Marine to safeguard polls

Marine to safeguard polls

JAKARTA: The Navy will make available three battalions of its
Marine troops to help the National Police safeguard the election
day on Monday, a top Navy officer said on Friday.

"The three battalions are ready to be deployed upon request by
the National Police," said Navy chief of staff Adm. Bernard Kent
Sondakh.

"We should be thankful that currently the security conditions
seem conducive to a safe election day."

Bernard was speaking on the sidelines of a sending off
ceremony in Jakarta for the KRI Dewa Ruci which is on a three-
month journey around Asia.

When asked about the Navy's ability to secure Indonesian
waters (over 5.8 million square kilometers of open sea), Bernard
said that there were more ships to safeguard Indonesian waters
now. -- Antara