Dutch king may stop using carriage celebrating colonial past

Jakarta Post – Reuters, July 18, 2020

Dutch King Willem-Alexander (C-R) and Queen Maxima (C) arrive at the
Ridderzaal in The Hague, on September 18, 2018. (ANP/AFP/Robin Utrecht)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander may stop using a ceremonial horse-drawn carriage with images celebrating the Netherlands' former rule over colonies, he said on Friday, following an upsurge in criticism of the "Golden Carriage".

The gilded wooden carriage was built in 1898 and is decorated on one side with a panel called "Tribute of the Colonies", which shows Black and Asian subjects bringing offerings to a white woman on a throne representing the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in June he was aware the carriage, which has been undergoing restoration since 2015, "summons emotions", but added: "it's all part of our history."

The carriage, along with statues of naval heroes from the country's 17th century golden age, has become a hot topic of debate in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.

"We're following the discussion, I'm listening to it," King Willem-Alexander said during an annual meeting with the press, when members of the royal family pose for pictures.

"As long as there is implicit and explicit discrimination in the Netherlands, we must tackle that as a society," he added.

The carriage traditionally transports the king to address parliament every September, but is not due to be back in service until 2021.

The king said there would be no move to change the decorations during its repairs.

"It's part of our cultural heritage, so we're not going to be re-writing history with the restoration," he said.

"Once the restoration has been completed, then we'll see."

Related Article:

Dutch need to teach more on colonial and slave trading history, says UN rapporteur

Indonesia 'dog doctor' rescues canines from pandemic peril

Yahoo – AFP, Haeril HALIM, July 11, 2020

Indonesian doctor Susana Somali started confronting butchers after seeing a
video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Indonesian doctor Susana Somali and her staff cut tightly-bound plastic ropes off dozens of whimpering dogs rescued from the butcher's block after being sold or abandoned during the coronavirus pandemic.

Somali's sprawling Jakarta complex, home to about 1,400 canines, has become a refuge for at-risk animals as cash-strapped owners sell them into the Southeast Asian nation's controversial dog meat trade.

Mostly acting on tip-offs, Somali and her team hit the streets looking for stray dogs and butcher shops where more and more doomed animals are spending their last days howling in cramped cages.

Somali -- who juggles a day job testing COVID-19 samples at a local hospital -- started the shelter in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood more than a decade ago.

Back then, she rescued one or two dogs from a butcher each week. But that number has soared to as many as 20 in recent months as strays are snatched off the streets for their meat.

The 55-year-old mother of two negotiates with often unfriendly butchers, sometimes paying them cash or supplying other meat to secure the animals' release.

"The real battle isn't rescuing them from butchers, although that is always scary. The challenge is taking care of these dogs during the pandemic," Somali said.

'Tears in her eyes'

Somali and about 30 staff at Pejaten Animal Shelter are struggling to care for a huge number of animals as donations plunge in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The money is crucial to help cover upwards of $29,000 in monthly expenses, including employee salaries and the daily cost of half a tonne of meat for the animals.

Somali's sprawling Jakarta rescue complex is home to about 1,400 dogs 

(AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Myriad breeds, including huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds, roam the 5,000 square metre (54,000 square foot) shelter, which Somali started in 2009.

She started confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered.

"Someone posted images of this crying dog on social media and I saw the tears in her eyes," she said.

"That's when I became aware of the butchers."

Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean eatery this month, but they don't always make it in time.

"I tried to reach the area but was told that the dog had already been (killed)," she said of one recent dash to a butcher's shop.

"It was a minute too late."

Animal welfare groups estimate as many as one million dogs are killed annually across Indonesia, with more than 100 restaurants in Jakarta alone serving their meat, according to government figures.

Dog is often a culinary speciality among Indonesia's non-Muslim minority groups.

The animals are considered unclean in Islam and rarely kept as pets in Muslim-majority countries.

Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean

eatery this month (AFP Photo/ADEK BERRY)

Indonesia is relatively relaxed by comparison, but working at the shelter can still be tricky for Muslim volunteers like Ria Rosalina.

