Thousands in Kaohsiung catch last-minute Rubber Duck fever

Want China Times, CNA 2013-10-20

People flock to Kaohsiung Harbor for a last glimpse of the Rubber Duck, Oct. 19.
(Photo/Hsieh Ming-tso)

Thousands of admirers flocked to Kaohsiung Harbor on Saturday for a last glimpse of the city's world-famous Rubber Duck inflatable sculpture, which will conclude its appearance in the southern Taiwan city on Sunday.

The city's Glory Harbor was packed with buses from early Saturday morning bringing tourists to admire and pose for pictures with the floating art, which has drawn 3.5 million spectators since being put on display a month ago, according to the Kaohsiung City government.

Designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the installation was expected to attract some 200,000 spectators on Saturday, officials said.

A closing ceremony for Hofman's duck campaign in Kaohsiung will be held at 4pm on Sunday, and the city has encouraged the duck's fans to dress in yellow to bid it farewell.

The 18-meter-tall, 1,000-kilogram yellow duck will then be deflated and stored, perhaps for another occasion in the future, but Rubber Duck fever will continue in Taiwan, with Taoyuan county to display its own version of the Rubber Duck at a festival between Oct. 26 and Nov. 10.

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Jakarta Ramps-Up Efforts to End Masked Monkey Performances

Jakarta Globe,  October 19, 2013

A monkey wears a mask during a Topeng Monyet (Monkey Mask) show, a
traditional Indonesian street performance, in eastern Jakarta on April 25, 2011.
(Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo announced an innovative solution to rid the capital of masked monkeys on Friday. The government will buyback all monkeys used as street buskers in a campaign that aims to put an end to the cruel practice known locally as topeng monyet.

“This has become an international issue,” Joko said, according to the city government ’snews portal. “Have pity on the monkeys because they are being exploited by their owners.”

The costumed long-tailed macaques are a regular fixture on Jakarta’s streets, where they are often in the company of young children busking for spare change. The primates, dressed in tiny outfits, with the head of a doll worn as a mask, are made to carry small buckets for spare change or ride tiny push motorcycles to entertain spectators.

They are taught to walk upright by trainers who hang them from chains, forcing the macaques to use their hind legs instead of walking on all fours. Most are trained and sold from East Jakarta’s South Cipinang Besar slum, an area known locally as Kampung Monyet, or monkey village.

Animal rights groups have long-campaigned for a government order banning the barbaric practice. Former Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo allowed the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) to seize the monkeys off the streets, but stopped short of issuing a by-law banning their use.

When JAAN confiscated 21 monkeys in August of last year, four tested positive for a host of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis, herpes and tetanus, raising concerns of a disease outbreak in Jakarta.

The group has since began an awareness campaign, informing buskers that they monkeys are both in violation of Indonesian law and possible carriers of disease.

Joko’s administration ordered the city’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) to crackdown on the practice. Plain-clothes officers began seizing street monkeys as early as February of this year, confiscating the primates and issuing penalties to their handlers.

The Jakarta government prepared a one-hectare field at Ragunan Zoo to house the purchased macaques. The street buskers will be taught career skills to find a new job, Joko said. The administration aims to make Jakarta topeng monyet-free by 2014.

“We will provide training for the animal caretakers,” Joko said.

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Iran opens doors to tourists as Rouhani fosters thaw in relations with the west

New atmosphere under reformist president sees visa rules eased with Chinese visitors a priority for sanctions-hit country

The Guardian, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Friday 18 October 2013

Iranian girls take a break from skiing at Shemshak, near Tehran. Shemshak

is one of 18 winter sports resorts in Iran. Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters/Corbis

With its ancient ruins, glittering mosques and spectacular landscapes, Iran is home to some of the world's cultural treasures, but ever since the 1979 revolution, these have largely remained unseen by international tourists. In recent years, the country's most high-profile visitors have been nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Now, however, the new administration of Hassan Rouhani is taking steps to open up Iran to foreigners in an effort to improve its international image after the gloomy years under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – and to bring in much-needed foreign currency to an economy reeling from years of sanctions.

