Security concerns foil Megawati's visit to Poso

Security concerns foil Megawati's visit to Poso

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Continuing protests and mounting pressure on the government to
cancel the fuel and utility price hikes have forced President
Megawati Soekarnoputri to cancel her trip to the Central Sulawesi
town of Poso.

Although there was no official statement explaining the
cancellation of what would have been the President's first visit
to Poso since taking office in 2001, an official earlier said
pressure in Jakarta on Megawati's administration was likely to
disrupt her trip.

In Poso, a coordination meeting between local authorities and
presidential officials was held on Tuesday to discuss the
cancellation.

"The visit was called off because the government has to
prepare itself for a planned consultation meeting with the House
of Representatives," a spokesman for the Poso administration,
Maragau, said as quoted by Antara.

Megawati has not visited Poso since sectarian clashes between
Christians and Muslims broke out in 1999. The President was
scheduled to attend a National Solidarity Day celebration in Poso
on Wednesday.

Antigovernment rallies have taken place across the country
over the past two weeks since the government increased telephone
and electricity rates and fuel prices.

The South Sulawesi capital of Makassar and the Central
Sulawesi capital of Palu have seen some of the largest
antigovernment rallies. Almost daily, thousands of people take to
the streets to protest the price increases.

On Monday, Presidential Palace officials received a security
alert from demonstrators in the two provinces, who said that wild
rallies would "welcome" Megawati's trip there.

"That is why we decided to cancel the trip as there are too
many security risks," a presidential details official said on
Tuesday. Megawati would have made a stopover in Makassar en route
to Poso.

The two provinces are known as strongholds of the Golkar
Party, the main threat to Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle in the 2004 elections.

An official at the State Secretary's office said Minister of
Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah and Minister of National
Education Malik Fajar had been assigned to travel to Poso in
place of Megawati.

In the capital, the President must deal with heightened
pressure from leaders of the House of Representatives and
People's Consultative Assembly, who have demanded consultation
meetings regarding the current situation.

Although far from showing any intention of toppling her
government, various politicians, activists and organizations have
gathered to reinforce the opposition to Megawati.

All three coordinating ministers will fulfill the House's
request for a meeting on Wednesday evening to explain the price
hikes.