Bali. Is it safe to go back in the water – so to speak? With more than 40 percent of Bali’s 3.1 million people directly or indirectly dependent on tourism, any downturn in business hurts the whole island. Not surprisingly, the Balinese are among the most avid supporters of security measures.

Across the island, every community has groups known as "pecalang" who watch for suspicious behaviour. Their vigilante response to miscreants, particularly those from other islands, is less than gentle. Meanwhile, the Balinese police report that they have some 1390 “spies” deployed around to watch particularly for terrorist-related activity.

All major hotels have metal booms on the front drive. These can range from entirely effective to a joke — a piece of pipe that can be either driven around or straight through. Similarly, as is very well known, the underbody of any vehicle halted is searched by mirror. However, unless the vehicle’s engine bay, boot and passenger area are also scrutinized, an underbody search alone can be useless. Often these other areas are not examined.

June 2006 arrivals of Australians into Indonesia were down 44 percent on the previous year. However, some 17,000 Australians each month choose to defy the DFAT caution against visiting the country. Among them recently was federal minister Tony Abbott who subsequently penned a column in the Sydney Morning Herald (19/7/06), headed The Moral Imperative of Tourists. Among the points he made were that the Bali bombings “were a form of economic warfare.” Stressing that tourism is economically beneficial to the stability of Indonesia and thus to Australia’s own regional self-interest, Abbott concluded that “Taking a holiday in Indonesia is riskier than going to the Gold Coast [is it?] but ultimately may be quite a patriotic thing to do.”

Indonesia will soon, albeit belatedly release 67 billion rupiah (AUD$10 million) from the Bali Recovery Fund for a major kickstart campaign that will involve players like the Bali Tourist Board, Bali Tourism Association, Bali Hotels Association and others. Linked to an international PR campaign, Bali will attempt to speak with “one voice” to reassure Australians and the world that it is indeed safe to go back in the water.

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