Aussie Arrested in Bali on Drugs
An Australian pearl farmer faces up to 10 years’ jail after he was allegedly caught with hashish outside a Bali bar. Jason Scott McIntyre, 33, was arrested outside Crusoes Bar in Kuta in the early hours of Monday ((20/4) carrying about five grams of hashish, Bali according to local police. McIntyre will be charged with drug possession, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail. Charges were expected to be laid over the next few days. A police spokesman said an Indonesian woman from the island of Sumatra, named Lili, gave McIntyre the drugs. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Australia’s consulate in Bali was assisting McIntyre. “Consular staff in Canberra are providing assistance to the man’s family,” she added. (April 23rd 2009, AAP)
Indonesian “People Smugglers” Charged
Two Indonesian men, aged 32 and 40, have been charged over two separate boat arrivals earlier this month, carrying 59 and 39 suspected asylum seekers, respectively. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Thursday (16/4) night said the men would be taken from Christmas Island to appear in a Perth court on Friday. The charges were laid a day after the seventh boat to arrive this year was intercepted off Western Australia. There were 32 Sri Lankan men onboard. Mr. Debus says if people smugglers can be successfully prosecuted it will send a strong message overseas. But the home affairs minister wouldn’t confirm newspaper reports people smugglers were being recruited by the AFP to work as spies in exchange for passports. The accusation was made by lawyers for Hadi Ahmadi, an alleged people smuggler being extradited from Indonesia to Australia to face 21 charges. (April 22nd 2009, AP)
Indonesia, Sweden Holding Dialog on Rights Issues
The governments of Indonesia and Sweden will hold a two-day dialog on human rights issues, April 23-24, 2009 in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Indonesian Embassy official for Education, Social, and Cultural affairs (Pensosbud) in Stockholm Dody Sembodo Kusumonegoro said Indonesia was represented by various institutions in the Human Rights dialog including The Indonesian National Commission on Child Protection, Ombudsman Indonesia, and Disabled Children Rehabilitation Center. While the Swedish government was represented by the country’s members of Parliament, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and Handisam - Swedish Agency for Disability Policy Coordination. The annual meeting between Indonesia and Sweden was launched for the first time by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt in Jakarta in April last year. The first dialog in Jakarta last year produced among other things the implementation of concrete capacity building cooperation in Human Rights, improvement of facilities for disabled children and juvenile delinquency, and the provision of scholarships for Indonesian students to study on humanitarian law in Sweden.(April 22nd 2009, Antara News)
Garuda Indonesia stops Flying to Darwin
Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda has decided to stop flying the Darwin-Denpasar route as of April 22, 2009. Garuda’s decision to stop flying to the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory (NT), came up during a conversation between ANTARA and the Indonesian Consul in Darwin Harbangan Napitupulu on Thursday (16/4). The reason for the discontinuation of the route is the economic slump, although low-cost Australian airline companies Jet Star and Virgin Blue have raised their flight frequencies to Denpasar from many points in Australia. (April 17th 2009, Antara News)
Indonesia Wishes to be Seat of Coral Triangle Initiative
Indonesia is hoping to take the position of secretariat for the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) at this year’s summit. The CTI is a regional initiative aimed at protecting coral reefs in a region covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. President Yudhoyono initiated the formation of the CTI for the first time in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Australia in September 2007 and supported by APEC leaders. The coral reef triangle that covers the six countries is 75,000 square kilometers wide and has 500 coral reef species and more than 3,000 fish species.The coral reefs are known as the Amazon of the Seas because of their rich biodiversity. North Sulawesi has been known by the world for its Bunaken marine park. The region’s other ecotourism potential is its underwater volcano. Around 4,900 participants from 121 countries are expected to attend the WOC and CTI Summit. (April 17th 2009, Antara News)
Possible Revival of Airnorth Darwin-Bali Flights
Jetstar may soon regain a competitor on its Darwin- Denpasar, Bali route as Airnorth engages in talks to reintroduce flights between the two destinations. Garuda Indonesia announced its decision to pull out from the Territory last week starting 22 April, leaving Jetstar to be the sole operator on the route. According to Northern Territory News, Airnorth received its second Embraer E170 Jet last week, which it will use to service regions in Asia and the Pacific. “The question is if we will return” said Marketing manager Marie-Claire Cull in regards to the discussions surrounding the reintroduction of flights. “We are looking at Malaysia, the Philippines, parts of Indonesia and Pacific island states.” Jetstar remained vague on whether it would now increase the cost of Darwin-Bali flights, with corporate relations general manager Simon Westaway saying the carrier would “continue to price competitively”. (April 22nd 2009, etravelblackboard.com)
60 Nations Meet to Discuss Human Trafficking - Bali
Representatives from more than 60 countries participated in a meeting with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration at Bali’s Nusa Dua. The two-day ministerial conference, held on April 14-15, 2009, is part of a continuing “Bali Process” first commenced in 2002 to curb people smuggling, people trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. Co-chaired by the Governments of Indonesia and Australia, the Bali meeting was financed by Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. Among the topics discussed at the Bali meeting were the development of cross-national information and intelligence systems; cooperation between law enforcement agencies in order to combat people smuggling; cooperation on border and visa systems; heightened public awareness of people trafficking crimes; creation of legislation to empower those trying to stop these forms of trans-national crime; and facilitating the legal migration of people between participating countries. Also discussed at the Bali conference, if perhaps only on the sidelines, was the growing problem of Rohingya migrants from Myanmar. The Rohingya are a Bengali-speaking Muslim minority from Myanmar who have landed illegally in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in their attempts to escape alleged repression in their homeland. Also discussed was the increasing use of Bali and eastern parts of Indonesia as a staging point for smuggling Afghani and Iraqi nationals into Australia. (April 17th 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Living in Deplorable Conditions Crocodiles at Bali Tourist Site
