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Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Wed, 11/02/2011 7:01 AM

Security arrangements for visiting heads of state will affect commercial flights going in and out of Ngurah Rai International Airport during the upcoming ASEAN Summit, an Air Force officer said on Tuesday.

Flight service at Ngurah Rai would be adjusted to accommodate fifteen heads of state arriving in Bali on official or chartered flights.

“The delays will start 30 minutes before the arrival [of a head of state] until 25 minutes later, in line with international procedures, and will be applied to all heads of states,” Ngurah Rai Air Force base commander Col. Jumarto said.

Jumarto said it would be impossible to halt all activity during the officials’ arrivals at Ngurah Rai International Airport, the only commercial airport on Bali.

Security would be increased for visiting heads of state at the airport, he added, with officials creating three protective rings.

The first ring is a top security area that will be strictly off-limits to the public. The VIP 1 and VIP 2 reception facilities, which lie north of the airport’s international terminal, are expected to be the locus of the second ring.

The public areas inside the airport, including the arrival and departure terminals, will be designated as the third ring.

Official aircraft will park at three separate facilities inside the airport. Not all the planes will be parked at Ngurah Rai airport, which can only accommodate six wide-body aircraft. Some would be parked at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Jumarto said.

Fifteen countries have confirmed the attendance of their heads of state, while three other countries were expected to be represented by their foreign ministers.

Of the 18 countries participating in the summit, only Singapore’s and Cambodia’s delegates will arrive in Bali on commercial planes, while the others will arrive on official or chartered planes.

US President Barack Obama has also confirmed attendance at the summit and is expected to arrive in Indonesia on Nov. 16 for preliminary meetings on trade.

“We have no confirmation on how long he will be in Bali,” Jumarto said.

Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Totoy Herawan Indra said the police were prepared to safeguard the ASEAN meeting.

“We also expect the public to support us to maintain a secure situation in Bali,” he said.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said that Bali was ready to welcome all the delegates and to host the summit.

“The meeting will give Bali greater attention from the national and international community. We are delighted to host this meeting because it will make Bali more popular.”

http://m.thejakartapost.com news/2011/11/02/expect-delays-ngurah-rai-during-summit.html

DENPASAR: A mechanic on board a PT Merpati Nusantara Airline flight that crashed in Kaimana in Papua last Saturday, was buried in an Islamic cemetery in Bugis village in Denpasar on Tuesday.

Joko Santoso, 41, is survived by his wife Siti Muawana and two children.The late mechanic had worked with the airline company for 21 years.

The engineering general manager at the company’s Surabaya branch office, Priharyono, expressed his condolences to Joko’s family.

“We feel deeply sad because we have lost so many dedicated staff. We pray for the bereaved families,” Priharyono said.

Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Mon, 05/09/2011 8:00 AM | Bali

Officers from the elite police mobile brigade (Brimob) “paid homage” to their weapons Saturday to celebrate Tumpek Landep, the Balinese Hindu festival for weapons and metal tools.

Balinese Hindu members of the paramilitary unit began the celebration by praying at Padma Bhuana Temple located close to the unit’s headquarters in Tohpati, East Denpasar.

Dressed in Balinese Hindu attire, the officers prayed to Sanghyang Pasupati, the patron deity of
weapons.

Following the prayer, they gathered at the temple’s outer yard, where dozens of assault rifles, light machine guns, automatic pistols, revolvers, tear gas launchers, batons and shields were arranged on tables decorated with young coconut leaves. Next to the weapons were traditional Balinese Hindu offerings.

Similar offerings were also placed at the arsenal, where the bulk of the unit’s weapons are stored, and before an array of armored vehicles, water canon trucks, personnel carriers and jeeps.

The temple priest chanted while presenting the offerings before sprinkling holy water on the weapons. He then walked to the arsenal and the car pool to repeat the
process.

“Only the Brimob unit in Bali observes this ritual. The tradition is unique to Bali and we want to show our respect to local religious traditions,” Bali Police Brimob commander Sr. Comr. Heni Sulistiya said.

Bali Hindus celebrate Tumpek Landep every 210 days and, placing offerings before weapons, cars, metal tools and even computers.

“Landep means sharp and the celebration is our way of asking the gods for the gift of a sharp mind in our ongoing struggle against the darkness,” Padma Bhuana Temple priest Jero Mangku Made
Sukarma said.

He added that the ritual also symbolized the unit’s commitment to use the weapons to protect and to preserve peace and justice.

“The weapons should be used in the right way for the right reasons,” he added.