Mohammad-Ali Najafi, a vice-president and the head of the country's cultural heritage and tourism organisation, said Iran was overhauling its strict immigration rules to ease or abolish visa requirements for most foreign visitors.

"From the next two or three months, I predict that the number of foreign tourists who come to visit Iran as a tourist will greatly increase," said Najafi in a telephone interview from Tehran.

Najafi admitted some senior officials had been concerned at the prospect of allowing large numbers of tourists – especially westerners – in without prior security checks, but said that since Rouhani took office in August Iran's tourism body had eventually secured their support – and government approval.

The authorities will divide countries into three categories, Najafi said. Tourists from countries in the first group will not need a visa; visitors from the second group will be allowed in without a visa as long as they are part of an organised tour group; and visa procedures for the third group will be eased – meaning that many will be able to obtain a visa on arrival.

"Western countries will most probably be categorised in the second or third group," he said.

The semi-official Isna news agency has reported that except for 10 countries, including Britain, the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, foreign tourists will be able to obtain visas upon arrival at the airport.

In September, Najafi was with Rouhani as the president travelled to New York for the UN general assembly. That visit marked a huge breakthrough in relations with the US, with the first direct talks between American and Iranian presidents since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, and renewed hopes that a solution can be found to the stalemate over Iran's nuclear programme.

The trip also opened up the possibility of a boost for the country's tourism industry. "When I was in America, I personally met with a number of tour operators, mainly those who are operated by Iranians in the US or non-Iranians who have had experience in dealing with Iran in the past," Najafi said.

After he was sworn in, Rouhani initially nominated Najafi as education minister but parliament accused him of previously having sided with the opposition Green movement and refused to sanction his appointment. Instead, Rouhani made him a vice-president, a cabinet position that does not require a parliamentary vote.

Iranians have also seen encouraging signs of the thaw at home: high-profile political prisoners have been released and the media face fewer restrictions. Najafi said the new political atmosphere had already encouraged more visitors.

"Over the past two months, many travel agencies have reported to us that the number of foreign tourists who have signed up to their Iran tours has increased a lot," he said. According to Najafi, four million foreign visitors came last year, mainly pilgrims from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Iraq who went to religious sites such as the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, a revered Shia site. "We don't have exact figures but we estimate that last year our tourism industry helped add some $2bn [£1.3bn] to our revenue," said Najafi. Now, Najafi said, the target was $10bn.

Goodwill ambassadors

Chinese tourists are a priority. "World figures show that China sends more tourists to visit other countries than anywhere else," Najafi said. "With help from our embassy in China, we have spoken to Chinese tourism officials and we have invited a number of them to come to Iran."

Najafi hoped foreign tourists would become "ambassadors for the goodwill of our country and our people" in the world. "We have a secure and safe country in our region … but we in Iran should take the first step in persuading westerners that they should have no fear in coming to Iran."

Unesco has so far declared16 world heritage sites in Iran, which was historically referred to as Persia in the west up until the 20th century.

In recent years, Iran's culture and heritage have fallen victim to the political dispute between Tehran and the west, which has dominated the global discourse on Iran. Brandon Stanton, an American citizen who travelled to Iran last year, attracted attention on returning home by posting an itinerary, along with pictures of Iran, on the Human of New York photo blog.

"Americans are especially loved," he wrote with astonishment. "This was noted in every travel account that I read, and I can confirm the fact. You will be smiled at, waved at, invited to meals, and asked to deliver personal messages to Jennifer Lopez. American music, movies, and media are thoroughly consumed by the people of Iran."

Amos Chapple, a photographer from New Zealand who has visited Iran on a number of times, said the Iran he saw was utterly different from the one represented in the west.

"Every traveller I met felt the same way: they had arrived expecting hostility and danger, but ended up amongst the most cosmopolitan and generous people in the Middle East," he said.

"Having visited three times it's just heartbreaking to see what damage the sanctions are doing to ordinary people who have nothing but goodwill towards America."

