Gus Dur wants Senayan sports complex moved to Kemayoran<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid said
\nhere on Sunday he had just ordered Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso to
\nmove Bung Karno sports complex to Kemayoran, including Bung Karno
\nStadium and Basketball Hall.<\/p>\n
\"All the buildings in Senayan sports complex must be removed.
\nWe need building-free areas for Jakartans to do sports
\nactivities,\" Abdurrahman said, referring the old name of the Bung
\nKarno sports complex.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Yogyakartans at the launching of the Urban
\nReforestation Movement program at Keparakan village, Gus Dur said
\nthat Bung Karno sport complex must be changed into a
\nnonresidential, nonbuilding area.<\/p>\n
He said that the diminishing open spaces in Jakarta had forced
\nresidents to utilize the city's main thoroughfares, Jl. Sudirman
\nand Jl. Thamrin, for sporting activities. \"The residents use the
\nstreets for sports on Sundays.\"<\/p>\n
\"We need more urban open spaces for sports activities. Most
\nresidents in big cities have lost open spaces for such
\nactivities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The removal of Senayan sports complex obviously will need a
\nlot of money. But money doesn't matter since Jakartans badly need
\nthe space. We hope that they will not utilize the streets anymore
\nfor sporting activities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur also emphasized the urgency of maintaining the city's
\ngreen areas.<\/p>\n
\"The current damage to Indonesia's forests is the fruit of the
\nmistakes of past policies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have to regreen Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan forests to
\nrejuvenate our forests as the lungs of the world,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman planted a Gayam tree and freed several birds in
\nthe ceremony that was also attended by first lady Sinta Nuriah,
\nMinister of Forestry Marzuki Usman, Minister of National
\nEducation Yahya Muhaimin, and Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan
\nHamengkubuwono X.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Minister of Forestry Marzuki Usman said that
\nthe reforestation movement in Indonesia aimed at protecting the
\ncountry's great biodiversity.<\/p>\n
\"We still have many rare species to protect like the Javan
\nrhinoceros, Javan eagle and so on. If this reforestation program
\ndoesn't succeed, I'm afraid that Sumatra island will only have
\nshrubs in 2005, and Kalimantan will become a desert in 2010,\"
\nsaid Marzuki.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony marking the urban reforestation drive, the
\nPresident went back to Yogyakarta presidential palace to open the
\nJavanese Language Congress at 7.30 p.m. (23)<\/p>",
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