REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The National Police (Polri) will again send 1,400 personnel to Palu, Central Sulawesi. Police will help secure, evacuate, and rehabilitate the conditions there after a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday.
Police Public Relations Division Chief Inspector General Setyo Wasisto remarked here on Monday that the 1,400 personnel will be sent to Palu soon. He said thousands of police from North Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and South Sulawesi will be deployed to guard several shops to prevent cases of looting in future.
Wasisto appealed to the public to not commit criminal acts and violate the law by forcibly taking non-food items, such as electronic goods and gold. He ensured that the military (TNI)-Polri had continued to send basic necessities, such as food, medicine, and other equipment to the earthquake and tsunami victims.
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Wasisto also appealed to volunteers and several mass organizations keen to send logistical assistance to Palu to coordinate with the Indonesian National Police to get escort. The government will deliver food and water aid in large quantities to Palu to assist earthquake and tsunami victims in Central Sulawesi, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.
"We will dispatch as much food assistance as possible aboard the Hercules aircraft today," the president stated after attending a ceremony held to observe Pancasila Sanctity Day here on Monday.
He remarked that the assistance will be delivered directly aboard several aircraft. There are also deliveries from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and Makassar, South Sulawesi.
The president noted that the food is delivered in large quantities following complaints and problems faced, such as food shortages. Jokowi stated that fuel oil (BBM) was also expected to start entering Palu using special fuel aircraft.