Bombings halt youth exchange programs

Bombings halt youth exchange programs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of Australian and Canadian youths have expressed
disappointment over the cancellation of two separate youth
exchange programs following the bomb attacks in Bali on Oct. 12
and South Sulawesi late last Thursday.

Dewa Diarta Nidha, chairperson of the youth and sports
division at the Bali education office, said on Sunday that around
40 Australian and 20 Canadian youths had to cancel their visits
to Bali next month following the deadly bomb blasts.

He said the youths would have attended exchange programs with
their Indonesian counterparts in the Bali area of Kamasan,
Klungkung, for three months previously scheduled to start this
month.

"The cancellation is related to the bombing tragedy in Kuta,
Bali," Dewa told Antara in the provincial capital of Denpasar.

Australia and Canada issued travel warnings to their citizens
against visiting Indonesia after the Bali terror attack that
killed over 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly
foreigners.

Dewa expressed the hope that the cancellation would only be
temporary in nature until after security in Bali started
recovering.

At least 20 other Canadian youths, who were on a similar
three-month program which began early in October in Bangli, Bali,
had to abandon the resort island before their program started.

Also, a separate group of 18 Australian students aged between
18 and 21 would have left for Indonesia on Dec. 9 to attend the
Australian-Indonesian Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP).

They were scheduled to stay for two months with Indonesian
families at Bulutana village, close to the South Sulawesi capital
of Makassar which was rocked by a bomb blast last Thursday which
killed at least three people.

The cancellation of AIYEP was decided by the Australia-
Indonesia Institute (AII) in compliance with the warning issued
by Canberra on its citizens from traveling to Indonesia.

"We are extremely disappointed with the cancellation as we
have made preparations for several months to join this program,"
David Saxby, an AIYEP participant from Sydney, told Antara in
Canberra.

He added that his fellow would-be participants felt the same.

David Reeve from the University of New South Wales, along with
his classmates, admitted that the cancellation of the program was
made on the basis of "safety considerations" due to the travel
warnings.

"I doubt it is actually that dangerous, but as a person
responsible for his students I have to be cautious and
responsible," he said.

Deputy chairman of the Australia-Indonesia Association (AIA)
S. Supomo, who is a lecturer at the Australian National
University, concurred with Reeve and urged the Australian
government to lift the travel advisory as the security conditions
were getting better, despite the two recent bomb attacks in
Sulawesi.

An Indonesian diplomat in Canberra, Imron Cotan, called for
the revocation of the travel advisory in order not to hamper such
a cultural program.

"We ask that the travel warning for Indonesia be scrapped
because it is no longer relevant with the security situation in
Indonesia," he told Antara.

He cited a positive stance taken by other countries such as
Japan and European countries by scrapping their respective travel
advisories to maintain bilateral ties with Indonesia.

Despite the absence of their Canadian counterparts in
Klungkung, 20 Indonesian youths were planning to go ahead with
the cultural program.

"But they will stay in Bali only for two days to visit tourism
sites before continuing their travel to Makassar," Dewa said.

Last year, a similar program with Canada was also called off
following public threats by Muslim militants here to round up and
detain any and all Westerners following the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States.