DATE=1/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDONESIA-LOMBOK (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258282
BYLINE=GARY THOMAS
DATELINE=BANGKOK
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Indonesian island of Lombok is reported to be
settling down after this week's sudden eruption of
sectarian violence, in which five people were reported to
have been killed. V-O-A Southeast Asia correspondent Gary
Thomas reports Lombok, which was a vacation spot in recent
years, is now largely empty of foreign tourists.
TEXT: Indonesian police and troops patrolled the streets
of Lombok Friday, keeping a lid on any recurrence of the
violence that swept the resort island earlier in the week.
Some businesses reopened in Mataram, Lombok's main city.
But about 600 Christians fled to neighboring Bali Friday,
fearful of a new eruption of anti-Christian violence.
The Indonesian army warned Friday it would take stern
measures against any attempt to export the violence to the
capital, Jakarta.
The unrest in Lombok was sparked at a rally Monday calling
for an end to the violence in the Maluku Islands, further
east, where at least 15-hundred people have been killed in
Christian-Muslim clashes.
Lombok's tourist areas are located some distance away from
Mataram, where the violence was centered. Those areas were
not directly affected and no foreign tourists were hurt.
However, Jack Daniels, chairman of the Bali chapter of
Pacific Area Travel Association, says the effect on the
industry is still devastating.
/// 1st DANIELS ACT ///
Well, the effect can only be negative. We can't
enjoy seeing any part of Indonesia portrayed in a
negative way. And in the past we were insulated
because Ambon is a fair distance away and North
Sumatra is days away. So we're very concerned about
developments in Lombok, but encouraged by the fact
that he authorities say the situation is coming under
control. We're hoping we can quickly rebuild the
situation and focus on the business of tourism.
/// END ACT ///
The violence comes just when tourism to Bali and
neighboring Lombok was just starting to recover from a
slump. Tourists had been beginning to return after staying
away for fear of being caught in social unrest.
Mr. Daniels points out that the Indonesian government just
unveiled a new budget Thursday -- one that counts heavily
on foreign investment. Much of that investment, he says,
will have to come from the tourism sector, but promoting
that investment has been made considerably more difficult.
/// 2nd DANIELS ACT ///
I think it's tragic beyond description in the sense
that everybody knows that for the government's new
budget to be successful, they've got to encourage
anything that will produce foreign earnings. And
high on that list is tourism. Also on the list is
any kind of foreign investment. And, of course,
against this kind of picture of unrest, that becomes
an increasingly tougher job.
/// END ACT ///
There is no clear explanation as to why Lombok should
explode. Mr. Daniels - who has lived in Indonesia for 25
years - says he cannot understand why Ambon and the Malukus
should explode, either. He says Christians and Muslims
there were proud of pointing out the harmony between the
two religious communities. (Signed)
NEB/GPT/FC/WTW
21-Jan-2000 06:11 AM EDT (21-Jan-2000 1111 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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