Fog delays Literacy Day commemoration

JAKARTA (JP): The commemoration of International Literacy Day in Indonesia, originally planned in the West Kalimantan city of Pontianak today, has been postponed indefinitely due to fog and a a subsequent closing of the local airport.

The thick fog that has descended on the city means that all VIPs for the ceremony, including the president, cannot land at the Supadio Airport, Syarifuddin Lubis, who organizes the ceremony, said as reported by the Antara news agency yesterday.

The President was originally scheduled to preside over the national commemoration of the International Literacy Day.

Other VIPs, including regents and mayors invited to the ceremony, have also been stranded at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta waiting for a flight to take them to Pontianak.

West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin has also been held in Jakarta, having planned to return Monday, Syarifuddin said.

President Soeharto was also scheduled to inaugurate a number of development projects in the province worth a total of Rp 29.5 billion ($14 million) during his visit to Pontianak. This ceremony has also been postponed until further notice.

Syarifuddin said the thick fog cut down the visibility in the airport to a mere 100 meters making it dangerous for any plan to land. Normally, a flight requires between a visibility of between 1,000 and 1,500 meters to land.

Merpati Nusantara Airlines, which flies to the city six times a day from Jakarta, has canceled all its flights because of the fog. (par)