Govt officially approves APEC two-day holiday

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)