Police guardian angels watch over Island of the Gods
Police guardian angels watch over Island of the Gods
By Bernard Estrade
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP): Patrolling beaches on horseback, following tortuous routes by car or motorbike, members of a new Indonesian police unit are watching over the safety of tourists visiting Bali, the "Island of the Gods."
The police unit was set up to counter the damage done to the idyllic island's tourist trade as a result of the violence and anarchy associated with the rest of Indonesia.
The guardian angels, who speak English and frequently another foreign language, are the latest effort by the local authorities -- helped by the strong private tourism sector -- to reassure foreign tour operators and persuade them to send tourists to Bali.
The island's tourist industry, long synonymous with tropical paradise and the dream holiday, continues to suffer as tourists turn their backs on Indonesia in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis, violent political and social turmoil and continuing bloody Muslim-Christian confrontations.
The new tourist police unit, which started work last month, was shown off Saturday by the authorities on the sidelines of Bali Travel Mart 2000, an annual congress for travel industry professionals held in Nusa Dua, a luxury tourist enclave in the south of the island.
The unit at present comprises 265 men and women, with an expected final strength of 400. The officers are recruited from police ranks and besides a badge saying in English "Tourist Police," are distinguished from their colleagues by red piping on the back of their cuffs and shirt pockets.
"The Bali Tourist Police consist of 400 specially selected and highly trained officers specifically to interact with and assure the security of visitors to Bali," explained Bali chief of police General Wayan Ardjana.
The budget for the new unit will not be a burden on the public as representatives of the hotel industry are bearing part of the costs, in particular by providing vehicles.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Suryatmo said a special telephone number on which callers are greeted in English has been set up.
The police patrols are also in radio contact with each other, he added, and a police team would be on the scene of an incident within 15 minutes of receiving a call.
"Law and order are absolutely necessary to attract tourism. With this new unit we make security visible and accessible," said Robert Langtry, event director of Bali Travel Mart 2000.
Crime against tourists has never been a problem in Bali, and foreign nationals, Westerners in particular, have not been targets of the sporadic outbursts of violence wracking the country.
Balinese businessman Jiro Gede Karang Suarshana said the special police force was a necessary step to help reassure visitors.
"Politics punishes us," he said. "We have to rebuild our lost image."