‘God Does Not Exist’ Comment Ends Badly for Indonesia Man

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran, January 19, 2012

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An Indonesian civil servant who posted “God does not exist” on his Facebook page has been taken into police custody for his own protection after he was badly beaten.

Photo courtesy of Karl Karnadi

The man, identified as Alexander, 31, now faces the prospect of losing his job, or even being jailed, if he fails to repent and accept one of six official state religions.

Blasphemy carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

Local media reported that when Alexander arrived at work at the Dharmasraya Development Planning Board (Bappeda) on Wednesday, a group of men, also understood to comprise government officials, attacked and beat him before police arrived and took him into protective custody.

Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz told the Jakarta Globe that Alexander moderated a Facebook account titled “Ateis Minang” (Minang Atheists) and had written an update that “God does not exist.”

Chairul said he could not confirm the reports that Alexander was attacked but say that he had taken into protective custody to “anticipate anarchy.”

“Besides, he is also afraid of being intimidated or hurt.”

Alexander was quoted by Padangekspres.co.id as saying that he did not believe in God because of the amount of crime and disasters.

“If God indeed exists, why do bad things happen,” he was quoted as saying. “There should only be good things if God is merciful.”

Alexander said he was born a Muslim but ceased religious activities in 2008.

“I have no idea what the problem is. When I arrived at the office, a mob came and beat me, and took me to the police.”

Aziz said police would wait for a recommendation from the West Sumatra Coordinating Agency to Supervise Religion and Beliefs (Bakorpakem) as well as the Ministry of Religious Affairs before deciding on further action against Alexander.

“If they consider what he did was blasphemy, we will charge him.”

Gusrizal Gazahar, head of the West Sumatera chapter of the Council of Ulema (MUI), told local media that if he refused to repent, Alexander should lose his job.

“I want him to be fired,” he said.

Related Articles:

Dismay After Indonesian Atheist Charged With Blasphemy

No Need to Believe: Indonesia's Atheists 

"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator,Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)

“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? …. “

"The Humanization of God" – Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Benevolent Design, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Guides and Angels, Communication with God, Wars in Heaven ?, The Love of God, (Old) Souls, Global Unity,....  etc.)

“… Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that…”

“The 2012 Ostiary - Angels Among You” – Dec 30, 2012 (a message from Metatron channelled by Tyberonn)

ASEAN cultural show, exhibition in Jakarta soon

Antara News, Tue, January 17 2012

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Association of South East-Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an effort to promote its member countries` lives in various fields is to hold an ASEAN Cultural Show and Exhibition 2012 in Jakarta later this month.

(ANTARA/Basrul Haq)

The head of the ASEAN Secretariat`s public outreach and civil society department and assistant director of community affairs development, Durudee Sirichanya, said the ASEAN Cultural Show and Exhibition 2012`s mission was to showcase the economic, social and political aspects of the lives of the peoples in the ASEAN region.

"The event is not just to promote ASEAN cultures, but all aspects of the lives of the peoples in the region," said Sirichanya in Jakarta, Tuesday.

She said the event was also an effort to help form an ASEAN Community as called for at the 2011 ASEAN Summit.

According to Sirichanya, the ASEAN Secretariat was very actively involved in ASEAN communities through many events.

"We want to see ASEAN communities getting closer to and able to help each other in order to increase the economic, social and political growth of the region," she said.

"With the spirit of `One Vision, One Identity, One Community, we will strengthen ASEAN`s position in the global world," she added.

The ASEAN Cultural Show and Exhibition 2012 will be held at Gandaria City in Jakarta, January 20-22 and the committee will feature art and culture from the ten ASEAN member countries which will be packed into various shows, music performances and exhibitions.

The event will be officially opened on Friday, January 20, by ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, a representative of Indonesia`s foreign ministry, Djauhari Oratmangun, and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

"We have also invited representatives of 52 countries including members of the ASEAN Plus," said Sirichanya.

