Thursday 7 January 2010

Missing Australian federal travel warnings to Bali

Following the debacle of the terror warnings for Bali on New Years Eve, given out by the Bali Tourism Board of all people (what they know about terrorism can be written with a water based felt tip pen on a plastic Australian five dollar bill) in the name of Made somehow now Mangu Pastika, Bali governor, former police chief, as bent as they come and who denies he made such a warning. We decided to look at the Australian Government's "Smart Traveller" advisory page for Indonesia (yes folks, that include Bali) and sure enough, the Australian federal mutts had repeated this unsubstantiated piffle from a bunch of drunken hoteliers on their site. It is not that we disagree a pronounced terrorist threat exists for Bali, it is just "What the hell are the Australian Government doing? Is this the extent of their expertise in assessing terrorist threats against their citizens?" It hardly gives you any confidence in their "system" does it? Especially as the garbage remained on their site until January 5th!

Anyway, we noticed many of the threats to Australian citizen's health and safety were not even mentioned on the Australian government's travel site. I mean we are talking about well documented factual risks here, not perceptions or wacko reports by Bali's hoteliers. So we decided to email the Australian Consulate in Bali to ask why their warnings were short on the risks faced by Aussie passport holders going to Bali. Of course we knew they would not answer and didn't, or rather haven't yet. Suspecting the reason for omitting these areas of risk was due to politics being more important then their own citizen's lives. Playing the Javanese game of silence, not responding to questions which show them to be frauds. Not able to deny the nasty facts regarding risks while in Bali. Only able to keep quiet, like thieves caught in the act.

We have put our questions below. Please, email the Australian Consulate yourselves and see if you can get them to reply! Their email address is Bali.congen@dfat.gov.au

Here is our unanswered email;

Hello
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Indonesia
You do not warn Australian citizens about corruption.
You do not warn Australian citizens about having narcotics planted on them by police protected dealers and customs officials.
You do not warn Australians that Bali is a UN pedophile black spot and even luxury hotel crèches (where Australian children have previously been raped and infected with STD's) are not to be trusted.
You do not warn Australians that they should pay bribes to police or risk going to jail.
You do not warn Australians about the visa scam operated by immigration officers.
You do not warn Australians they could be jailed for complaining under Indonesia's criminal libel laws.
You do not warn male Australians that while homosexuality is legal in Indonesia, somehow sodomy is not, and they should only practice oral sex or face arrest.
You do not warn Australians that the UN has stated Bali's police commit torture including beatings, rapes and shootings.
You do not warn Australians that "policing" in villages is delegated by the POLDA to vigilantes and to be careful of ex-judicial problems.
You do not warn Australians about villa scams, where people try to sell them villas / land they can never own under Indonesian law.
You do not warn Australians that most of the luxury hotels in Bali, especially Nusa Dua, are owned by criminals (e.g. certain members of the Suharto family) and are thereby funding crime.
You do not warn Australians that you will sell them out like pawns if they get into trouble with the police / justices, even when these "officers of the law" act outside it.

There's plenty more of course.

You know, all the things the Indonesians do not want you to say.
Are you taking bungs?
Would like to know why you do not warn Australians fully.
R.S.V.P.
Mr. Bollocks

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