Soeharto to attend Dharma Santi

JAKARTA: The celebration of Balinese Dharma Shanti holiday, which marks the end of the Hindu calendar and which falls April 26, will be attended by President Soeharto, Antara reported yesterday.

Head of the Indonesian Hindu Dharma Council (PHDI) executive board, I Putu Soekreta Soeranta, said Soeharto attended the same occasion last year.

Soeranta, accompanied by PHDI officials, met with the President here yesterday to offer at least one kilogram of gold to help ease the country's monetary crisis.

During the meeting, Soeharto told Soekreta that adherents of the Hindu religion, as well as those of other religions, should actively participate in the national effort to overcome the economic crisis.