Zoe Holman, an Australian journalist who visited Iran for the first time in 2003, said: "Despite the divisions between 'the Muslim' and 'the west' being projected in geopolitics by the 'war on terror' and Iraq war, I was surprised, and humbled, to discover that none of these prejudices seemed to have trickled down to affect Iranian attitudes towards westerners.

"I was struck by the cosmopolitanism of urban Iranians, their education, open-mindedness and their humorous irreverence for the religious regime which governed them."

The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to most of Iran. Unlike tourists, journalists – especially those working for the foreign press – are usually unwelcome in the Islamic republic.

South Korea Introduces ‘Gangnam Style’ Tourist Police

Jakarta Globe – AFP, October 16, 2013

South Korean “tourist police” officers salute during their inauguration ceremony
 at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul on October 16, 2013. (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon–Je)

Seoul. South Korea unveiled its new “tourist police” force Wednesday, with snappy uniforms from rapper Psy’s costume designer and a “Gangnam Style” launch in central Seoul.

Around 100 young policemen and women make up the first batch of the new force — formed to protect tourists from being ripped off during their stay in the South Korean capital.

The officers were handpicked for their linguistic skills, and can speak a range of languages including English, Japanese and Mandarin.

“Those who think they were overcharged by taxi drivers or street food vendors can come and talk to us. We will help settle the problem,” English-speaking recruit Park Jae-Hyoung told AFP.

Each officer wears a badge denoting his language expertise on a special dark-blue uniform created by one of the costume designers for the “Gangnam Style” star Psy.

The singer’s global hit was played at Wednesday’s launch event, with a police drill unit performing his signature horse-riding dance.

“The tourist police wasn’t created because this country is unsafe,” Lee Charm, president of the Korea Tourism Organization told the new recruits.

“You are ambassadors who promote how safe this country is,” he said. “From now on, you guys will be very busy having pictures taken with tourists.”

The police are unarmed and are meant to summon regular officers in the event of any serious crime.

The number of foreign travelers to South Korea has steadily grown over the years and topped 10 million for the first time in 2012, partly thanks to interest sparked by the global popularity of “Gangnam Style.”

The song, released a year ago, made Psy an international star, and is the most popular video of all time on YouTube with nearly 1.8 billion views.

Agence France-Presse

Culture War as the Maldives Opens Up to Backpackers

Jakarta Globe - AFP, Adam Plowright on 5:25 pm October 13, 2013

This photograph taken on September 9, 2013 shows an aerial view of one of the
 many luxurious resorts that dot the many islands that comprise the Maldives in the
Indian Ocean. (AFP Photo/ Roberto Schmidt)

Male. The Maldives is one of the world’s most exclusive holiday destinations but it has quietly opened up to backpackers in the last five years with a reform that has upset religious hard-liners.

Most visitors arrive at the country’s airport island, take a speed boat or seaplane to their expensive coral-fringed private resort and spend the next week relaxing in blissful ignorance of the country around them.

It has been this way for decades, the result of a deliberate policy of keeping the wealthy holidaymakers — mostly Westerners and often newly-weds — on uninhabited islands separate from the local Muslim population.

The Islamic Republic applies different laws for both: travelers are free to drink alcohol, eat pork, and for those not on their honeymoon, enjoy pre-marital sex. Elsewhere, Maldivian women can be flogged in public for fornication.

“Since Maldives is a Muslim country, we have always supported the idea that the tourism industry should be separate from the inhabited islands,” says Mauroof Hussain, vice president of the conservative Adhaalath Party.

“If the hippy-type of travelers come, along will come drugs and narcotics which even now our society is suffering from,” says Hussain, whose party has been a minority partner in successive governments since 2008.

While the archipelago is still far from the hippy trail, the sight of backpackers wandering around Male and the nearby island of Maafushi is growing thanks to a new policy to attract budget travellers.

“Things like nudity are not acceptable in a place where people are living,” adds Mauroof. “The people complain that they are praying in the mosque and just outside there are tourists in bikinis.”