Famed Philippine singer Maribeth would present special songs in English and Bahasa at the opening of the first ASEAN Cultural Show and Exhibition. Next year`s event would be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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Girl Band Challenges Old Conservatism in Burma

The members of Me N Ma Girls, all in their early 20s, travel to rehearsals
in traditional outfits, because the shorts and tank tops they rehearse in would
 raise eyebrows in Rangoon. After decades of military rule, Burma is slowly
opening to new forms of culture.  (Photo courtesy of Me N Ma Girls)

First big cruise ship berths at Benoa, Bali

Antara News, Tue, January 17 2012

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Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sapta Nirwandar said a cruise ship named MV Legend of the Seas was the biggest yacht to berth in Benoa Harbor, Bali.

Cruise Ship Photo: MV Legend

of the Seas

"Previously, cruise ships of the same size as the Legend could not berth at any Indonesia port. They could only throw anchor some distance from the coast and transport passengers to the shore by small boats," he said here Monday.

Sapta Nirwandar also said the 264.3-meter-long Legend of the Seas was the biggest cruise ship to berth at an Indonesian port, in this case Benoa, Bali.

Meanwhile, the harbor and dredging director of Bali`s Transportation Office, Kemal Heryandri, said Benoa harbor was ready to receive big ships from overseas.

Kemal Heryandri said coral reefs in the harbor waters had been removed in 2011 to ensure the navigation safety of big ships, even of ships bigger than the MV Legend. Besides, Kemal added, the local government had also dredged the coastal waters up to a depth of 11 meters.

"In 2012, the dredging will reach 12 meters to enable big cruise ships to berth easily and safely," Kemal said.

President Director of PT Indonesia Harbor (Pelindo) III, Djarwo Surjanto, had previously said Benoa would be the first port in Indonesia able to receive the Legend of the Seas.

The cruise ship had 2,300 passengers and a 1,000-strong crew on board when it arrived in Benoa.

"The Legend`s visit will attract world attention because it is the first time for a big cruise ship to berth at an Indonesian port," Djarwo said.

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

Indonesian Village Riven by Dutch Massacre Compensation

Jakarta Globe, Niniek Karmini, January 16, 2012

Wanti binti Sariman wipes away her tears during a commemoration
 in Rawagede, West Java, on Dec. 9, 2011. After six decades of waiting,
 relatives of men killed in a notorious massacre during Indonesia's bitter
 struggle for independence were awarded compensation, but villagers say
the money has torn apart the community. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)  

            

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Rawagede, West Java. Relatives of men executed by Dutch troops in this tiny Indonesian village fought for six decades to get compensation that was supposed to heal wounds. Now that they have the money, it has ripped Rawagede apart once again.

Only a few of the residents — most of them widows in their 80s and 90s — brought the case to court.

But with hundreds killed, many more suffered. Claiming part of the $270,000 was rightfully theirs, old friends and neighbors cajoled, bullied and intimidated the plaintiffs and their families until local officials jumped in, forcing them to part with half their cash.

“It’s not fair,” said Muskar Warjo, who lost his father and grandfather in the massacre that wiped out nearly the entire male population of Rawagede. “Our lawyers said the money belonged to us, that we could use it as we saw fit.”

Soldiers clinging to their retreating colonial empire arrived just before dawn on Dec. 9, 1947, in search of a well-known resistance leader and — after getting no help — led up to 430 boys and young men to a rice field and shot them one by one.

It took 64 years, but in September a Dutch court ordered its government to apologize for the killings and to give each of the 10 plaintiffs $27,000. Three died during the course of the trial and the money went to their families instead.

Muskar, representing his mother after her death in 2009, said almost immediately after the verdict was handed down, mobs surrounded his home, the faces of people he’d known all his life, twisted with hatred and anger.

“There were hundreds of them, screaming, threatening to burn down my house if I didn’t give them some of my money,” said the 75-year-old, his eyes brimming with tears. “In the end, I didn’t have any choice.”

The court ruling has paved the way for similar allegations of war crimes during the Netherlands’ centuries-long rule in Indonesia — and raised the possibility of further compensation.

But good intentions went awry in this small farming village of 3,000 where — as in other parts of this sprawling, developing nation of 240 million — quick turns of fortune are rarely celebrated by those left behind, trying to eke out a living on as little as $2 a day.

In Rawagede, the jealousy even set siblings against each other.

Muskar escaped the mob outside his house on Dec. 27 and — after a community decision to divvy up the cash — was escorted by local authorities to a neighboring village for his own safety until tensions eased.

