Indonesia Insists the Balibo Five Case is Closed
Indonesia insists the Balibo Five case is closed, despite
fresh reports that a telegram sent by an Australian Government
minister revealed the five journalists were murdered in East
Timor. A widow of one of the five, Shirley Shackleton said
she received the telegram from Whitlam-era foreign minister
Don Willesee days after her husband Greg and four other journalists
were reported missing in East Timor in 1975. In his dying
days in 2003, Willesee told his daughter that the Australian
Government covered up the affair, The Australian newspaper
reported today. A Sydney inquest into the death of one of
the Balibo Five is due to report its findings next week. Indonesia’s
foreign affairs ministry spokesman Yohanes Kristiarto Soeryo
Legowo said Indonesia’s position on the case had not
changed. “Basically, for the Indonesian Government,
it is a closed case, as simple as that,” he said. “I
don’t want to comment further.Whether they want to have
such interpretations, it does not change our view and position.We
have conveyed our position on the coroner’s court as
well – that they don’t have jurisdiction here
and I want to stress once again that it is a closed case.”
Former Jakarta governor and now potential presidential candidate,
Sutiyoso, was allegedly a member of a special Indonesian military
unit that attacked Balibo in 1975.Brian Peters, Greg Shackleton,
Gary Cunningham, Malcolm Rennie and Tony Stewart were gunned
down in the East Timorese border town of Balibo. During the
inquest, counsel assisting Mark Tedeschi QC, asked the coroner
to recommend war crimes charges against those responsible.
(November 7th 2007, AAP)
Chedi Club Gets ‘Bali’s Best’ Award
The Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah in Ubud, Bali, has been named
Indonesia’s Leading Boutique Hotel at the World Travel
Awards 2007 held in a ceremony in Bangalore last Friday (2/11).
Results for The World Travel Awards are determined by travel
professionals worldwide and the 2007 voting campaign reached
a total of 167,000 travel professionals worldwide, including
more than 110,000 travel agents. “It is an honor to
be named Indonesia’s Leading Boutique Hotel,”
said Ms. Helen Fox, General Manager of The Chedi Club at Tanah
Gajah. “We are delighted to receive such an acclaimed
award in the global travel community. This award recognizes
our unique customer brand promise which influences how our
hotels look, how we develop our products and services and
the way we behave, both with each other and with our customers.
These are certainly exciting times for us at GHM hotels worldwide.”
(November 6th 2007, Hotel Newswire)
RI Warships to Secure Bali Waters for UN Climate Change Meet
The Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) will deploy its warships in the
waters around Bali to strengthen maritime security for the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
conference scheduled to take place on the resort island Dec
1-14, 2007, the chief of the Indonesian Navy`s Eastern Fleet
Command’s information service Lt Col Toni Syaiful said
here Friday (2/11). He stopped short of revealing the number
of warships to be involved in the security maintenance effort.
In securing Bali island waters, the TNI AL would coordinate
with the water and air police and the sea and coast guard
unit, he said. The conference which will seek to lay the groundwork
for a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol will
bring together about 15,000 participants from 168 countries.
The Kyoto Protocol will expire in 2012. (November 7th 2007,
Antara News)
Bali Earns US $44.7 Million from Tuna Exports
Bali exported tuna fish worth a total of US$44.7 million from
January to September 2007, an increase of 56 percent from
US$28.5 million in the same period last year. The volume of
tuna exports during the January-September 2007 period reached
13,658 tons, or up by 79 percent from 7,622 tons of tuna in
the same period last year, Ni Wayan Kusumawathi, an official
of the Bali provincial industry and trade office said here
on Thursday. The average price of exported tuna from Bali
had actually dropped from US$3.8 per kg to US$3.5 per kg,
she said. Bali has 700 fishing boats at Benoa harbor which
is located around 15 km south of Denpasar, Bali’s provincial
capital. Bali exported tuna among other things to Japan, the
United States, China and Taiwan. Apart from tuna, Bali also
exports various kinds of aquatic products, such as ornamental
fish, crabs, milkfish, lobster and shark’s fin. (November
8th 2007, Antara News)
Bali Intends to Limit Number of Cars
The Bali provincial administration intended to limit the number
of cars on the island by imposing higher taxes in order the
keep the islands threshold in balance. “By controlling
the number of cars, we also hope to maintain the road infrastructures
and decrease the accident rate,” Bali Governor Dewa
Beratha said here on Thursday (8/11). The governor made the
statement in a plenary session of the Bali Provincial Legislative
Council (DPRD) discussing Bali’s draft budget 2008.Governor
Dewa Beratha also hoped that such a policy would help reduce
traffic congestions on the world’s most famous tourist
resort. The Bali administration has set a target of receiving
Rp275.457 billion from car ownership taxes for the 2007 budget,
or an increase of 15 percent from the previous year. (November
8th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesia to Launch First-Ever National Condom Campaign
Indonesia is set to launch its first-ever national campaign
to promote condom use to prevent unwanted pregnancies and
the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS,
officials said on Tuesday (6/11). National Condom Week will
coincide with World AIDS Day on December 1, said Sugiri Syarief,
head of the National Family Planning Board who is overseeing
the event. The ground breaking campaign will involve condom
distribution, education on the benefits of using condoms as
well as following safe sex practices, and other events aimed
at helping lift the stigma attached to using condoms here.
