Indonesia readies 9,030 personnel to secure Pope Francis' visit
2024-Sep-03 15:00
Commander of the Joint Regional Defense Command I TNI Vice Admiral Agus Hariadi checking personnel during a briefing of joint personnel to secure Pope Francis' visit and the ISF at TNI Headquarters, Jakarta, on Monday (Sept, 2, 2024). (PNA/ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi)
JAKARTA – The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) have readied 9,030 joint personnel to secure the visit of Pope Francis in Jakarta on September 3-6, 2024.
After leading a briefing for the joint personnel at the TNI Headquarters, Jakarta, on Monday, Commander of the Joint Regional Defense Command I TNI Vice Admiral Agus Hariadi stated that 4,300 of the personnel are TNI staff.
Meanwhile, 4,730 police officers are part of the joint personnel.
According to Hariadi, the Presidential Guard Force (Paspampres) of TNI will be deployed to the First Ring area, namely the location of the Pope.
"For the others, ministerial or executive levels, they will be in the Second Ring and Third Ring," he remarked.
On that occasion, he added that the joint personnel will also be deployed to secure the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum (ISF) 2024 that will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, on September 5 – 6.
"There are standards for the military equipment and the personnel that are deployed," he affirmed.
The vice admiral explained that the TNI and Polri have held a security coordination meeting.
"All the stakeholders that are responsible for the security have been tasked and arranged in one schedule of events, a rigid rundown. It has been discussed together," he revealed.
Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday, September 3.
He is scheduled to visit the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday, September 4, and will be welcomed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) there.
The Pope will then meet with the congregation at the Jakarta Cathedral.
On Thursday, September 5, he is scheduled to visit Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, and at 5 p.m. local time, he will lead a large-scale mass at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta.
Lastly, on Friday, September 6, the Pope will depart from Jakarta to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. (Antara)