Saltwater crocodiles in the reptile park at Taman Festival Bali have been abandoned and are living in such poor conditions that they are eating each other, animal rights activists said on Wednesday. “We’ve monitored their condition for the past six months and they aren’t being treated properly, although there are keepers that have been appointed to take care of them,” said Rosek Nursahid, the head of animal rights group Pro Fauna, which is based in Malang, East Java Province. Animal rights groups have been receiving complaints from local and foreign tourists about the poor conditions that have led the crocodiles to start eating each other. Activists are calling for the facility to be closed so the animals can be removed. “As predators, they need meat to eat and this costs a lot of money,” Rosek said, adding that many predators in captivity do not end up living on the kind of food they would eat in the wild. The Jakarta Animal Aid Network, or JAAN, said that the crocodiles are being kept in a foul-smelling muddy pond in a facility that has been neglected for five years. Both JAAN and Pro Fauna said they had reported the situation to Bali’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency, or BKSDA, and the Ministry of Forestry’s office in Bali Province. “We filed the report in December, but nothing has happened yet,” Rosek said, adding that the authorities said they were still discussing the problem. Septi, a technical staff member at the Bali BKSDA office, said there were about 130 crocodiles at the park in 2007. JAAN said saltwater crocodiles and other reptiles at the park have been abandoned due to mismanagement and have been left to survive on their own. (April 22nd 2009, Jakarta Globe)
9th Int. Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific August 9-13, 2009 in Bali
Organizers recently paid a visit on the Regent (Bupati) of Badung, Anak Agaung Gede Agung, to brief him on preparations for the Ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) to be held in Bali August 9-13, 2009.The theme adopted for the Bali conference is ”Empowering People, Strengthening Networks” and seeks to empower people - both HIV-positive and HIV-negative vulnerable to HIV - and strengthen networks - faith-based organizations, communities, governments, regions, sectors, as well as individuals - to affect change. Specific issues to be discussed at the Bali conference to be held at Nusa Dua include mobility, migration, and people with disabilities within the context of those affected by AIDS/HIV. Experts on HIV/AIDS and policymakers will share their experience and knowledge on the disease while in Bali. Expertise and knowledge will be exchanged to help control the spread of HIV/AIDS, focusing on creating policies that enhance access to the treatment and prevention of the epidemic. (April 24th 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Indonesia Imposes an Import Ban on Pork in Effort to Prevent Swine Flu
Indonesia imposed an import ban on pork, in addition to increasing surveillance at all entry points for travelers with flu-like symptoms, to prevent the spread of swine flu, a cabinet minister said Monday. “The import of pork will be temporarily halted until a further progress concerning the swine flu, or until the condition was safe,” said Aburizal Bakrie, the coordinating minister for people’s welfare. After a ministerial meeting on the threat of the disease, Aburizal said the import ban was necessary to prevent the spread of the swine flu strain of virus that is assumed to have already mutated, and could quickly spread via human-to-human transmission. Indonesia, which has recorded the most deaths from bird flu of any country, has upgraded surveillance at all entry points for travelers with flu-like symptoms, using devices at airports that were put in place years ago to monitor for severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian flu. Public health teams have been deployed to international airports armed with thermal scanners and the authority to send passengers suspected of being infected with the disease to special isolation wards at nearby hospitals, officials said. Health ministry officials urged airline attendants to report any passenger with influenza-like symptoms. (April 27th 2009, Earthtimes)
Bali Considers New Laws on Pet Ownership
The provincial government of Bali is in the process of preparing new laws that will help control rabies by introducing rules and procedures affecting pet ownership. The draft legislation, being discussed in a series of public hearings, stipulate:
• Any dog, cat or pet monkey running loose on public streets is subject to capture and detention.
• Pet owners will be able to claim their pets back after paying
the cost of warding their pet in a detention center.
• Pets not claimed can be offered for adoption, but may be euthanized if new homes cannot be found.
• Pet owners will be required to register their pets with local animal control authorities.
• Pet shops and pet dealers must be officially licensed.
• Owners will be required to keep their pets under control
and provide preventative inoculations.
The draft legislation, if approved, would set a new standard of attention to animal welfare on the island and require the authorities to build a pet pound to house captured pets awaiting reclaiming, adoption or extermination. The new law is likely to prove controversial with many Balinese families who maintain a loose master-pet relationship with their dogs; allowing pets to come and go as they please from their family compound. Another part of the new pet owner law also provides for 6 months of imprisonment and fines of up to Rp. 50 million (US$5,450) if anyone fails to report suspected cases of rabies to the authorities. (April 25th 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
