City assures safety of Queen Beatrix

City assures safety of Queen Beatrix

JAKARTA (JP): Maj. Gen. Wiranto yesterday gave his personal
assurances over the safety of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
when she visits Indonesia next month.

Wiranto, who as chief of the Jakarta Military Command is
responsible for Queen Beatrix's safety in the capital, declined
to say how many men he is assigning to oversee her security.

"Security officials should always be ready," he told reporters
after launching the command's health and family planning program
in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Armed Forces.

Queen Beatrix is scheduled to begin her visit in Indonesia on
Aug. 21, four days after Indonesia marks its 50th Independence
Day.

The planned visit by the head of state of the country that
colonized Indonesia for 350 years has provoked controversy in the
Netherlands, over whether or not she should issue a formal
apology for her country's past record in Indonesia.

There has been little response in Indonesia, which officially
views the 350 year Dutch-rule and the subsequent bloody
independence fight as history.

Queen Beatrix will be accompanied by her husband Prince Claus.