West Sulawesi wants province

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)