the Golan Heights.

One can only wonder, but let us find out the reports and findings first.

This is a very interesting situation, i admit.

 

[Cossack25A1]

One can only wonder, but let us find out the reports and findings first.

This is a very interesting situation, i admit.

Besides, why would one order an entire platoon to surrender to terrorists?

 

[Aepsilons]

Besides, why would one order an entire platoon to surrender to terrorists?

That's my position. Surrendering to terrorist groups in Syria should be a last alternative. UN soldiers are there to keep the peace, but they have the right to defend themselves, and an order to lay down weapons is , in my opinion, a foolish decision.

The Philippine contingent did the right thing by not surrendering. Who's to say that they would have released either the Fijians and FIlipinos had they surrendered?

 

[Cossack25A1]

That's my position. Surrendering to terrorist groups in Syria should be a last alternative. UN soldiers are there to keep the peace, but they have the right to defend themselves, and an order to lay down weapons is , in my opinion, a foolish decision.

The Philippine contingent did the right thing by not surrendering. Who's to say that they would have released either the Fijians and FIlipinos had they surrendered?

I guess some people in the UN think that the Islamic militants would play by their book. Unfortunately, they don't. The Philippine contingent knows because they have been dealing with the same type of hostile force in the jungles of Mindanao, whether it is the Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Force, Moro National Liberation Force and the recent Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters...and that is just one of two (which is the Communists militants such as the NPA) that the AFPh have been dealing in Philippine jungles.