Support grows for naming E. Sumatra

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Demands are growing for the establishment of an East Sumatra province that would cover at least 11 regencies in North Sumatra, including Medan, Karo, Langkat and Simalungun.

Around 750 people from Karo, Simalungun and Langkat demonstrated on Wednesday at the North Sumatra provincial legislative council on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Medan to support the demand.

Minutes after their arrival there at 1 p.m., the protesters were met by council Speaker Ahmad Azhari and North Sumatra Deputy Governor Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe, who promised to back their struggle for a separate province.

"The final decision fully depends on the legislatures. The provincial administration will only be able to handle the administrative side after the legislative councils in the 11 regencies which want an East Sumatra province established have issued their recommendations," Wahab said.

The eleven regencies are Medan, Langkat, Binjai, Deli Serdang, Karo, Tebing Tinggi, Simalungun, Pematang Siantar, Asahan, Tanjung Balai and Labuhan Batu.

Wahab said he agreed in principle that North Sumatra be split into two provinces -- North Sumatra and East Sumatra -- if this was what the local people wanted.

Similar support was also voiced by Azhari, who pledged to forward the protesters' aspirations to the provincial legislature in accordance with the prevailing mechanisms.

Both Azhari and Wahab, however, asked them to always strive to maintain the nation's unity and cohesion in their efforts to bring about the establishment of an East Sumatra province.

A written request for the new province on Sumatra Island was presented to President Megawati Soekarnoputri through her close aide Singadi Kane when she visited Medan on March 3.

A similar letter was also forwarded to the House of Representatives through one of its deputy speakers, Soetardjo Soeryogoeritno.

Budi Mulya Bangun, who heads the Committee for the Establishment of East Sumatra Province, and who also led the protest, praised the deputy governor and the council chairman for their positive response to the demonstrators' demands.

Budi argued that the aspirations were based on the past historical reality in which North Sumatra was separated into two districts -- East Sumatra, with Medan as its capital, and Tapanuli, with Sibolga as its capital.

"We want to return to our history so that local people will be able to enjoy the fruits of development," he told The Jakarta Post.