Are we Protecting Deforestation ?

Last Thursday the Immigration Office at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has deported the Executive Director of the environment organization Greenpeace UK John Sauven.

Sauven was quoted by The Jakarta Globe as saying that he has obtained the correct visa issued by the Indonesian Embassy in London, but was informed by the Immigration officer at Jakarta airport that his name is in the "Red List" therefore banned from entering Indonesia. However, no official notification was issued.

Sauven said that during his visit to Indonesia, he planned to meet with government officials, one of the largest palm oil producer, visit an area deforested by a pulp and paper company in Sumatera and meet the British Ambassador. 

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Immigration Office Herawan Sukoaji told the press last Friday that Sauven was denied entry to Indonesia because he would threaten the stability of Indonesia. He also said that there was the  possibility that Sauven would bring instability and disorder here.
But when he was asked for details, he refused to comment saying that it is a " State Secret ".

This deportation reminds me of several results of campaigns made by Greenpeace against companies involved in the deforestation in Indonesia, such as Unilever's stop of purchase of palm-oil produced by PT Sinar Mas, and Mattel's (Barbie Doll) stop of purchase of paper produced by PT Asia Pulp & Paper in Riau, Sumatera.

I agree that as a sovereign state Indonesia may choose to accept or refuse the visit of any foreigners, however if a foreigner already got a visa from our Embassy abroad the case would be different, it shows inconsistency of the Immigration Office in implementing policies.

The news about the deportation would send a message to the world which is not favorable for Indonesia because in 2007 President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) has promised world leaders that Indonesia will reduce 26% carbon gas emission by 2020  which means that we will stop deforestation. 
For which purpose the government has issued regulations regarding Carbon Gas Emission reduction last September.

Further, our government has also signed a Letter of Intent with the Norwegian government regarding Deforestation Moratorium.

For which purposes, the government has recently issued regulations regarding Carbon Emission reduction, including Deforestation.

I hope that the government would be consistent in implementing its Forest Protection policies.

No more Short Visa

For many years, government officials have stated that the tourism sector is a very important source of income for Indonesia, therefore very serious efforts must be made to attract foreign tourists to come and stay here as long as possible.

I wonder whether that that's the reason why the short time visa would be scraped, as reported by Tourism Indonesia below.

Sunday, February 14, 2010
Indonesia's new visa rule sparks outcry

Resort developers and tour agents who market tour packages for Batam and Bintan islands are crying foul over Jakarta's sudden decision to change its visa rules.

On Jan 25, the Law and Human Rights Ministry said it would scrap the option for a US$10 visa-on-arrival for visitors from non-Asean countries, like the United States and Australia, which would let them stay in Indonesia for seven days.

It said that from Jan 26, only the 30-day visa costing US$25 would be issued.

Officials pitched the change as a bonus. Tourists could now stay longer to see more of the country, as their 30-day stay could then be extended by another month without them having to leave the country.

The government also said that having just one type of visa would reduce incidents of graft. It cited cases of officials issuing US$10 visas to those who paid US$25 and pocketing the difference.

But their move caused panic among travel agents in places such as Singapore and Taiwan. Many had already sold packages to Batam and Bintan, which are part of Indonesia's Riau Islands province, and had to dig into their own pockets to cover the extra costs.

Mr Andrew Dixon, one of the owners of the Nikoi Island resort off Bintan, pointed out that many visitors went to the islands for only a day of golf. 'It will increase the cost of a visit to Bintan for a family of four by US$60,' he told The Sunday Times. 'The weekend travel market is already price-sensitive as it competes with Malaysia.'