Still afraid, he decided to go instead to a relative’s house just outside the capital, Jakarta. Before long, however, Rawagede officials showed up in a van to bring him home. They said they could guarantee his safety, but in turn wanted him to sign a letter agreeing to part with his money, Muskar said.

In the end, his mother’s dream to replace their rickety, wooden shack with a new brick house remains just that, he said: a dream.

Additional compensation in the works would benefit the community as a whole: the Dutch government promised three years ago to provide $1.2 million in “development aid” to build a school, hospital and market in Rawagede. But even that money has been caught up in a dispute. It remains stuck in The Hague because of a disagreement between two Indonesian foundations — both claiming to represent the villagers’ interests.

Officials at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not immediately be reached for comment about any of the compensation disputes.

The executions still loom large in Rawagede.

A hero’s cemetery, with row after row of simple white grave stones, has been built on the outskirts. The anniversary is marked by the whole town every year.

Old women and men, their faces heavily grooved and backs curved by scoliosis, tremble when talking about the morning Dutch troops arrived in their village by the hundreds and opened fire, sending sleepy residents scattering from their homes in panic.

Some hid under beds with their children. Others concealed themselves in bushes or jumped into rivers, helpless as they watched the soldiers round up all the boys and men they could find.

Forced to squat in rows, with both hands placed on the backs of their heads, they were shot, the survivors say.

Kadun bin Siot was among those who protested the court award.

“What about me?” he said, his lips quivering as he struggled to contain his emotion. “Why don’t I deserve to be compensated. I suffered as much as they did.”

He was 12, peering through the slats of a wooden barn as soldiers flushed his father out of his hiding place in a trash heap, stabbing it with bayonets until he emerged, blood pouring from his face.

“They dragged him away,” said the 76 year-old farmer. “I never saw him again.”

“I’m very angry at the Dutch. First the killings and now this. The way they are handing out money,” he said. “It’s just created jealously, anger.”

It was after hearing many such complaints that Mamat, the village chief, decided to call a meeting. He invited plaintiffs and their families — as well as police and other top local officials — to reach an agreement. The widows and their families should share. People like Kadun ended up getting $500, a lot in Rawagede, but not nearly enough to fully appease anyone.

“It’s an extremely sensitive situation,” said Mamat, who goes by only one name. “The Dutch government can’t be expected to understand that money, distributed unfairly, causes new problems. We all know it’s impossible to make everyone happy, but we had to try.”

The plaintiffs say in the end the money may have caused more problems than good.

The family of 92-year-old Wanti Dodo was ripped apart.

What the widow wanted was a few gold bracelets and rings — a dream she had since childhood. The rest she divided between her seven sons and daughter. Two of her children protested — those from Wanti’s first husband, Enap, who was killed in the massacre.

They felt they deserved more, said Iwa Kartiwa, Wanti’s son.

The hassling by villagers started as soon as the court handed down its verdict, he said. Every time the phone rang, neighbors would flock to the house and pepper them with questions.

Was it news about the compensation, the would ask. How much was it? When would it arrive?

The tone quickly grew hostile.

Soon their house, too, was surrounded by a mob.

“We didn’t ‘agree’ to give away the money. We had to,” said Cawi, his sister.

“What else could we do?”

Associated Press

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Girl Band Challenges Old Conservatism in Burma

Jakarta Globe, January 11, 2012

The members of Me N Ma Girls, all in their early 20s, travel to rehearsals
in traditional outfits, because the shorts and tank tops they rehearse in would
 raise eyebrows in Rangoon. After decades of military rule, Burma is slowly
opening to new forms of culture.  (Photo courtesy of Me N Ma Girls)

                

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With sensual choreography and provocative outfits, Burma’s first girl band pushes the limits of artistic acceptability in this socially conservative country.

But when their parents call, asking why they are not home at 10 p.m., the five band members scurry back to being deferential daughters. “We are living two different lives,” said Lung Sitt Ja Moon, who is known onstage as Ah Moon. “We do what we want to do onstage, and then we go home to our parents.”

The band is called Me N Ma Girls, a play on “Myanmar girls,” referring to an alternative name for the country. They are battling conservative parents, government censorship and boyfriends who think it is outrageous that they go onstage in such skimpy outfits.

