Govt gets tough on separatists

Govt gets tough on separatists

JAKARTA: About 50,000 army and police personnel deployed
throughout Indonesia had been readied to quell any seperatist
movement, Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil said on Monday.

"We have thus far deployed about 50 battalions or about 50,000
personnel of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National
Police across the nation.

"The troops are expected to do their best to maintain the
unity of the state and quell any separatist demands," Matori told
reporters after a working visit to the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus) Headquarters at Cijantung, East Jakarta.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had been misquoted when
he was reported as saying that security authorities had deployed
the battalions to maintain security in several troubled provinces
such as Aceh, Irian Jaya, and Maluku. --JP