"Many people have asked me why I take care of dogs but also wear hijab," she said, referring to the religious head-covering worn by many Indonesian women.

"But I don't care. I just tell them that dogs were created by God, just like humans."

Snatched and killed

The plight of Indonesia's dogs isn't limited to the megacity capital.

Animal welfare organisation Four Paws has warned that thousands of strays in Bali were at risk of starving or being snatched by dog meat traders, as a plunge in tourism hammers the holiday island.

It is also a growing problem in other parts of Southeast Asia as traders prey on owners facing hard economic times, said Katherine Polak, a veterinarian with Four Paws.

"Animals are at a very heightened risk," she said.

"Some low-income people might be tempted to sell their pets."

For years, activists have called on the government to halt Indonesia's dog meat market -- a goal shared by Somali.

"Ending the dog meat trade may sound like a dream but everything starts from a dream," the shelter owner said.

"I'll always keep fighting."

Cambodia's tourist hotspot bans dog meat trade

Yahoo – AFP, 8 July 2020

A dog sits in a cage next to a pit where the animals are drowned at a
slaughterhouse in Cambodia

The Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap has banned the dog meat trade, a victory for animal rights campaigners who describe the area as the "lynchpin" of an industry that slaughters millions of creatures each year.

Dog meat, a cheap source of protein, is eaten in several Asian countries, including Cambodia, although it is much more popular in neighbouring Vietnam.

But animal rights group Four Paws has identified Siem Reap province -- home to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex -- as a hub for the trade within the kingdom, where they say three million dogs are butchered annually.

Siem Reap authorities announced a ban late Tuesday, with the provincial agricultural department saying the dog meat trade has descended into "anarchy" in recent years.

"It has caused the infection of rabies and other diseases from one region to another, which affects the public health," said the statement.

"The catching, buying, selling and slaughtering of dogs... will be punished severely."

The maximum penalty for dealing in dogs for slaughter as food is five years in prison, while fines range from 7-50 million riel ($1,700 to $12,200).

How the ban will be enforced remains to be seen, as Cambodia has long struggled with lax policing.

However, Four Paws on Wednesday hailed the decision to take out Siem Reap as a "lynchpin for the Cambodian dog meat trade".

"We hope that Siem Reap will serve as a model for the rest of the country to follow suit," said veterinarian Dr. Katherine Polak.

Their investigation last year found that the northern province served as a gateway for the trade, with roving dog catchers nabbing animals and selling them to over 20 dog meat restaurants in the tourist city.

Thousands are also transported each month to different parts of the country, including the capital Phnom Penh where there are still more than 100 restaurants.

On Wednesday, a streetside vendor in the capital continued to advertise dog meat on his menu, hawking barbecue dishes from $2.50 to $10 a kilogram.

Tourism to Cambodia has seized up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Siem Reap draws the bulk of the kingdom's six million tourists, nearly half from China.

Bali eyes September re-opening for foreign tourists

MSN – AFP, 6 July 2020

Bali says foreign tourists will be allowed to return by September as the Indonesian holiday island scrambles to repair its crippled vacation sector -- even as coronavirus cases mount.

A Balinese woman masked against coronavirus has her temperature taken
before a Hindu ceremony at Jagatnatha temple in Denpasar. The Indonesian
island hopes to re-open to tourists in September 

The island will re-open beaches, temples and other tourism spots for domestic visitors by the end of July, the governor said Sunday, and welcome foreign holidaymakers from September 11.

It was not immediately clear if vacationers from all countries would be allowed to visit, or if restrictions would be put in place on their arrival.

"We must continue to make the best efforts to handle Covid-19, while at the same time we must begin to carry out activities for the sake of community life," said Bali Governor Wayan Koster.

The volume of flights to and from Bali plummeted during the global pandemic, leaving hotels empty and restaurants struggling to survive.

The island was relatively unaffected in the early days of the epidemic, but cases have jumped in recent weeks.

As of Monday, Bali reported 1,900 confirmed infections, with 23 deaths. Indonesia, the world's fourth most-populous nation, has posted 65,000 cases and 3,241 deaths.

The real toll is widely believed to be much higher, however, with experts attributing the low figures to limited testing.