Bali looks like war zone on the eve of Bush's visit, locals indifferent
The Jakarta Post, Kuta/Surabaya/Mataram
The planned visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Bali has transformed Bali's popular tourist destination Kuta and its Ngurah Rai airport into a fortress, with soldiers and police roaming around the vicinity in full battle gear.
Authorities tightened security on Tuesday in and around Ngurah Rai and Patra Bali Hotel, where President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her U.S. counterpart Bush are scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
U.S. security authorities have also blocked almost three quarters of the hotel compound, just five minutes drive from the airport, making it extremely difficult for hotel guests to move around.
"I have been receiving complaints (from hotel guests) since this morning. It is inconvenient for them to move around with so many soldiers standing at every corner of the hotel," a member of the hotel's staff told The Jakarta Post on condition of anonymity.
Walk-through metal detectors have been placed at every entrance and only people with identification cards provided by the government are able to move easily around the hotel.
Six Indonesian warships are also standing by and attracted the attention of hotel guests who could spot them from the beach.
Sources told the Post that around 200 U.S. marines were also staying in the hotel and 20 more rooms have been booked for the presidential entourage, including two presidential suites reserved for Bush and his wife Laura Bush.
For security reasons, authorities will close down the airport for at least three hours on Wednesday, forcing around 25 flights in and out of the island to be rescheduled.
The U.S. authority has also limited media coverage to 30 local journalists and 20 American journalists traveling with Bush in the Air Force One.
"The rest of the media are not allowed to go near the venue," a member of the Indonesian presidential staff said.
Bush is slated to arrive at 11:05 a.m. local time. After resting for ten minutes, 25-minutes of bilateral talks with President Megawati are scheduled, with lunch afterward.
Two press conferences have been scheduled for Wednesday, the first after lunch, when the two presidents will issue a joint statement on terrorism. The second will be held after Bush holds a 30-minute dialog with Indonesian religious leaders.
Nahdlatul Ulama Chairman Hasyim Muzadi, Muhammdiyah Chairman Syafii Maarif, noted Islamic scholar Azyumardi Azra and Chairman of Indonesian Churches Council (PGI) Chairman Nathan Setiabudi have been invited to meet Bush.
Meanwhile, students across the country held protests against Bush's visit to Bali, where powerful bomb explosions, blamed on regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) killed over 200 people in October 2002.
In neighboring city Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara province, dozens of university students took to the streets furious over Bush's visit to Bali.
"There is only one word for Bush's visit to Bali...reject!" the students shouted.
In Surabaya, East Java, students and Muslim activists also staged a protest before the highly-guarded U.S. General Council to object to Bush's presence in Bali.
During the rally, the protesters burned a picture of President Bush.
"Let us join hands rejecting Bush," the protesters said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, some local Balinese were reportedly ambivalent about President Bush's visit to the resort island.
"I do not really care, his visit will not change anything around here, we will just move along with our activities," a local Kuta resident, Agung, told the Post.
Another local Balinese, Gusti, said that Bali people never gave any special attention to these kind of visits.
"The most important thing is that tourists still come here," he said.