Czechs pass further facilities to Afghan authorities

Kabul/Prague, Jan 28 (CTK) - The Czech PRT in the eastern Afghan province Logar in the past days passed further facilities for the training of security forces to the local police and ended the construction of a milk collection center, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said at a conference on Afghanistan in London Thursday.

Czechs are thus continuing with their aid to Afghanistan, Kohout said.

Karla Stepankova from the PRT in Logar said the project, materialised within help to the local security forces, involved the construction of a building for the police training, of training towers and a special obstacle course.

All of this will help increase your skills, physical form and discipline, General Mustafa, commander of the Afghan police in the province, told his staff Thursday.

Thanks to it, you can guarantee security in more regions in Logar, Mustafa added.

PRT civilian experts were responsible for the course of the project.

"The training tower is to serve a number of purposes such as search of buildings and patrolling as well as abseiling and rope-climbing," security expert Frantisek Kriz said.

"We have built the special obstacle course for the police because it is not commonly used in Afghanistan, although it is a very efficient device with which to upgrade physical and psychological resilience," Kriz said.

The military part of the PRT is in charge of the course for the police. Its curricula have been licenced as an official programme of the NATO Training Mission since December 2009.

Support to security is one of the priorities of Czech presence in Logar. Some 860 Afghan police and about 600 soldiers lack both a sufficient training and logistics.

The Czech PRT has repaired five police stations and it is building another three.

The PRT in Logar also supports traditional ways of livelihood such as production of milk. The newly built centre for the collection of milk will help the families of 800 farmers.

Dairy industry is a traditional source of livelihood in Logar.

The Czech PRT has been operating in Logar since March 2008. It comprises ten civilian experts from the Foreign Ministry and 275 soldiers.