Palu forces ready for Mega's visit

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Thousands of police and military personnel are prepared to guard President Megawati during her Tuesday visit to Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, a local military official said on Monday.

Col. Mohammad Slamet, chief of Tadulako military command overseeing Central Sulawesi, said Palu Police and the local military command would deploy regular forces and plainclothesmen, as well as military vehicles, to secure her visit.

Palu is only a few hundred kilometers from the troubled regency of Poso, where deadly attacks on local residents have been frequent, following a sectarian conflict that claimed the lives of some 2,000 Muslims and Christians from 2000 to 2003.

During the visit, Megawati will inaugurate several development projects and open the national meeting of Al Khairaat, a large Muslim organization in Central Sulawesi. -- JP