Jakarta - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono canceled his plan to see off the country`s contingent to the Asian Games earlier scheduled at the presidential palace on Friday due to the Mount Merapi eruptions.
"The President is concentrating his mind and energy on dealing with the impact of the eruptions of Mount Merapi. He will temporarily operate from an office in Yogyakarta.
Therefore he has canceled his plan to meet and see off members of the Indonesian contingent to the Asian Games," Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng said here on Friday.
The minister made the statement when confirming the country`s Asian Games contingent consisting of 296 athletes and officials who would compete in Guangzhou, China, as of November 12.
He said the cancellation was actually a mere postponement but he could not say when the president would meet the athletes.
"Consider it just a postponement. However we cannot as yet tell when the President will be able to meet with them because of his tight schedule. While concentrating on the Merapi problem the President also has to prepare himself to meet US President Barack Obama and others. So I cannot as yet tell when the meeting would be held," he said.
Andi called on all athletes to perform as well as they can in the Games and keep their spirits high despite all the disasters happening in the country.
He called on them to also take lessons from the events for their preparation for the Southeast Asian Games next year.
The contingent will leave for Guangzhou on November 10 while the minister plans to depart on November 11. (H-YH/A014/S026)
Source: http://www.antaranews.com