Men enjoy a nightly game of chess outside a corner restaurant in Male on
September 6, 2013. (AFP Photo/ Roberto Schmidt)

‘Very welcoming people’

Since a reform under the country’s first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2009, Maldivians have been allowed to open their own guesthouses on populated islands.

While fundamentalist interpretations of Islam imported from the Gulf and Pakistan are progressively taking root in the Maldives, Mauroof’s views lie far outside the mainstream and are ridiculed by many.

What started as a trickle of guesthouses has become a torrent with entrepreneurs like 25-year-old Ibrahim Mohamed converting properties and profiting from what is the islands’ biggest business and foreign exchange earner.

“Maldivians are very welcoming people. It wasn’t Maldivians that wanted separation, it was the government and a few businessmen saying that they should be isolated,” Mohamed told AFP. “The Maldives can’t hide from the world anymore.”

His three-roomed Sundhara Palace located on a busy street of the cramped capital Male opened at the beginning of September, offering basic en-suite accommodation for $30 a night.

The cheapest resorts are usually about 10 times this, with prices stretching up to several thousand dollars a night — with expensively priced food and drink on top.

Mohamed stresses that the guesthouse policy is also “a good system to get money to the people instead of to wealthy businessmen.”

A handful of well-connected resort owners who prospered under the 30-year autocratic rule of strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom continue to control the Maldives economy and are active in politics.

These oligarchs have united against Nasheed, who was ousted in February 2012 following a mutiny by security forces, which he branded a “coup.”

His efforts to return to power through the ballot box have since been thwarted with the country wracked by protests and uncertainty after the Supreme Court annulled elections he won on September 7.

The court order came in response to a legal challenge from the third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim, one of the country’s wealthiest tycoons who is in alliance with the Adhaalath Party.

A re-run of the polls has been ordered for October 19, with the British government warning travellers to avoid demonstrations and take precautions in the capital.

If re-elected, Nasheed has promised in to expand the guesthouse policy as part of his ambitious social and economic reform program.

“The industry is flourishing very rapidly. We feel there is so much more scope for that,” he told reporters days before voting in the first round of the election in September.

One of the people to take advantage of the changes is Dutch tourist Chris Constandse, a 27-year-old web designer who works for a travel website in Amsterdam.

He booked a few nights at a hotel in the capital, but plans to spend the rest of his two-week holiday staying in guesthouses dotted around the country of more than 1,000 islands.

“Backpackers go to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and I was like ‘I always do things different,’ so I thought I’d go backpacking in the Maldives,” he told AFP shortly before leaving on a ferry for one of the nearby islands.

“The most important thing is that you get in touch with the people. I’ve stayed in Male for three nights and I’ve already met some people and made some friends.”

Agence France-Presse

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Balinese Dance Master Celebrates 75 Years on the Stage

Jakarta Globe, Nadia Bintoro, October 13, 2013

Ida Bagus Oka Wirjana’s impressive career has been commemorated in dance,
 words and pictures at a special program of events hosted by Bentara Budaya Bali.
(JG Photo/Nadia Bintoro)

A burning flame sliced through the piercing darkness as the music started to pulsate. Our eyes focused to reveal the torch bearing the flame, held by a shirtless man in white pants. His sudden presence caught everyone off guard.

Coming from backstage, he danced his way through the crowd of people who were patiently waiting in front of the main atrium. His moves created havoc and confusion among the spectators who thought the performance would be presented on the main stage as is commonly done.

Instead, he navigated his way through the front lawn of Bentara Budaya Bali, through the trees, to the small bungalow at the side.

Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he herded the expectant crowd to the first part of the performance. There, five young men in all-white attire danced to the instruction of a teacher. Together they depicted the first scene of a colossal collaboration dance performance titled “The Journey of Life” as part of series of events run in tribute to maestro Balinese dancer, Ida Bagus Oka Wirjana’s 75th Diamond Anniversary.

As the event’s name suggests, 84-year-old Ida Bagus has spent 75 years dedicated to Balinese dance and is most famous for his vivacity in dancing Tari Kebyar Duduk — an intricate individual piece performed mainly from a seated position.

