Megawati cancels Sulawesi trip

JAKARTA: Due to ongoing antigovernment rallies in Makassar, South Sulawesi, President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided on Monday to cancel her planned visit to the province.

The President was scheduled to leave for Makassar on Tuesday and continue onwards to Poso, Central Sulawesi, the next day.

"We decided to cancel both trips because the security conditions are not suitable," an official at the presidential palace told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Megawati was slated to attend a gathering of religious leaders in Makassar and to visit Poso, once the site of violent sectarian clashes, for the first time as part of celebrations for social solidarity day. --JP