TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The XX Papua National Sports Week Organizing Committee (PB PON) has said that the security for athletes, participants, and staff will be maintained at the highest level.

The statement was delivered by the Head of Division II of the committee Roy Letlora, during a press conference on Saturday.

"There is no more doubt, because the convening of XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) will not be delayed anymore. Even the President will certainly open it on October 2. All parties are committed to maintaining the security of the event," he said.

PB PON Papua, along with the joint security unit from the national military and police, has coordinated to provide protection for guests from outside Papua.

In addition to deploying more than 9,000 security personnel in four clusters, the committee has also prepared a special room equipped with sophisticated equipment to monitor the situation at the venues.

Persuasive attempts – such as having open discussion and recruiting the event’s volunteers from the local residents -- have been also carried out by the committee to reduce potential conflict from the areas around the venues.
"In the recruitment process, we also carried out background checks involving the State Intelligence Agency and the police. From around 17,000 volunteer candidates, about 70 of them did not pass the screening. It shows that the security level of the event has been quite good," Letlora continued.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the security aspect is vital in the national multi-sports event held every four years, since it also aims to maintain the dignity of the country.

Although it is a national level event, some 16 foreign delegates from the Asia Pacific region will also attend so they might observe how Indonesia conducts the event.

"The convening of PON this time is not only measured by how successful the sports agenda is, but also to show that our situation is really safe. Papua, as part of Indonesia, can also hold a huge event like this," the division head added.

Read: 6,000 Police, Army Personnel Deployed For PON XX in Papua

ANTARA