"Natural disaster mitigation handling is among the priorities of the TNI," he stated while addressing hundreds of military personnel at the headquarters of the Military Regional Command IX/Udayana here on Friday.
Military officers not only have the responsibility of taking up arms during a war but also offering humanitarian assistance to the victims of natural disasters.
In addition to the threats of terrorism and illicit drugs, natural disasters also pose an imminent threat, he pointed out.
He revealed that the TNI will increase budget allocation for the procurement of heavy equipment needed in case of natural disasters.
Water treatment equipment is also required for handling the post-natural disaster situation, he added.
"The current budget is around Rp90 trillion and 40 percent of it is used for salaries and paying personnels expenses. Thus, only 50 percent of it is left," he stated.
In the meantime, Vice President Jusuf M. Kalla led a function held in Banda Aceh, on Friday, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the deadly tsunami that ravaged Aceh and Nias Island, North Sumatra, on Dec. 26, 2004.
The commemoration held at Blang Padang Square was attended by some one thousand people, including several ministers, Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah, and foreign ambassadors.
Before the ceremony, the vice president led tributes to the dead at the Siron mass grave where thousands of tsunami victims were buried.
The deadly tsunami was triggered by a powerful earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter Scale that caused faults as long as 1.2 thousand kilometers from Aceh to the Andaman Islands, India.
According to data released by the Aceh provincial administration, the tsunami killed 126,741 people and rendered 93,285 people missing, while 500 thousand became homeless, and nearly 750 thousand people became jobless.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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