Village heads told to prevent violence

Village heads told to prevent violence

JAKARTA: Indonesia's home minister Hari Sabarno instructed
village heads across the country on Wednesday to try to detect
conflicts at village borders at an early stage.

They should also be able to help settle the problems, Hari
told 200 village heads during a meeting here, ahead of the
commemoration of Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug. 17.

"Village heads must be able to resolve border conflicts as
soon as they break out," he said.

Village border conflicts have increased since the central
government enforced the Autonomy Law in January 2000.

According to Hari, disputes between neighboring autonomous
areas are often triggered by questions over the ownership of
natural resources. --Antara