ASEAN Children's field trip starts

JAKARTA (JP): A field trip involving 452 children from seven Southeast Asian countries started here yesterday and will last until July 24.

The trip, called Gelantara 96, is aimed at introducing Indonesian history and culture and the plant and animal kingdoms to the children. It is being held in conjunction with National Children's Day on July 23, when the children will meet President Soeharto at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

The children come from Indonesia's 27 provinces, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. They include disabled children and orphans. During the trip they are staying at the Pondok Gede Haj dormitory in East Jakarta.

The children are first to be taken to the Kalibata national heroes cemetery in South Jakarta, according to the trip's itinerary.

They are then to visit the Pancasila Sakti monument in Lubang Buaya where the dead bodies of the country's top generals were found during the abortive communist coup in 1965.

The children are also to visit Ancol SeaWorld and Ancol Fantasy World in North Jakarta, the Bogor botanical gardens, the Cisarua Safari Park and the Mekar Sari orchard in Bogor. (arf)