Susilo joins prayers with quake survivors

Susilo joins prayers with quake survivors

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Gunung Sitoli

Three days after the 8.7-magnitude earthquake killed hundreds of
people in Nias and two other islands in northern Sumatra,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the ravaged areas and
talked to survivors.

Braving heavy rain, he joined prayers for the victims outside
a damaged Catholic church in Gunung Sitoli, the capital city of
Nias, on Thursday.

"We are here to help, we will repair everything, have
patience," Susilo was quoted by AFP as telling a woman after the
service in which prayers were said for the 25 dead, whose bodies
were lined up in front of the church's broken bell tower.

He conveyed his sympathy and solidarity for the victims,
although he said the giant quake was not a national disaster,
unlike the Dec. 26 catastrophe that left some 230,000 people dead
or missing and feared dead in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Susilo along with his entourage, including First Lady Ani
Yudhoyono, ministers and senior government officials spent
several hours surveying several parts of Nias, embracing and
talking to survivors and promising to help those who lost their
homes in Monday's calamity.

More than 500 people were confirmed dead by Thursday afternoon
on the stricken islands of Nias, Banyak and Semeulue, and some
400 others were believed to have been trapped in rubble.

Residents desperately trying to find their missing family
members were seen removing corpses with their bare hands, while
the rescue work and evacuation efforts were still moving slowly
due to the lack of volunteers and equipment.

The President suspended his Australian trip scheduled for
Tuesday to visit Nias.

"Today we, along with our leader, the President, surrender to
you God, our brothers and sisters who have passed away," said 46-
year-old school teacher Linus Zebua, who led the Christian
service.

Susilo, a retired Army general and a Muslim, later visited a
mosque and toured a military field hospital.

Though Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, the people
of Nias are mostly Christians. However, Muslims and Chinese-
Indonesian Buddhists coexist peacefully on the island of 700,000
people.

Susilo ordered North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin to
coordinate with the local administrations in Nias in conducting
recovery and relief operations, since the disaster was not as
terrible as the calamity just three months ago.

"Nias and South Nias regental administrations have the
capability to conduct humanitarian efforts, so the task should be
done by the North Sumatra provincial government," he said.

He said the local administrations should focus on the
evacuation of victims, distribution of relief supplies, fuel and
power during the emergency relief operation.

Several ministers promised to dispatch food, medical relief
and heavy equipment to support the relief and recovery efforts.

Many foreign countries, including the United States,
Australia, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, are sending emergency
relief aid to Nias as an expression of solidarity for Indonesia.