He has won many awards and performed at many prestigious events including the presidential palace as well as Europe, America, Japan, Pakistan, Hawaii and Sweden among others.

He was recently given the title of “Balinese Dance Maestro.”

As a tribute to Ida Bagus’s 75 years dedication, Bentara Budaya Bali in collaboration with Yayasan Tetamian Griya Blangsinga organized a special program of events from Sept. 28 to Oct. 7.

The event saw the maestro himself dance in a classical performance alongside his family members and prominent names from the world of dance such as Ni Luh Menek from Buleleng, Jro Puspawati and Ni Ketut Arini.

A special art exhibition is also taking place in Bentara Budaya Bali during the period.

Organized by the Lingkara PhotoArt Community, around 14 photographers presented their works. Together they attempt to elevate the definition of photography into a unique form of art.

Rather than printing the photos on normal photo paper, the photographers rejoice in their freedom to experiment in delivering the photographs in various other less traditional media, such as suar wood, lenticular plastic, and canvas.

A series of photographs printed on plastic by Indra Widi are paired with essays on the life of Ida Bagus Blangsinga creating a transparent story book that is not only pleasing on the eye, but provides context in savoring the artworks.

Other than the photographs, sculptures by Serbian artist, Irina Perisic Bosnjak as well as by Ida Bagus Alit and Carola Vooges are also showcased in the exhibition.

In addition to the special tribute to Ida Bagus Blangsinga, other events being held at Bentara Budaya facilities across Indonesia include “Wangsa Cirebon-Dermayu” at Bentara Budaya Jakarta; “Giriloyo Batik: From Period to Period” at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta; and “Coastal Tegal’s Puppets” at Balai Soedjatmoko in Solo, Central Java.

Pope stresses 'service' role for women in Catholic Church

Google – AFP, 12 October 2013

Pope Francis arrives on St. Peter's square on October 12, 2013 before leading

a prayer as part of a Marian Day event at the Vatican (AFP, Vincenzo Pinto)

Vatican City — The role of women in the Roman Catholic Church should be one of "service" and not "servitude", the pope said at a Vatican conference on Saturday.

Pope Francis said he "suffered" when he saw "in the Church, or in certain Church organisations... that the woman's service role slips into one of servitude," the agency I-Media quoted him as saying.

He also singled out two dangers facing Catholic women, beginning with "motherhood being reduced to a social role".

On the other hand, he said that the "sort of emancipation" that allows women to enter traditionally male domains may rob them of "the very femininity that characterises them".

The 76-year-old Argentine pontiff, elected in March, also said he likes to think of the Church as feminine.

"The Church is a woman, a mother, that is what is beautiful," he told some 150 people attending the conference marking the 25th anniversary of the publication of papal text on the woman's vocation.

Francis said the text, an encyclical by pope John Paul II titled "Mulieris dignitatem", was a "historic document, the first from the papacy that was entirely devoted to the subject of the woman."

Whatever cultural and social changes have occurred or may occur, "the fact remains that it is the woman who conceives, carries and brings into the world the children of men," the pontiff said.

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Pope outlines less 'Vatican-centric' Church

goldenageofgaia.com, Steve Beckow, Sept 30, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel, with Archangel Michael 

(... Pope Francis

SB: Let’s turn for a moment to Pope Francis, who has allegedly excommunicated an Australian priest who was apparently working for the ordination of women. We don’t really know, and that’s why we’re coming to you.

This move has reportedly shocked many Catholics who thought that Pope Francis was a progressive. Can you give us your perspective on the matter, please?

AAM: First of all, there has not been an excommunication. And it is a matter of timing. And it is a matter of bringing the women into the priesthood. So this is not the truthful report.

It is that simple.

SB: Has somebody tried to undermine Pope Francis?

AAM: Oh, yes. There will be many who will try to undermine.

SB: Well, I’ll be darned!

