Govt criticized for exploiting guards

Govt criticized for exploiting guards

The presence of Balinese traditional village guards or
pecalang has captured the attention of most delegates attending
the current UN meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Everything appeared to be running smoothly until Wednesday
morning when hundreds of NGO members staged a big rally at the
resort complex, which apparently provoked dozens of pecalang to
the brink of an ugly, violent clash with the demonstrators.

Anak Agung Arya Wedakarna from the Bali Hindu Youth
Association blamed the Indonesian government for involving
pecalang as the security team to safeguard this UN-sponsored
meeting.

"It is part of the politicization process of Balinese
traditional community members," charged Arya.

Pecalang guards are closely linked to the traditional village
of Banjar and now operate throughout Bali.

"They do not belong to any political party or other
institutions, only Banjar," he said.

Each pecalang member was directly elected by the entire
village community.

According to Balinese traditional rules, pecalang are obliged
to protect and to defend their respective village regardless of
the situation.

"We assume that there is a systematic effort to ruin the image
of pecalang. We, the Balinese people, never had any intention to
disturb the meeting." -- JP