July 4, 2007

Hundreds of Baby Sea Turtles Released on Kuta Beach
Crowds of tourists along the shoreline of Kuta beach sacrificed their daily swim on Saturday (16/6) to watch hundreds of baby sea turtles released into the ocean as part of a project aimed at increasing the numbers of the turtle that is currently on the world endangered species list. (June 17th 2007, Radar Bali)

East Timor Needs 15,000 Tons of Emergency Food Aid, UN Agency Says
Having lost 30 per cent of its crops this year to drought, plagues and locusts, East Timor will need 15,000 tons of emergency food assistance during the upcoming “lean season,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday. According to field research conducted by the agency and the UN’s World Food Program, a major food crisis is looming for up to 220,000 East Timorese, or one-fifth of the conflict-torn, impoverished country’s population, unless the international aid community provides emergency assistance in the next six months. Production of maize, Timor’s most important crop, declined 30 per cent to 70,000 tons this year while cereals, cassava and tubers were down 25 to 30 per cent, the agencies said. Rice production also fell 20 per cent. The agencies predicted that East Timor would suffer a food deficit of 86,000 tons during the coming months, of which 71,000 tons would be satisfied by commercial imports. “There remains a cereal deficit of 15,000 tons that will need to be bridged through international food assistance,” the Food and Agricultural Organization said in a statement released by its regional headquarters in Bangkok. (June 22nd 2007, Earth Times)

Australian Tourists to Bali up by 50 Percent
The number of foreign tourists flying on Indonesia`s national flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia from Australia to Bali had increased by 50 percent in the past few months compared to last year’s. The remark was made by Garuda Indonesia`s Operations Director Capt Ari Sapari during a dinner party held to welcome 110 Australian participants of the Mega Familiarization Tour at Novotel Nusa Dua Hotel on Friday (22/6) evening. Without mentioning the number of the Australian tourists to Bali, Ari Sapari said their number is only second to that of the Japanese tourists. “One thing worth noting is that Garuda flew more than eight million passengers in a year and has served the route to Australia for 38 years,” Ari Sapari said. An increasing number of Australian tourists to Bali showed that the island resort was still a paradise for tourists to spend their vacation. “We are delighted with this condition because it means better prospects for the aviation business,” he said. Two other tourist destinations in the familiarization tour are Grajakan in East Java for surfing and Jakarta for golf enthusiasts. The participants of the Garuda Indonesia-Australia mega educational tour including three journalists were led by Garuda Indonesia General Manager for Australia and the US Suranto Yitnoprawiro. Spokesman for the delegation Ron Moro, who is also Garuda Indonesia sales manager for western Australian region, expressed words of thanks and happiness for being able to enjoy the beauty of Bali’s nature and impressive culture.(June 23rd 2007, Antara News)

Bali Niners Beg for Their Lives
Three of the Bali Nine have finally admitted their roles in the failed heroin smuggling ring, hoping their confessions will save them from death by firing squad. In emotional appeals to the Denpasar District Court, Matthew James Norman, 20, Thanh Duc Tan Nguyen, 24, and Si Yi Chen, 22, put their hands up today and finally owned what they had done, that they had been part of the failed bid in April 2005 to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali into Australia. Norman’s admission and those of Nguyen and Chen which followed represent a stunning turnaround, if not a particularly surprising revelation. During their original trials, the trio refused to admit any involvement in the drug ring, and continually stonewalled questions from the judges. The three judges did not comment as the statements were offered to the court, but defense lawyer Erwin Siregar said he was hopeful. In his closing arguments, Mr. Siregar said the three Australians should not have been convicted under a law on the export of drugs that carried the maximum penalty of death, but rather under a law on possession that carried a maximum jail term of 10 years. The hearing was adjourned until July 10, when the prosecution will submit its closing arguments against the judicial review. (June 25th 2007, AAP)

Japanese Tourist Falls Ten Storey to His Death - Hotel Nikko, Nusa Dua
A Japanese tourist Keiji Wada (45) was found dead in a drain alongside the Hotel Nikko Resort in Nusa Dua on Monday (25/6). An employee of the hotel found Mr. Wada at approximately 8am and immediately reported the case to local police authorities. Mr. Wada suffered from multiple trauma injuries, and police have not yet indicated whether or not they suspect foul play. It appeared that the victim who was staying in room 103, had fallen from the 10th storey of the hotel. (June 26th 2007, Denpost)

Power Supply to Bali Critical
The Java-Bali electricity supply system has been suffering a 20 megawatt capacity deficit over the past two days following disruptions that happened simultaneously at a number of power plants forcing the PLN to apply power blackouts in certain areas especially at high usage times between 5pm to 10 pm. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said state electricty company PT PLN must strive to increase its production capacity in Java and Bali in parallel with the continuous growth in social-economic activities in the two islands. He said the government had launched a program to build power plants in Java and Bali with a combined capacity of 10,000 MW but in the meantime the ratio between electricity production capacity and economic activities had reached such a precarious level that disruptions at just one or two power plants had a direct effect on the reliability of the entire power supply system. (June 22nd 2007, Bali Post)


