Govt closely monitors quake ahead of A-A Summit

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After three major earthquakes were felt in areas of Java island on Friday the government is closely monitoring the situation as the Asian-African Summit is just six days away.

"We should all pray that nothing bad will happen during the summit. The government is on full alert," Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayudha said at a press conference on Saturday after the summit general rehearsal at the Jakarta Convention Center in the Bung Karno Sports Complex, Central Jakarta.

The two-day summit will commence on April 22 as scheduled despite Friday's quakes that damaged at least 170 buildings in Bandung city.

The minister said delegations from 80 Asian and African countries and observers from 12 countries and international agencies had confirmed their attendance.

The delegations are also slated to visit Bandung for a memorial walk.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended the rehearsal, supervising preparations to ensure there was no room for error.

Susilo toured the Jakarta Convention Center -- the main venue for the summit -- along with Vice President Jusuf Kalla and a number of Cabinet ministers.

The President urged summit organizers to stick to the deadline and double-check all equipment employed in the event.

Thousands of civil servants and police and military officers attended the rehearsal. However, construction work to upgrade the sports complex had not been called off.

Hassan said the President was satisfied with the preparations and confident of a successful summit.

As for the Bandung venue, Kalla is slated to attend a general rehearsal and monitor the preparations on Sunday, including checking the newly opened Cipularang toll road.

Security-wise, some 9,000 police officers will be deployed in Jakarta and Bandung, said National Police chief General Da'i Bachtiar. The number comprises 4,000 officers from the Jakarta Police, another 4,000 from the West Java Police and 1,000 from National Police Headquarters.

"Not all personnel will be deployed in the venues. Some will safeguard the two cities, including nearby areas," he said, adding the Indonesian Military would deploy 7,000 soldiers as police backup in the capital alone.

Hundreds of presidential guards will also be deployed to safeguard the foreign delegates.

During the summit in Jakarta, the delegations will stay at the Jakarta Hilton Hotel, the Hotel Mulia Senayan and the Shangri-La Hotel.

Sixty Volvo S80 cars, 60 Toyota Camrys, 80 Nissan X-Trails, 120 Nissan Terranos and eight Hino buses will be used as transportation for the delegates.