Indonesia asks for region-wide early warning system

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Rendi Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several Asian countries will set up a region-wide tsunami early warning system following untold death and destruction in Indonesia, as well as 10 other countries, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says.

Speaking before the stock market and business community in Jakarta on Monday, he said the early warning system would be planned during a one-day summit in Jakarta on Thursday.

"We have been discussing with several countries in the region the plan to set up an early warning system after an earthquake and tidal waves crushed Aceh and North Sumatra on Dec. 26," Susilo said.

He said the warning system would not only alert people prior to future tsunamis, but also to other natural disasters, including earthquakes and landslides, in order to minimize the number of casualties and destruction.

State Minister of National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said after a Cabinet meeting on Monday that the establishment of the early warning system would be declared by world leaders attending the upcoming emergency summit.

Such a system existed in the Pacific Ocean, but needed to be developed to cover the Asian region, she added.

"The details of the regional early warning system will be discussed by the Office of the State Minister of Research and Technology," Sri said.

The summit, to be hosted by the Indonesian government, is aimed at gathering more international assistance, particularly for reconstruction work in the worst-hit areas, presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said.

"We are aiming to establish an action plan ... It's not just a matter of seeking financial aid but other kinds of assistance," he said.

Dino said that during the summit, world leaders would hear presentations by the worst-hit countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, so that the donor countries could decide upon the best ways in which to support them.

"We hope there will be an effective discussion between the world leaders in the coming summit after they hear the information directly from the suffering countries," he remarked.

The summit plan was initiated by President Susilo after the catastrophe that killed more than 94,000 people in Indonesia alone.

Dino said that a number of world leaders had confirmed their attendance at the one-day summit, including United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. special envoy Jeb Bush are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday and visit Aceh along with Annan.