“We try our best to be hot, but not too sexy,” said Wai Hnin Khaing, another band member.

Burma is emerging after years of dictatorial military rule and isolation. There is talk that the censorship board, which vets songs, articles and movies, will be abolished. Government-sanctioned art and traditional, ankle-length sarongs are being challenged by the prospect of more Western-inspired entertainment, clothing and lifestyles.

“People think that if a girl is wearing something too sexy, she’s not normal,” said Ah Moon, whose preacher father is still grappling with her career choice. “They think she’s a bad girl.”

The members of Me N Ma Girls, all in their early 20s, often travel to rehearsals dressed in traditional outfits. The denim shorts and tank tops they rehearse in would raise eyebrows on the streets of Rangoon.

The band members do not see themselves as rebels. All five have college degrees: chemistry, zoology, mathematics, Russian and computer science. They are tapping into a trend by Burma’s younger generation to embrace Western pop culture.

Me N Ma Girls released its first album in December and has been raising its profile with a recent string of concerts in Rangoon. The band is the creation of an Australian dancer and graphic designer, Nicole May, who came to Burma three years ago and teamed up with a Burmese, Moe Kyaw. He initially financed the effort.

May chose five women from 120 candidates who responded to an ad for a band called Tiger Girls. “I wanted five girls who had energy and magnetic attraction,” she said.

But her winners did not have the South Korean look Moe Kyaw was aiming for: light-skinned with willowy bodies.

“I was skeptical,” he said in response to e-mailed questions. “If you were to ask me if I thought they had the looks for a successful girl band, I would say no.”

Moe Kyaw said he initially relented because he thought that the girls were talented and that looks were not everything. “This was during the days of Susan Boyle,” he said, recalling the unprepossessing Scottish singer who soared to stardom on a British TV talent show.

But he changed his mind. A year ago, the partners parted. The girls followed May and changed their name to Me N Ma Girls.

The notion of an all-girl band is still novel here, said Heather MacLachlan, a professor of music at the University of Dayton and the author of a recent book, “Burma’s Pop Music Industry: Creators, Distributors, Censors.”

The band sings about love and heartbreak and boy-meets-girl situations that might be benign in other cultures but rankle in a society where children live with their parents until they are married.

In the video for their song “Festival,” the girls dance in a sweaty nightclub and take a dip in a swimming pool. They peer over sunglasses as they sing the suggestive lines: “Hey, you! Are you happy? You want some?”

“I’ve NEVER seen girls behave like that, ever,” MacLachlan wrote in an e-mail, referring to Burmese girls.

As pop musicians in Burma, Me N Ma Girls face a unique set of problems. The power regularly goes out in one of their practice locations and the roof leaks during the rainy season. The censors barred the band from using colored wigs last year. “Tipping” the censors eases the process.

Growing name recognition has yet to translate to financial success.

Wai Hnin Khaing’s mother makes a living selling pork salad on the street for 200 kyat, or about 25 cents, a plate.

Lalrin Kimi, who goes by Kimmy onstage, grew up in a mountain village near the border with India, an area that suffers from famine and plagues of rice-eating rats. She lives with her siblings in Rangoon and makes a living singing in bars and restaurants.

Her father disapproved of her joining the band. “He wanted me to do only gospel songs,” she said.

The girls have big dreams.

“I want this band to hit Hollywood!” said Su Pyae Mhu Eain, the zoology major, known as Cha Cha.

Cha Cha’s own experiences inspired a song about a breakup, featuring the chorus, “You are a liar!” The song’s video was shot in Bangkok late last year.

For most of the band, that trip was the first time outside impoverished Burma. They marveled at Bangkok’s mass transit, the malls and the anonymity of a big city.

“I felt freedom there,” Kimmy said. “We could wear whatever. We didn’t need to care about other people. Here, if we wear shorts, we get teased.”

The band also saw the libertine side of Bangkok, including a sex show. “There were so many things we don’t see in Myanmar,” Kimmy said. “Prostitutes — so many!” (The show, which featured one particularly explicit sex act, was too much for Cha Cha. She ran to the ladies’ room and vomited.)

The girls are planning a return early this year, where they will perform with other bands from Burma. In the meantime, they focus on rehearsals, and keeping their parents soothed.

