Keepers of peace honoured

AUSTRALIA’S peacekeepers will be honoured with a memorial on Anzac Parade in Canberra.

The Federal Government initially will contribute $200,000 toward construction and a committee will be charged with raising the remainder and setting up a process to choose a design.

In his weekly radio address, Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to Australia’s peacekeepers working in a variety of countries, including Somalia, East Timor and Cambodia.

“The memorial will commemorate the proud tradition of service and sacrifice of Australia’s peacekeepers,” Mr Howard said.

“It will be a fitting acknowledgement of the professionalism and dedication of past and present peacekeepers and the families and loved ones who have always supported them.”

Mr Howard said Australia was the first nation to deploy peacekeepers when it sent them to Indonesia 60 years ago.

“(Since then) Australia has been making an invaluable contribution towards restoring order and maintaining calm in troublespots throughout the world,” he said.

“All Australians benefit from this important work.”