REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAMUJU -- Indonesia Police chief General Tito Karnavian said here on Thursday that the situation in Palu, Central Sulawesi, remains relatively secure and conducive. He denied looting incidents emerged.
"I affirm that situation in the Palu city and its surroundings is relatively very secure. It is only the news media that has reported about many looting incidents. Indeed, they happened perhaps only on the first, second or third day after the disaster, as infrastructure had not been restored," he told newsmen.
General Karnavian, along with Minister for Administrative Reform Syafruddin, were here in connection with the opening of the West Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters.
Karnavian said that the situation in Central Sulawesi was not the same as in Lombok, which had also been recently struck by an earthquake.
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"The problem is access, as it is not the same as in Lombok. Lombok has two airports, and they are not affected. Its seaport is also not affected, and logistics could be shipped quickly from Denpasar, Bali, or Surabaya, East Java. Streets in Lombok are also good," he said.
"Central Sulawesi, on the other hand, only has one airport and it was affected so that big planes, like the Boeing (737) - 800 and 900, cannot land. Roads have also been damaged or blocked by landslides," he added.
General Karnavian said he has ordered the chief of the West Sulawesi regional police command to ensure security along the routes from Padangkayu in West Sulawesi to Donggala. "People affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Donggals have been dealt with, and so they no longer suffer from a lack of supply routes from Donggala to Palu," he said.
He noted that the regional police chief will send forces, as well as the wives of police officers, to distribute aid supplies and revive economic activities.
Karnavian said if security is assured, then the process of reconstruction in Central Sulawesi will be completed quickly.
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