Expo banners pulled down

Half an hour before President Megawati Soekarnoputri was due to arrive in Nusa Dua, Bali to open the UN meeting, seven officials from the Badung administration walked down the street to the airport, tearing down dozens of banners belonging to the World Sustainable Development Expo.

One official from the expo's organizer, Antheus Indonesia, said there was no license allowing banners to be displayed. In addition, the official said, the street had been declared a banner-free area.

Meanwhile, Santo Widjaja from Antheus described the incident as a result of "administrative problems". He said the banners were expected to be put up again as soon as the administrative hurdles were cleared. -- JP