State funeral for Solossa

JAYAPURA: Papua provincial administration officials and military officers carry a photograph and the red and white flag-covered coffin of the late governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa during a state funeral at the Tanah Hitam Christian cemetery in Jayapura.

The ceremony was presided over by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and attended by senior local and central government officials along with military and police officers.

Thousands of people crowded Jayapura's main thoroughfares to witness the funeral motorcade and to pay their last respects to the man who had played a key role in the birth of special autonomy status for the resource-rich but underdeveloped province since he was appointed governor in 2000.

Solossa died late on Monday in what doctors believe was a heart attack. He was 57 years old.

In his speech, Kalla described Sollosa as one of the country's finest men, who had contributed much to the development of his province and the country. He urged other Indonesians to walk in Solossa's footsteps.

"He has provided us good examples in many areas that we can follow," Kalla said.

He also offered the condolences of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to hundreds of Sollosa family members and relatives attending the ceremony, which ended at 4 p.m. local time, in Abepura district, some 60 km from the provincial capital of Jayapura. -- Antara