Balinese civilian guards get back to normal life<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
Unlike on previous days, only a few Balinese traditional
\nsecurity guards, or pecalang, were seen hanging around the Nusa
\nDua resort complex on Friday, where the UN meeting was held.<\/p>\n
It was understandable though, as Friday was the last day of
\nthe two-week preparatory committee meeting for the World Summit
\non Sustainable Development, in which members of the pecalang were
\nused to secure the event.<\/p>\n
One member of the pecalang, who had just finished patrolling
\nthe complex, said most of his colleagues had returned home to
\nresume their daily life.<\/p>\n
\"The tiring meeting has finished so we are now going back to
\nour normal life,\" the pecalang, who refused to give his name,
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said some of his friends were working for various
\ngovernment offices, but because of the call to duty to maintain
\npeace on the island, they took some time off.<\/p>\n
\"We want to ensure that Bali maintains its good image, that is
\nwhy we all took time to guard this international meeting,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The pecalang is a group of Balinese civilian guards closely
\nlinked to a banjar (traditional village).<\/p>\n
The entire banjar community elects the members of a pecalang
\nfor a certain period of time. Their duty is to primarily
\nsafeguard the village, especially during traditional and
\nreligious ceremonies.<\/p>\n
\"We don't understand all these words about globalization. All
\nwe know is that one slight security disruption would have a
\nterrible impact on our tourism business,\" the pecalang member,
\nwho also runs a small restaurant, said.<\/p>\n
The two-week Bali meeting on sustainable development slightly
\ntarnished the good image of these traditional guards.<\/p>\n
Not because of their actions, but because of other civilian
\nguards affiliated to the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle, who wore a similar uniform and acted beyond the
\nauthority of police.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, the guards, mistakenly taken for the
\npecalang, were positioned facing the protesters, who were mostly
\nmembers of non-governmental organizations grouped under the
\nIndonesian People's Forum (IPF).<\/p>\n
On some occasions, they blocked rallies by the IPF, when the
\npolice could not do so.<\/p>\n
But this prompted the IPF to lodge protests to the police for
\ndeploying civilian guards to face their protests.<\/p>\n
This situation created a bad image of the pecalang, and upset
\nthe Bali Hindu Youth Association.<\/p>\n
In an interview aired by one radio station in Bali, some
\npeople called in to say they were ashamed to be Balinese because
\nof the actions of the pecalang during the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"The pecalang should not be a part of the security guards.
\nTheir main duties are to protect traditional ceremonies and stay
\ninside their villages,\" the caller, Leidang Asmara, said.<\/p>\n
However, National Police chief Gen. Da'I Bachtiar viewed the
\nissue differently, saying that he was so proud of the pecalang as
\nthey were so well-organized and extremely polite.<\/p>\n
Despite the comments, one pecalang member said, \"I am only
\ndoing my job as a guardian for my banjar of Nusa Dua, nothing
\nmore.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/balinese-civilian-guards-get-back-to-normal-life-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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