West Sulawesi wants province

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Activists grouped in a committee to establish West Sulawesi as a separate province have set a target date of April 1 to achieve its task of separating from South Sulawesi.

Committee chairman Rahmat Hasanuddin said on Thursday that the target date could be extended to Aug. 1 at the latest if the committee encountered strong resistance on the establishment of a West Sulawesi province.

Rahmat claimed that aspirations to establish a separate West Sulawesi province, which comprises of the regencies Majene, Mamuju and Polmas, have been aired since 1959.

He conceded that one of the major impediments to establishing the province was "internal issues with the West Sulawesi community". He did not elaborate.

In preparation for the event the committee will hold a Community Congress meeting during Jan 19-21.

The Congress is also intended to measure how strong public support for the determination to establish the province is. (27)