Band member Htike Htike Aung received a text message from her mother after one recent rehearsal carried over to midnight.

“Do you know you still have parents!” the message read, followed by more pleading: “My little daughter, call me back!”

She returned home and found her mother waiting for her with a home-cooked meal.

“She never goes to sleep until I get back,” Htike Htike Aung said. “I felt so bad.”

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Dutch Queen Beatrix calls headscarf row 'nonsense'

BBC News, 12 January 2012

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The queen was said to have heaved
a deep sigh over the row

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has dismissed as "real nonsense" a domestic political row over her wearing of a headscarf while on a trip to the Gulf.

She was reacting to questions in parliament tabled by Geert Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) which claimed she "legitimises the oppression of women".

Queen Beatrix wore a gown and headscarf first on Sunday on a visit to Abu Dhabi and again on Thursday in Oman.

Her officials said she had acted out of respect for Islamic tradition.

During Thursday's visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the Omani capital, Muscat, the queen wore a red shawl over her hat while Princess Maxima who was accompanying her also had her head covered.

Dutch TV said that by also wearing gloves, the queen had covered herself even more than in Abu Dhabi.

The PVV, an anti-Islam party that props up the Dutch minority government without being part of the coalition, described her wearing of a headscarf on Sunday as a "sad spectacle".

Reporters with the royal party in Muscat on Thursday described the queen as heaving a deep sigh, while saying she was not surprised by the row.

Princess Maxima also spoke out, according to Dutch media, pointing out that two-thirds of students in Abu Dhabi were women.

Although the queen regularly speaks to the Dutch press at the end of a royal tour, her frank remarks about a domestic political party are being seen as unprecedented.

Queen Beatrix, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when
she visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.  (Photo: ANP)

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10 Indonesian hotels win ASEAN Green Award

Antara News, Wed, January 11 2012

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Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Ten hotels operating in Indonesia have won ASEAN Green Hotel Recognition Award 2012 for applying environmentally friendly principles to their operations.

ASEAN Green Award

Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Pangestu presented the award to representatives of the hotels here on Wednesday.

The 10 hotels are Matahari Beach Resort & Spa (Bali), Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel (Bali), Holiday Inn Resort (Batam), Angsana (Bintan), Melia Benoa (Bali), Losari Spa Retreat & Coffee Plantation (Magelang), The St Regis Bali Resort(Bali), Melia Bali Villa & Spa Resort, The Dharmawangsa Jakarta, Hotel Gran Melia Jakarta.

Mari said the Green Award 2012 was the third of its kind since 2008. The first such award was given to ASEAN hotels in Thailand in 2008 and the second in Brunei Darussalam in 2010.

Environmentally friendly principle is the main aspect to see if a hotel deserves to receive the award according to the document of ASEAN Green Hotel Standard agreed upon by 10 ASEAN member countries.

The document covers a number of criteria and prerequisites as environmental policies which lay a basis for the environmentally friendly operation of hotels, including the use of green products, cooperation with local people and organizations, and human resources development.

Besides solid waste management, energy efficiency, water efficiency, air quality management (indoor and outdoor), noise pollution control, waste water treatment and management, toxic and chemical substance disposal management.

Tight competition in the hotel industry has encouraged the adoption of the Green Hotel Standard. The award is designed to promote hotel operators' environmental awareness amid the looming threat of global warming, increase the competitive edge of the hotel industry in attracting more guests and improving the quality of ASEAN hotels' services to support ASEAN as a single tourism destination.

The award was also given to a number of other ASEAN member countries which respectively nominated 10 hotels for the award. 

Editor: Ade Marboen

Indonesia's new symbol for injustice: Sandals

nzherald.co.nz, Jan 4, 2012 

Thousands of Indonesians have dumped old sandals at police stations
 and prosecutor offices to help protest for a 15-year-old boy being
prosecuted for lifting an old pair of sandals in Central
Sulawesi province. Photo / AP

Indonesians have found a new symbol for their growing frustration at uneven justice in their young, democratic nation: cheap, worn-out flip-flops.

They have been dropping them off at police stations all over the sprawling archipelago to express outrage over the arrest and trial of a 15-year-old boy for lifting an old pair of white sandals from outside a boarding house used by police in northern Indonesia.

