VP TO SPEAK AT SYMPOSIUM ON POSO CONFLICT

Jakarta, July 31 (ANTARA) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla is to deliver a keynote address at a symposium to reflect on the Poso conflict a decade ago at Tadulako University in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on August 11, 2009, the university's chief said.

"The vice president appreciates the holding of the symposium very much and he will attend the event on August 11, 2009 and give a keynote address," Tadulako University Rector Sahabudin Mustafa said here on Friday.

Mustafa, who met the vice president on Friday, said the university was also preparing other activities in conjunction with the symposium.

The Tadulako University rector said speakers at the symposium would also come from the United States embassy in Jakarta, non-governmental organizations and observers of the Poso conflict.

Regional heads whose regions were plagued by the conflicts will also attend the symposium and provide inputs.

Mustafa said that the results of the symposium were expected to serve as a reference for regional heads in the face of possible conflicts in their respective regions.

"The conflicts that have taken place so far have ruined the local people's economies," he said.

Asked whether on the occasion the vice president would be cited for his role in creating peace in Poso, Mustafa said the possibility of such a citation was not ruled out.

He said that the people of Central Sulawesi very much appreciated Kalla's role in creating peace in the country.

"We see him as a hero who made a great contribution to the people's welfare. It is not impossible that there would be an additional agenda item with regard to the vice president. Our friends in the eastern part of Indonesia have an exceptional love for the vice president," the rector said.