Indonesia Pledges to Halve Forest Fires this Year
Indonesia pledged on Thursday (21/6) to reduce forest fires by up to half this year, as Southeast Asian environment ministers met on Sumatra Island to discuss ways to stop smoke billowing across their region. The “haze” from fires on Sumatra and Borneo islands spread across large areas of Southeast Asia for months last year, polluting skies and frustrating Indonesia’s neighbors. “Our target is to reduce them by 40-50 percent. We may never be able to eradicate forest fires completely,” Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar told Reuters. “Forest fires also happen in Hollywood, Malibu in the United States and in Sydney, it’s a natural phenomenon. We have to be realistic. What we can do is prevent the repeat of last year’s scale,” Witoelar said. Most of the fires are deliberately lit by farmers or by timber and plantation companies, many of which are owned by Malaysian and Singapore firms. According to Greenpeace, Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour. Indonesia has lost 72 percent of its intact ancient forests and half of what remains is threatened by logging, forest fires and clearances for palm oil plantations, Greenpeace said. (June 15th 2007, Antara News)

Gaping Holes in Kuta Footpaths - Two Tourists Injured
Gaping holes in the footpaths along the Kuta beach strip have claimed two victims, both whom were holidaying on the Island. Jean, an Australian woman injured her leg after falling into one of the open drain holes outside of the McDonalds fast-food outlet on Kuta beach on Tuesday (26/6). Another foreigner also suffered injuries by falling into a hole on Wednesday (13/6). There are more than eight open holes over the drain that runs along the Kuta esplanade, making it extremely dangerous for pedestrians. Street lights along the strip had also been malfunctioning adding to the danger at night time. The district head of building and construction Ida Bagus Surya denied any knowledge of the problem and said he thought that the drains had been left open to lay cables. (27th & 14th June 2007, Radar Bali)

Top Indonesia Politician Okays Marijuana in Food
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who opposes legalizing marijuana, doesn’t mind the drug being used in cooking, a newspaper reported on Wednesday ((28/6). “It’s alright to use it as a food seasoning, but it should not be fully legalized,” Kalla was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post daily. Kalla was commenting on a recent study by two Indonesian agencies dealing with drug abuse that recommended the government review its policy to outlaw the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, the Post said. A drug expert from the National Narcotics Agency reportedly said Indonesia should follow the example of countries like the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal, because it is not as harmful as people thought. Ratna Dwikora, the owner of an Acehnese food restaurant in Jakarta, told the Kompas newspaper “marijuana is available in any Acehnese kitchen just like coriander”. “Marijuana is a widely-accepted cooking spice there,” she told the newspaper. Indonesia imposes harsh penalties, including death, for narcotic offences as the country faces a growing drug menace. (June 27th 2007, Reuters)

Indonesia Wants DFAT Travel Warning Lifted
Indonesia has urged Australia to lift a travel advisory warning on the country that cautions people about traveling to the country, including Bali, due to terrorist threats. Indonesia has seen a string of bombings in recent years, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people, many of them foreign tourists. “The travel advisory could disrupt travel not only for tourism but also potential investors and buyers,” Indonesia Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said today. “We propose that Australia make a review based on progress that has happened in Indonesia.” Ms. Pangestu was speaking after talks with her Australian counterpart, Warren Truss, who is in Jakarta for an annual trade and investment meeting. Mr. Truss said the Australian Government had assured Indonesia it would review its travel advisory on a quarterly basis. (June 25th 2007, Reuters)

Strong Quake Hits South of Java
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck south of Java on Wednesday (26/6), but there was no tsunami risk or reports of damage, an official at the country’s meteorological agency said. The epi-centre of the quake was 340km southwest of the city of Cilacap in the Indian Ocean and at a depth of 30km, the official at the agency in Jakarta said by telephone. Cilacap is the site of a major oil refinery. The quake struck at 5.23am and there was an aftershock in the same area measuring 5.2 half an hour later, the agency said. Elshinta radio said the quake was felt in the city of Yogyakarta in central Java, but also said there had been no reports of damage or casualties. Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes being in an active seismic zone where several of the earth’s tectonic plates meet. (June 27th 2007, Reuters)

Indonesia Grounds 9 Airlines over Safety Standards
Indonesian authorities have revoked the licenses of four airlines and suspended a further five from operating for failing to comply with basic safety standards, local media reports said Tuesday (26/6). Transport Ministry’s Director General for Aviation Budi Mulyawan Suyitno said that only the national flag carrier Garuda had managed to improve and was elevated to the highest category, after fulfilling 84 per cent of aviation standards. Suyitno said Jatayu Air, one of the low-cost commercial airlines, is among the four that have been their licenses revoked, while three others are charter or small airlines with planes that carry less than 30 passengers. The five airlines that had their licences suspended - SMAC, Kura-Kura Aviation, Germania Trisila, Atlas Deltasatya and Survei Udara Penas - have three months to improve their safety, he added. (June 26th 2007, Asia World News)