400 foreigners will join youth march<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some 400 people from 22 countries will take part
\nin the fourth national youth march, known as the Kirab Remaja
\nNasional, which will be launched nationwide on Monday, the chief
\norganizer said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The foreign participants include 24 young people from
\nPortugal, with which Indonesia has no diplomatic ties because of
\nthe dispute over East Timor.<\/p>\n
Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, who chairs the Tiara Indonesia
\nFoundations which is organizing the march, said that as far as
\nshe was concerned there were no problems between Portuguese and
\nIndonesian young people.<\/p>\n
The march, which will wind up on Aug. 21, will see a major
\nexpansion in the participation of foreigners, compared with the
\nlast one, in 1993, in which youths from Australia and Asia took
\npart.<\/p>\n
Hardiyanti, who is the eldest daughter of President Soeharto,
\ntold a press conference at the ministry of information yesterday
\nthat, as of yesterday, more than 300 of the foreign participants
\nhad arrived in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Countries sending delegations this year are Australia,
\nBelgium, Britain, Brunei, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Jordan, South
\nKorea, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan,
\nPalestine, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, the
\nUnited States, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
The organizers have recruited 121,500 Indonesian young people
\nfor the occasion. They, together with the foreign youths, will
\nform the core team that will be divided into sub-groups to tour
\nthe countryside.<\/p>\n
Apart from the core team, the organizers are hoping that
\nmillions of other youths will join in when the teams pass through
\ntheir towns and villages. In 1993, some 45 million people
\nparticipated in the event.<\/p>\n
The National Youth March is no ordinary march.<\/p>\n
The participants will stop in villages to do community work
\nand counseling. They will live in villagers' houses.<\/p>\n
Siti Hardiyanti said that the event would benefit, not only
\nIndonesia, but also the Indonesian and foreign participants.<\/p>\n
She said that a survey of the participants in the 1993 march
\nhad yielded the following results: 87 percent of the participants
\nthought the event had strengthened national unity; 82 percent
\nsaid it had helped the development of the young generation; 82
\npercent felt it had helped speed up social development; and 67
\npercent felt that it had helped to reduce juvenile delinquency.<\/p>\n
Siti Hardiyanti said that, given the immense benefits, she
\nhoped the event could be held every two years.<\/p>\n
The march will reach its climax on Aug. 20, when the sub-
\ngroups of the core team will assemble in Jakarta for a rally. On
\nthe last day, they will be received by President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The teams will embark on the march from all the capitals of
\nIndonesia's 27 provinces. Their send-off will be attended by the
\nprovincial governors. (imn)<\/p>",
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