AAM: But that will not be permitted. The truth will win out. ...)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"THE RECALIBRATION OF BELIEF"– Aug 18, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Next Year, No More Selling Animals on City Streets: Basuki

Jakarta Globe, Lenny Tristia Tambun, October 11, 2013

Animals are sold on the street for Idul Adha on October 9, 2013 in
Surabaya, East Java. (JG Photo/Dhana Kencana)

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said on Friday that vendors selling animals for the Muslim holiday of Idul Adha will from next year be prohibited from trading on the city’s sidewalks.

“[The practice] is still permitted for this year, but people will not be able to sell [animals for the sacrifice] on sidewalks next year,” Basuki said.

It is common in Jakarta for vendors to sell goats, sheep and cows for Idul Adha.

Basuki said that Central Jakarta Mayor Saifullah signed a written agreement with the city on Monday saying that sellers could not trade animals and take up public space next year, though no such agreement has yet been reached in other parts of the city.

Kukuh Hadi Santoso, the head of the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), said that even though the practice violates a local bylaw, his institution has still been tolerating it.

“The sellers have already purchased the animals,” he said. “This year is the last year that they will be able to sell on the streets.

Second Orangutan Dies at Surabaya ‘Nightmare Zoo’

Google – AFP, October 10, 2013

An orangutan soaks in an artificial river at the Surabaya zoo in Surabaya
on October 10, 2013. (AFP Photo/Juni Kriswanto)

Surabaya. An endangered Borneo orangutan died Thursday at Indonesia’s “death zoo,” the latest in a series of suspicious animal deaths that have prompted calls to close the notorious facility.

Fifteen-year-old Betty the orangutan had difficulty breathing before she died, Surabaya Zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat said, adding she had just undergone a week of intensive treatment.

“Based on her medical records, she was suffering from inflammation of the lung,” he said.

Supangkat said the inflammation was caused by “extreme hot weather that has hit Surabaya city.”

The ape’s death comes two weeks after a 12-year-old Borneo orangutan named Nanik died from an intestinal tumor and liver problems. Orangutans typically live between 50 and 60 years.

Supangkat denied any negligence by the zoo, saying the orangutans lived in a leafy outdoor enclosure and were given healthy diets of fruit, milk and multivitamins.

The Surabaya Zoo is Indonesia’s largest and has been dubbed a “death zoo” as hundreds of animals have died prematurely or suffered abuse there in recent years.

In July last year a 15-year-old endangered orangutan at the zoo named Tori was forced to quit smoking. Management had allowed visitors to throw lit cigarettes at her for 10 years, making the smoking orangutan the zoo’s star attraction.

Also last year a 30-year-old male giraffe died at the zoo with a 20-kilogram beachball-size lump of plastic in its stomach from food wrappers thrown into its pen by visitors.

Animal welfare groups have called for the zoo to be closed down, with British singer and animal rights activist Morrissey joining the chorus of criticism last year.

There are an estimated 45,000 to 69,000 Borneo orangutans left in the wild. They are native to the vast island of Borneo, shared among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Agence France-Presse

Related Article:

Down, Not Out: Threatened Species Find Sanctuary at Taman Safari

Down, Not Out: Threatened Species Find Sanctuary at Taman Safari

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran & Ihsan Hartono, October 9, 2013

Taman Safari, located in Bogor, West Java, has 18 tigers in its breeding center,
 six of which were brought to the zoo for rehabilitation after suffering serious
injuries elsewhere. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran)

The car came to a sudden stop as Taman Safari park director Tony Sumampau opened the door, yelling at a group of foreign tourists breaking one of the park’s most important rules: never step out of your vehicle.

“Get back into the car,” he yelled at the confused-looking men.

The men stood there sheepishly before climbing back inside. Guest safety is a constant concern for Tony. Taman Safari is a cage-less zoo and a veritable Noah’s Ark of animals. Our van rolled past wandering giraffes, bathing hippos and crouching lions as we headed deeper into the park.

The beasts, which seem tame enough from the car window, have enticed curious visitors from their cars. The consequences of getting too close to a wild animal, Tony warned, can be severe.