"This is insane," said Titis Anissa, a high school teacher in the capital, Jakarta, noting that government officials found guilty of plundering state coffers get off with a slap on the wrist. "And a young, poor boy takes a pair of $3 sandals? Enough already!"

The boy snatched the shoes while he and several friends headed home from school in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, in November 2010.

He was later interrogated and badly beaten by three officers, and faces up to five years in prison if found guilty - the same sentence given to many terrorists, drug pushers and rapists.

He will appear Wednesday before the court in Palu for the second hearing of his trial, which opened last month.

Indonesia has made tremendous strides since the ouster of longtime dictator Suharto just over a decade ago, implementing sweeping reforms that have freed up the media, scrapped oppressive laws and given citizens the right to directly pick their leaders for the first time.

But the judicial system remains a weak point. The flip-flop case has captured headlines since the trial began and is one of the most popular trends on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Thousands have joined in the sandal donation protest.

A batch of 1,000 flip-flops will be given to Sgt. Ahmad Rusdi Harahap, owner of the stolen shoes, as "compensation," said campaign organizer Budhi Kurniawan.

The boy, not identified by name because of his age, said he found the dirty old flip-flops near a garbage bin outside the boarding house. Six months later, he was summoned by Harahap, who accused him of theft.

"At first, I didn't understand what he was talking about," he told The Associated Press. "I'd forgotten all about those sandals."

"He called a few of his colleagues and they started beating me up, hitting me with a piece of wood," he said. "I fell into a steep trench. My legs were bleeding."

The boy said the officers made him promise to give each a new pair of sandals, but his father, after seeing the cuts and bruises on his son's body, decided to report the men to their superiors.

Harahap, who along with the other two officers is facing charges of violating police ethics, responded by taking the teenager to criminal court.

It was a move Andreas Harsono, of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, said was obviously "excessive" and vindictive.

Ayu Laksmi, a Balinese artist, brought 10 pairs of sandals to the National Commission for Child Protection on Tuesday to show her displeasure.

"This just goes to show, once again, that our laws discriminate," she said. "It's tough on the poor and weak when it comes to those with money or power."

The teenager is not the first minor to face trial over a small criminal offence.

Last year, a 14-year-old boy was brought to court after spending three weeks in a Jakarta prison for allegedly stealing a $1.15 cellphone voucher.

Judges finally dropped the charges, arguing the investigation of the case was "defective."

- AP

First Brig. Ahmad Rusdi Harahap, left, was given 21 days

 in detention by a police tribunal on Thursday for abusing a 

teenager accused of stealing a pair of sandals in 2010.

(Antara Photo)

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Bali Increasingly a Stop for the World’s Cruise Ships

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, January 02, 2012

Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships. Officials,
 and a port official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island.
 (JG Photo/J.P. Christo)

      

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Denpasar. Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships, and a port official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island.

Iwan Sabatini, the general manager of Pelabuhan Indonesia III, which manages Benoa Port in southern Bali, said on Monday that 35 cruise ships berthed at the port last year, compared to 27 in 2010 and 15 in 2009.

“That number exceeded our target. We were really happy,” Iwan said.

The target for this year, according to Iwan, is 28 visits. That should not be too difficult to achieve, with Iwan saying 38 cruise ships had already indicated tentative plans to stop at Bali in 2012.

The first of those 38, the Legend of the Sea, a luxury cruise ship operated by Miami-based Royal Caribbean, is scheduled to berth at Benoa this month.

The 264-meter-long ship was scheduled to stop at the port last year but was unable to stop because the water was not deep enough in front of the jetty.

Iwan said they had completed work to deepen the sea to at least nine and a half meters for a width of 150 meters all along the jetty.

Bali is constructing a deep port for cruise ships in Tanah Ampo, in Karangasem district. The project had been halted because of funding problems but the Karangasem district chief, I Wayan Geredeg, said a new agreement signed by the ministries of transportation, people’s welfare, tourism and the creative economy, and maritime affairs and fisheries would allow work to resume soon.

Geredeg said the Tanah Ampo cruise ship terminal would provide another major gateway for tourists to arrive on the island, in addition to Ngurah Rai International Airport.

More than 2.5 million foreigners visited Bali in 2010, and the target for last year was 2.6 million to 2.8 million.