The event “is aimed at popularizing condoms as a tool
to prevent unwanted pregnancy and a way to prevent sexually-transmitted
diseases, especially HIV” in the world’s most
populous Muslim nation, Syarief said. Government efforts to
promote condom use have so far focused on family planning
and not generated much enthusiasm, he said, noting that condoms
account for less than one percent of all contraception used
in Indonesia. An unsupportive social environment, ignorance
as well as a low awareness of the importance of safe sex have
conspired against condom use in the world’s fourth most
populous nation, he added. The head of the Indonesian Council
of Mosques, Tarmidzi Taher, said the campaign was partly aimed
not at getting Muslim leaders to endorse the use of condoms
but to allow them to “understand the medical arguments
for them.” Nafsiah Mboi, secretary of the National AIDS
Mitigation Commission, said that safe sex education would
also help efforts to curb the spread of HIV. The World Health
Organization warned in February that Indonesia had one of
the fastest-growing HIV populations in Asia. (November 11th
2007, Yahoo News)
Whirlwinds Hits South Bali, One killed
Whirlwinds hit a number of areas in Denpasar and Gianyar district
in Bali on Sunday (11/11) reportedly killing one person, injuring
tens of others, devastating hundreds of houses and toppling
tens of trees. The mini tornado struck the worst-hit area
in Ketewel, Giannyar, at about 5.30 a.m. local time following
heavy rains.
Initial data showed that at least 22 people were injured in
the calamity and six of them had to undergo treatment at a
public hospital in Gianyar. Bali Governor Dewa Beratha and
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made an inspection of the
whirlwind-stricken residential area in Gianyar district, Bali,
on Sunday afternoon. At least 150 homes in Denpasar City and
Gianyar District were reportedly seriously damaged by the
whirlwind on Sunday. (November 12th 2007, Denpost)
Bali Bomber Says Had 1,001 Chances to Escape
A reformed Indonesian Islamic militant sentenced to life for
the 2002 Bali bombings has said he passed up numerous chances
to escape because he was committed to helping police, a leading
news magazine said. Ali Imron, who was charged with coordinating
the bombing operation and helping make the bombs used in the
nightclub attacks that killed more than 200 people, escaped
the death sentence because he was remorseful. “If I
wanted to, I had 1,001 chances (to escape). But for what?
I’m sticking to the commitment I have made with the
police,” Imron told Tempo in an interview. Imron said
he was helping police because he believed it was for the public
interest and if he betrayed them, he would not only have to
answer to the officers, but also to God. Police have defended
their “soft” approach, saying it is part of their
strategy to win the “war on terror”. Imron said
some arrested militants had accused him of betrayal but that
he had the support of many others. “I know the majority
of them did not agree with the bombings,” said Imron.
(November 11th 2007, Yahoo News)
Japan to Buy Carbon Credits from Indonesia
Japan plans to buy carbon emission credits from Indonesia
through micro-hydropower projects that will start operating
next year, a local newspaper has reported. Japan will buy
30,000 tons of carbon credits yearly until 2012 from five
micro-hydropower projects in the provinces of Central Java,
West Java and South Sulawesi. The trading mechanism is allowed
by the Kyoto Protocol through the Clean Development Mechanisms
and Joint Implementation projects.“The sale of carbon
emission credits through the micro-hydropower projects is
the first of its kind in Indonesia,” Irfan Febijanto,
coordinator of the Clean Development Mechanisms team at the
government-sanctioned Technology Application and Research
Agency, was quoted as saying. Micro-hydropower projects are
a dependable alternative energy source that can produce electrical
energy for cooking, lighting and other purposes. Identified
as one of the best practices in the field of renewable energy,
micro-hydropower is clean power produced by falling water
in rivers, creeks and streams. (November 11th 2007, Kompas)
Indonesia`s Krakatau Roars, Dazzles with Fireworks
A river of lava and stones glowing like embers glides down
the slopes of Mount Anak Krakatau as the muted light of the
rising sun tries to break through thick clouds settled above
the mountain. The volcano, whose name means “Child of
Krakatau”, formed in the Sunda Strait close to Java
Island after Mount Krakatau’s legendary eruption in
1883. It rumbled to life about two weeks ago and since then
has been dazzling scientists and visitors with its amazing
pyrotechnics. Scientists monitoring the volcano say Anak Krakatau
is not especially dangerous and will continue to rumble for
some time, but warn people to stay out of a 3 km (1.9 miles)
zone around the mountain. A vulcanologist monitoring Anak
Krakatau said the volcano was likely to rumble and roar for
some time. Visitors who had their morning coffee in a boat
in the shadow of the volcano in the Sunda Strait’s choppy
waters about a one-and-a-half-hour ride from the mainland
said they felt safe. “It’s spectacular, it’s
just amazing to be here,” said Patricia Anderton, a
tourist from the USA. “I feel incredibly lucky to be
able to see it.” (November 11th 2007, Antara News)
Bali’s Airport Service Charge Increased 50%
In compliance with the decision of Indonesia’s Minister
of Transportation issued on October 26, 2007 Angkasa Pura
I - the managers of Bali’s International Airport have
announced a 50% increase in the passenger service charge paid
by every traveler departing on an international flight. The
higher charge of Rp. 150,000 (US$16.30) took effect from November
1, 2007, and is an increase from the former charge of Rp.
100,000 (US$10.86). The increase was formally announced via
a circular letter dated October 26, 2007, sent by the General
Manager of Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, I Kt. Erdi Nuka.
(November 11th 2007, Bali Discovery News)
U.N. Conference on Climate Change
December 3-14 will see Nusa Dua host the UNFCCC conference
with an estimated 10,000 – 15,000 delegates from 168
countries attending. There will be massive numbers of Indonesian
troops and ships guarding the event. This will result in closed
roads, traffic delays, official convoys, full hotels and restaurants
in ALL southern areas of the island. Also, wine stocks will
be severely depleted. It is suggested that you stock up on
wine now, while there is still time. Also the traffic delays
will offer added meditation time. Always a silver lining.
Editor