“We had an incident one time where a foreigner ventured outside of his vehicle and got bitten,” he said. “The embassy got involved.”

Located in the Puncak highlands of Bogor, West Java, Taman Safari is one of Indonesia’s most famous zoos. It houses roughly 2,500 animals with a special focus on Indonesian species. At the safari section of the zoo, visitors can drive through the grounds and gaze out the window at a wide range of free-roaming animals.

But the zoo is also known for something else: it’s an internationally recognized animal-rehabilitation center tasked with treating some of the nation’s most critically endangered animals.

Decades of unchecked deforestation and rampant poaching have taken a toll on Indonesia’s population of forest-dwelling animals. The Sumatran rhino, elephant and tiger are all critically endangered.

Tiger tank

It’s a tough life for Indonesia’s remaining Sumatran tigers.

Conservation groups estimate that there are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. Those that remain face serious threats from villagers, poachers and shrinking habitats. The cats, the smallest living tiger species in the world, used to thrive in the heavy jungles of Sumatra, where they existed parallel to cousins in Bali and Java.

Experts now worry that without intervention the Sumatran tiger will face similar extinction.

Tigers in the wild fall under the protection of several groups, including the Ministry of Forestry and armed park rangers. But when the animals are injured by humans — caught in snares or neglected by other zoos — they often end up at Taman Safari.

The zoo has 18 tigers in its breeding center, six of which were brought to Taman Safari for rehabilitation after suffering serious injuries elsewhere.

Dara, a five-year-old tiger, was found trapped in a snare in Jambi.

“She was taken to the Jambi zoo at first, but [after she came here], the infection caused by the snare left us with no other choice but to remove her paw,” Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian at Taman Safari, told the Jakarta Globe.

She rarely leaves the platform in her enclosure and shields her missing paw under her body constantly, keenly aware of her handicap.

“She doesn’t want people to know that she’s missing a paw,” Tony said. “They [tigers] behave like humans.”

Salamah, another female tiger, was found trapped in a snare in Aceh. Her injuries were so severe veterinarians had to remove one of her legs.

“She was less than a year old at the time of the accident,” Tony said. “She was caught for three days in the trap when a team from Syah Kuala University found her. They amputated her paw, but her leg showed signs of necrosis, so they had to amputate.

“After several amputations, her leg was gone.”

Melani was rescued from the Surabaya Zoo and brought to Taman Safari
after years of abuse. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran)

No gilded cages

Sumatran tigers face threats in captivity as well.

Taman Safari’s most famous tiger-in-residence, Melani, made waves internationally when photos of her emaciated frame were posted online by animal rights activists. The photos served as a stark reminder of the state of some of Indonesia’s zoos.

The Surabaya Zoo, Melani’s former home, was less a zoo than a dungeon — a sad symbol of neglect and mismanagement where dozens of animals dropped dead or disappeared.

A giraffe was found dead with 20 kilograms of plastic in its stomach. Komodo dragons disappeared. An African lion slowly died in pain.

Melani, who was born in captivity, was fed a diet of formaldehyde-tainted meat for years, destroying her digestive tract in the process. The tiger lost all her teeth and fell seriously ill, dropping to less than half her recommended weight.

Her condition was poor enough that zoo staff first recommended Melani be put down. But after months of treatment at Taman Safari, she was on the mend.

Nowadays, Melani still struggles to keep on weight and consume solid food. She spends her time silently sitting in her enclosure, displaying none of the ferocity usually associated with her species.

“She’s no longer suffering from anemia and hipovolemia, and her blood tests are showing positive results. However, her malabsorption issue persists and since she is getting older, it is difficult for her to go back to normal,” Yohana, Melani’s veterinarian, previously told the Jakarta Globe.

Though Melani has survived her mistreatment, it’s apparent that she will feel the effects of years of neglect for the rest of her life.

A better tomorrow?

The future looks dim for Indonesia’s critically endangered animals. Deforestation continues despite several high-profile commitments to curb the destructive practice.

