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Lt. Col. Sorin Bacila PR officer of the Romanian contingent in Iraq transmitted:
Lt. Col. Nicolae Ciuca, commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion “Neagoe Basarab” and Lt. Col. Dorin Blaiu, commander of the 812th Infantry Battalion met Monday, July 26, 04 in White Horse Camp, Nassiriya the representative of the governor of Dhi Qar region and the local leaders from Suq Ash Shuyukh, Karmat Bani Said, Al Fuhud, Al Hammar and Al Tar.
“ The Romanian military are still with us! They came here to help the Iraqi people and maintain the security. We are very pleased about their professional behavior in relation with the Iraqi population and the activities developed for the reconstruction of Iraq” declared the Iraqi local leaders.
Security of the citizens, contacts with the Iraqi population and the chiefs of the local councils for the identification of the social problems and the start of the projects necessary to improve the living standards of the people are few of the priorities the Romanians have to deal with in this region.
“We met the representatives of the local communities ever since the first days we arrived in White Horse Camp” stated Lt. Col. Nicolae Ciuca, commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion. “Then we said that only based on a open dialogue we can find together the viable solutions for the problems the population have in this area. Now we evaluated our performances and we are satisfied for the projects we made in order to support the local communities”.
“I am glad I start the mission in your independent and sovereign country” said Lt. Col. Dorin Blaiu, commander of the 812th Infantry Battalion. “During this meeting we can find out the projects you established with the Romanians and we can find out the common solutions for reaching their end. We do not make promises, we listen your problems, we do make projects for reaching them and within the finance gained from the Coalition Forces we could make them come true. We will continue to support you in future, too”.
At his turn the Dhi Qar Province representative remarked that the Romanian troops are the best forces in the region. “We are pleased about the Romanian military because they are good people. They are the first forces keeping their promises and making all the possible for improving the situation in this region. We will never forget that the Romanian military brought an installation of water filtering for the Suq Ash Shuyukh hospital and helped the schools in the city. The Romanian commanders were very sincere and we do appreciate this fact” declared a local leader.
The problems the people in this region have are numberless and the Romania military are focused on finding out the priorities and the establishment of the real ways for solving them and thus they could gain the confidence of the population in the region. It is not easy because the local people do have a lot of difficulties such as lack of water, food, medical care and others.
By the middle of August, 04 the Romanian military will be replaced by those from the 812th Infantry Battalion.
MoND Press Office