Support grows for naming E. Sumatra

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.