Bali Parisadha Hindu Council chairman I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana said Tumpek Landep was originally held to honor traditional weapons, such as kris (wavy dagger) and tombak (spear).

Now, Balinese Hindus use the day to honor everything made of metal and any instruments they use in their work, including laptop computers and cars.

“There is nothing wrong with that since all those instruments are, to a certain extent, also weapons in our battle against poverty and any other challenges posed by modern times,” Sudiana said.

Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post |  Mon, 11/09/2009 2:48 PM  |  Bali

Bali Police deployed a huge contingent of officers, including ones from the paramilitary Mobile Brigade, to secure tourist sites across the island in a special operation targeting street criminals.

Code-named Operasi Wisata Agung 2009, the operation was launched Saturday and will run until Nov. 16.

“The main objective of the operation is to prevent crimes that target domestic and international visitors. Hopefully, this operation will be able to make the tourists feel safer during their stay on the island,” Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar said Saturday.

As many as 898 officers have been deployed to major tourist destinations, including Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Lovina, Tanah Lot, Rambut Siwi, Ubud, Kintamani, Candi Dasa, Goa Lawah and Taman Ayun.

“They will beef up security at the local hotels, restaurants, cafes, night spots and money changers.”

The officers would also pay special attention to security threats, such as street musicians, beggars, hawkers and thugs.

The operation was launched following a series of high-profile crimes that targeted foreign visitors. In late September, a Japanese woman was mugged and murdered in Kuta while in late October a Swedish girl was raped in South Kuta.

“We want to prevent similar incidents from taking place in the future,” Sugianyar said.

He also said that an undisclosed number of Mobile Brigade officers had been deployed to strategic spots across the island.

“We deployed the officers to provide the public with a calming sense of security amidst the recent increase of crime rate.”

In October, the Bali Police had carried out a special operation targeting burglars and thieves.

“It has succeeded in bringing down the number of burglary cases,” he said.

On December the police will hold another special operation to secure the island during its busiest tourist period; the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Mon, 11/09/2009 2:46 PM  |  The Jakarta Post I Bali

DENPASAR: A charity concert for the victims of the Padang earthquake will be held on Tuesday at Sector Bar, Sanur.

The concert is co-organized by several communities, including the Association of Bali’s Composers and Songwriters (Pramusti), the Minang Saiyo community, the Bali Jazz Community and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

As many as 80 Denpasar students will perform in the concert alongside popular local musicians, including Agung Wirasuta, Triple X, The Zio and Gde Kurniawan. Renowned pianist Ananda Ruslan will perform with child violinist Natya. “The enthusiasm among local musicians to participate in the event is very high,” said the committee head Rofiqi Hasan.

The committee has distributed 500 tickets priced at Rp. 50,000 per ticket. “Rp 40, 000 from each ticket will be donated to Padang through the Minang Saiyo community,” he added. -JP

Police seize 5,000 ecstasy pills

Mon, 11/09/2009 2:43 PM  | The Jakarta Post I  Bali

DENPASAR: Police seized a shipment of 5,000 ecstasy pills with a street value of around Rp 1 billion, a senior officer said at the weekend.

“The ecstasy pills were sent through an expedition company in Jakarta. They were placed in several cardboard packages along with packets of biscuits, apparently in an attempt to disguise the shipment,” said Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar.

The packages aroused the police’s suspicion when they went through the X-ray machine upon arrival at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport. The officers took the packages, inspected their contents and sent the suspicious looking pills to the police lab. Laboratory tests confirmed the pills were ecstasy.

“Unfortunately, we have yet to arrest the sender or recipient of the packages as the names and addresses written on the packages are fake,” he said. –JP

Wed, 11/04/2009 2:24 PM  The Jakarta Post |  Bali

DENPASAR: Hundreds of students, members of NGOs, artists, religious leaders and politicians have expressed support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in fighting graft in Indonesia.

Dozens of Udayana University students performed a theatrical protest in front of the Bali Police headquarters in downtown Denpasar on Tuesday afternoon.

The students released seven mice near the headquarters’ gate. A student said each mouse symbolized a corrupt official.

“The criminalization of KPK has freed many corruptors,” Agus Lenyot said.

Separately, numerous religious leaders, journalists, artists, politicians and NGOs persons, were planning to make a strong statement regarding the country’s poor legal system.

Indonesian Hindu Body leader Ngurah Sudiana said the KPK deserved full support from all Indonesians.

Wayan Dibia, professor at the Indonesian Arts Institute in Denpasar, said the conflict between the KPK and the police was “funny”.

“It is like watching bondres *a traditional Balinese comedy*.” – JP