Batak people celebrate Independence Day

JAKARTA (JP): Batak people living in the greater Jakarta area have organized several cultural activities to take place over two days, starting today, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

Emil Salim, chairman of the national committee for the 50th Anniversary of Indonesia, told a recent press conference at Le Meridien Hotel that the committee fully supported the activities because preserving the culture of each ethnic tribe is among the main concerns of the government.

The Batak ethnic group is native to the North Sumatra Province.

He added that several other ethnic groups across the country are also going to stage similar activities, where they will exhibit and reflect on the changes experienced by their own culture throughout Indonesia's first fifty years of independence.

"We hope that through the activities we can record the peak elements of each ethnic group and develop them after that," he said.

John B. Pasaribu, chairman of Horas Indonesia -- the Batak festival's committee name -- said the cultural activities to be performed by the Batak people include an arts exhibition, which will be held from 10 a.m. through to the evening, today and tomorrow; Batak traditional games, to be staged today only, from 10 a.m through to the evening; a seminar on Batak culture, to be held today from 10 p.m through to the evening; and a dance and music show to be staged tomorrow from 7 p.m till midnight.

All activities will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Central Jakarta.

The seminar will involve 40 experts on Batak culture from across the country, while the dance and music show will involve about 200 artists and be attended by 6,000 guests. (jsk)