Govt officially approves APEC two-day holiday
JAKARTA (JP): Most people residing, working and studying in Jakarta will enjoy a prolonged holiday this coming weekend, courtesy of President Soeharto.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono announced yesterday the government is declaring Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, the peak of the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, as holidays for all government and private sector offices, as well as schools, in Jakarta.
The government also decreed that Nov. 15 will be a holiday for government and private offices, as well as schools, in Bogor.
Presidential Decree No. 74/1994, signed by Soeharto yesterday, states that the gathering of the 18 APEC leaders and their activities in Jakarta and Bogor on those two days will likely cause "extraordinary traffic congestion" that will "inconvenience" the public.
The organizers of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting had been pondering the idea of declaring holidays on those two days for some time because they feared a massive traffic jam would develop.
The visiting 17 leaders, or their representatives, will be staying at eight different hotels in Jakarta and state protocol requires that they be fully escorted by a long motorcade every time they move from one place to another.
On Nov. 14, there will be a series of bilateral meetings between the various leaders. Soeharto himself is scheduled to meet with at least seven of these leaders at the presidential palace. U.S. President Bill Clinton also will be conducting a series of meetings on the same day from the residence of the U.S. Ambassador on Jl. Taman Suropati in Central Jakarta.
Traffic analysis
On Nov. 15, the leaders will go to their "retreat" at the Presidential Palace in Bogor and will be driven from their hotels, again in long motorcades, to Bogor along the Jagorawi Toll Road. During this day, most main roads in Jakarta and those leading to Bogor, as well as streets in Bogor itself, will be closed.
A general rehearsal was conducted last week to close the roads and evaluate the impact on the traffic.
Yesterday's decision reflected the results of that traffic analysis.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman yesterday declared that the nation's political stability is solid in the run up to the APEC meetings.
"I've just reported the situation and condition of the national political stability, and it is quite solid," Soesilo said after meeting with President Soeharto at the latter's Jl. Cendana residence.
He said that besides the APEC leaders, more than 1,000 foreign journalists will also be visiting Indonesia to cover the meetings, and some might even want to travel to other places in the archipelago.
"Once again, I'd like to appeal to the general public to maintain their surroundings, keep them safe, clean and orderly so that these guests will have a positive impression." (emb)