Don't get close to this jail

SEMARANG, Central Java: Tourists visiting Nusakambangan island are not allowed to get too close to the notorious jail housing hardcore criminals.

Chief of Central Java tourism office Sri Soebagjo said here Saturday that this precaution was taken to prevent "anything untoward" happening.

The provincial government will open Nusakambangan Island to tourists soon.

Soebagjo said tourists will come in groups and be accompanied by guides who have a license, Antara reported.

The local government has prepared fifteen main attractions for tourists: caves, beaches, forests and old castles.

He acknowledged that although Nusakambangan has great potential, the government was facing a lot of problems in developing it. "It is difficult to shed the island's image as a giant prison," he said. (31)