United Sulawesi seeks economic cooperation

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi (JP): The idea of a united Sulawesi received support on Friday, with a regional governor saying it reflected solidarity based on economic and social cooperation among the four provinces that make up the island.

Speaking at the closing of a two-day intergovernmental meeting here, North Sulawesi Governor Adolf J. Sondakh said concepts and deals regarding the cooperation were reached in the meeting without ignoring the unitary state of Indonesia.

"What we have achieved is a historic momentum in which Sulawesi people have the same idealism and determination to step forward," he said to participants at the gathering.

Also present were Central Sulawesi Governor HB Paliudju, Southeast Sulawesi Governor Laode Kaimuddin and South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna.

Also recommended in the meeting was the economic and sociocultural development of a united Sulawesi, which is divided into short, middle and long-term programs.

The meeting also recommended a move to step up pressure on the central government to fulfill its promise to disburse Rp 250 billion worth of aid to rebuild Poso's infrastructure.

The establishment of a joint secretariat in Makassar was also agreed to in the meeting, the seventh of its kind since the first one in Makassar in 1989.

Palaguna, the central figure behind the concept of a united Sulawesi, said the establishment of a joint secretariat was intended to anticipate globalization and the acceleration of economic growth in the provinces.

"In the future we Sulawesi people must have the same vision and perception to answer global challenges and enforce laws," he said. "We must have the same awareness when we are facing sectarian and inter-religion conflicts, like those in Poso sometime ago."

Laode Kaimuddin said the Sulawesi governors were trying to minimize their provinces' dependence on the central government. "This is in line with the concepts of decentralization and regional autonomy."

"It's not a political move, but an economic and sociocultural one," he said. (27/sur)