Foreign journalists to cover Nyepi

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Television stations in the United States, Korea and Taiwan have expressed interest in covering Nyepi (the Day of Silence) in Bali, which falls on March 7 this year, an official said Thursday.

"I received proposals from three foreign TV stations -- CNN from the United States, one from Taiwan and the other one from South Korea, to cover the ritual of Nyepi next week," head of the Bali Tourism Agency, I Gede Nurjaya, told The Jakarta Post here.

He said he had sent official replies to the requests two days ago, saying the agency did not mind if they covered Nyepi, but under certain conditions.

"They are allowed to cover a series of rituals for Nyepi, starting from the melasti (self-purification) ceremony to the ogoh-ogoh (effigy) parade, but on Nyepi Day they will be allowed to cover it only from their hotels. We don't want them to disturb the devotion of the people during Nyepi Day," he said.

He said that even though they were journalists covering Nyepi, they would not be allowed onto the streets or to travel around the island on Nyepi Day, when activities are severely curtailed.

Hindu Balinese will mark Nyepi on March 7 to commemorate Hindu's Saka New Year.

Nurjaya said he also suggested they get recommendations from Indonesian embassies stating they are members of the media in their respective countries.

"I also asked them to present a list of their equipment so that we can expedite the process at the airport," he said.

However, he said it was not certain the TV stations would end up sending reporters to Bali.

"They sent me the letters at the last minute. I just received them five days ago, while Nyepi is only seven days away," he said.

During Nyepi, 90 percent of the island's 3.5 million inhabitants will practice catur berata penyepian, or the four abstinences: refraining from lighting fires and using lights, refraining from working, refraining from traveling outside the house and refraining from indulging in leisure activities for 24 hours, starting at 6 a.m. on March 7 to 6 a.m. the next day.

This ritual has inspired some non-governmental organizations that focus on environmental issues to promote the moment of Nyepi throughout the world as a campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

Ni Nyoman Sri Widhiyanti of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said she had not heard about the journalists that would go to Bali to cover Nyepi.

However, she urged the regional administration to help facilitate any journalists in carrying out their jobs.

"As long as they do not disturb the ritual it is all right for them to cover the situation of Nyepi in Bali," she said

Besides, she added, it would be a good promotion for Bali in general and for the world silence day campaign in particular.