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."