Immigration Sanctions Two Foreign Nationals for Organising Discriminatory 'Entourage Run' in Bali

There must be no state within a state. The running event was a form of a state within a state.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Directorate General of Immigration has taken action against two foreign nationals (WNA) alleged to be organisers of the Entourage Run running community in Canggu, Bali, after the event was suspected of being discriminatory towards Indonesian citizens.

Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko said in Jakarta on Friday that his office had imposed administrative immigration sanctions in the form of a travel ban on the two foreign nationals, who have already left Indonesia.

“There must be no state within a state. The running event was a form of a state within a state,” said Hendarsam.

He explained that the two foreign nationals subject to the travel ban are now outside Indonesian territory.

“The foreign nationals concerned are now known to be outside Indonesian territory, and Immigration has applied a travel ban to them,” he said.

“I have already ordered immigration officials in Bali to examine the event organisers. If any foreign nationals are found, they will be dealt with immediately,” he said.

According to Hendarsam, the event was organised by Entourage Bali, with two Dutch nationals identified as the organisers: JAS (35), holder of a Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) for employment, and HQV (37), holder of an Investor ITAS.

The two are known to have left Indonesia on Wednesday evening (23/7) on a KLM flight to Singapore via I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

“We have now placed both of them on the blacklist,” said Hendarsam.

He stressed that the action was taken because the activities were suspected of violating immigration regulations. Under prevailing rules, foreign nationals are not permitted to organise activities in Indonesia if these do not correspond with the residence permits they hold.

The case came to light after a social media post claimed that the Entourage Run running community in Canggu limited participation to foreign nationals only.

The post recounted how a 23-year-old Indonesian woman was rejected by the registration system after entering her nationality as an Indonesian citizen.

The case also drew the attention of Ni Luh Putu Ary Pertami Djelantik, a member of the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) from Bali’s electoral district, who reported it to Bali Immigration, the Bali Regional Police, and the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office.