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