Susilo delays trips in honor of quake victims

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As a token of sympathy to the victims of the 8.7-magnitude earthquake affecting Nias and Simeuleu islands, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delayed his visit to Australia, New Zealand and East Timor scheduled to start on Wednesday.

Instead, Susilo will pay a visit to the quake-affected areas, which were also affected by the Dec. 26 9.0-magnitude temblor along the same the fault line.

"I decided to postpone the visit until we are sure that we can handle the calamities there," the president told the public at the State Palace on Tuesday. "I was scheduled to visit the three countries for six days. The trip was supposed to be a follow-up cooperation on post-tsunami disaster in Aceh."

However, Susilo did not say if there was a new schedule for the visit, saying "it will be done sometime in the future".

Susilo is slated to visit the quake-affected islands on Wednesday or Thursday to directly assess the damages and coordinate the emergency relief efforts.

"I will visit Nias and Simeuleu. But the most important thing is that the aid, medical workers and doctors arrive first," he said.

Susilo was originally scheduled to fly to Australia on Wednesday to sign several bilateral cooperation agreements in the defense, economic and science sectors, as well as meeting Prime Minister John Howard, who attended Susilo's inauguration last year.

Susilo, who planned to visit Canberra and Sydney, was also slated to meet Australian opposition leader Kim Beazley and Governor General Michael Jeffrey.

On April 3, Susilo was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand to meet Prime Minister Helen Clark and local opposition leaders.

The president had planned to wrap up his six-day trip by visiting East Timor on April 4 to meet President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said the countries had been informed by his ministry on the postponement, with a possible rescheduling for the visit until next week.

"We have informed them of the delay and we are seeking the best time for the visit. I think the delay will be no more than a week," he said, adding that the three countries understood and accepted the reason for the delay.