Animal-human conflicts have become increasingly common in Sumatra, with villages reporting elephant and tiger issues in Aceh and Riau. The Indonesian government has made commitments to protect its endangered species, but a parallel push for sustained economic growth has opened up previously untouched tracts of forest to potential development.

The island of Sumatra, home to some of the most critically endangered species, is ground zero for the nation’s agri-business sector. Logging and plantation conversion have decimated the natural forests in Riau, home to Southeast Asia’s largest pulp mill.

From 1985 to 1997, an estimated 67,000 square kilometers of forest were lost in Sumatra.

Furthermore, annual brush fires tear through the province, choking the region in thick haze and injuring local wildlife — including several tapirs who now live at Taman Safari.

Back to the breeding center, a now-healthy Sumatran tiger named Bimo paces his enclosure. After being rescued by the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and brought to Taman Safari in 2011, Bimo was reportedly poisoned.

“A nearby river from the place of his rescue contained diazinon, a type of insecticide used in the area,” said Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian at the zoo. “So we assume that he ingested that.”

As his caretakers passed his cage, Bimo let out a devastating roar, a testament to his health and well-being.

As wildlife organizations try to work with plantation companies to monitor endangered species on the island and thwart further habitat destruction, places like Taman Safari provide a safe haven for Sumatra’s most vulnerable animals.

Tapirs are among the animals that Taman Safari's rehabilitation center

houses. (JG Photo/Camelia Pasandaran)

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Petition Calls for Animal Rights, Gives a Voice to the Voiceless

Surabaya Zoo, which is home to almost 3,000 animals, has come under fire for its
gross negligence and mistreatment. (Photo courtesy of Jakarta Animal Aid etwork).

Australia PM Announces Terror Attack Compensation in Bali

Jakarta Globe – AFP, October 9, 2013

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media next to bombing
victim Australian Peter Hughes (to Abbott’s left) in front of the Bali bombing
memorial after laying a wreath at the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali
bombing, in Kuta, Bali, on October 9, 2013. (EPA Photo)

Kuta, Bali. Prime Minister Tony Abbott Wednesday announced a scheme to compensate Australian victims of overseas terror attacks and their families as he laid a wreath at the site of the 2002 Bali bombings.

Flanked by his wife Margie and Bali governor I Made Mangku Pastika, Abbott bowed his head during the solemn ceremony at a stone monument that honours the 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, who died in the attacks.

Abbott said he was making the visit, after his attendance at a summit on Bali, to “honour the dead, to commiserate with those who were injured on that night and who still bear the scars, physical and mental”.

Eighty-eight Australians were among those killed in the attacks by Islamist militants on a nightclub and bar on the party strip of Kuta on the Indonesian resort island.

Abbott’s visit to the monument, which stands across from the site of the Sari Club that was attacked in 2002, was his first since becoming prime minister last month and came just days before the 11th anniversary of the attacks.

“The long campaign to provide a measure of justice to the victims of terrorist atrocities overseas is coming to a close,” he said, as he announced the compensation scheme.

He said victims of overseas terror attacks and their next of kin could apply for Aus$75,000 (US$70,700) in compensation, in a scheme he said would cost the government about Aus$30 million.

Abbott also recalled that he was in Bali during a second terror attack in 2005, and had volunteered in a local hospital to help victims.

“We have had support all the way through with regard to medical, but there’s never been an actual compensation payout,” Glenn Cosman, who was hit by shrapnel in the attack on the Sari Club, told ABC radio.

“Many people have always asked that question of me — what sort of compensation did you get. And the answer has always been nothing.”

People will be able to apply for the compensation from October 21 and Abbott said it would benefit around 300 individuals and families.

The scheme to compensate victims of overseas terror attacks was introduced by former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, but it was not retroactive.

Abbot’s plan will also apply to those caught up in other terror attacks, so people affected by the attacks in New York on September 11, 2001 and the 2005 attack in Bali will be able to apply.

Abbott was in Indonesia to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, that ended Tuesday, and he will now head for more regional meetings in Brunei.

Agence France-Presse