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.