The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was celebrated on 29 May at a ceremony organised by Denmarks Veteraner at Kastellet in Copenhagen. Ambassador Maria Papakyriakou attended the ceremony to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served as military, police or civilians in UN Peacekeeping operations and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives for the noble cause of peace while serving under the UN flag since 1948.
Since the establishment of UNFICYP, the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, in 1964, almost 23,000 Danes served among the more than 100,000 peacekeepers from 34 nations as UN peacekeepers in Cyprus.
186 civilian, military and police personnel have died in the service to peace in Cyprus, among them 25 Danes.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Kingdom of Denmark Mrs Maria Papakyriakou had the honour of decorating, during the ceremony, the Danish Veteran Peacekeepers who served in DANCON/UNFICYP in Cyprus in 1968 with "the 50th anniversary memorial medal for service in Cyprus in 1968"
Kære Veteraner,
Vi vil altid huske jeres tid i vores land. Vi vil altid huske jeres tjeneste og meget vigtigt bidrag til fred.
Tusind Tak!
(Photos by Steen Hansen)