On-arrival visa up to 60 days

Lilian Budianto, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 01/28/2010 9:30 AM | Headlines

Foreign tourists and businesspeople from 64 countries have welcomed the new policy allowing a visa-on-arrival extension for up to 60 days, saying it will encourage people to spend more time in the archipelago.

A new regulation stipulates that from Jan. 26 onward, Indonesia will provide a 30-day visa-on-arrival, with the possible extension of another 30 days.

The government also announced that it would no longer issue the visa-on-arrival for seven days and tourists applying for the visa would receive the initial 30-day permit for US$25.

Foreign tourists and businesspeople who previously had seven-day visas can extend them to 30 days without having to leave the country.

The new regulation reportedly aims to attract more foreign tourists to travel and spend more time within the archipelago.

“If tourists want to stay longer than 30 days, they can apply for a maximum 30-day extension,” said Maroloan J. Baringbing, head of media, at the immigration section of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.

He said the new policy would give the government better control of the non-tax revenue from immigration.

It is also aimed at boosting tourism in the country.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Andrea Cooper, an Australian tourist who visited Kalimantan last year for 14 days on the visa-on-arrival.

“The extension is more welcoming than the previous limit.”

Chinese tourist Ailin Chen, who visited Jakarta and Yogyakarta two years ago and has relatives in Indonesia, said the visa extension would encourage people to explore the country more.

“Indonesia is a very large country with much to observe and enjoy.

“If people could stay longer, they would be encouraged to see more. And it would benefit the local economy if tourists spend money here,” she said.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry targets to net 7 million international tourists in 2010, up from 6.4 million last year.

This target is much smaller than the number of tourists in neighboring Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, which last year attracted 10 million, 15 million and 22 million visitors respectively.

In the last 12 years to 2007, tourist numbers fluctuated between 4 million and 5 million.

The average length of stay has declined from 10 days in 1997 to barely 8.5 days in 2008.

Countries granted on-arrival visa by Indonesia

1. South Africa

2. Algeria

3. US

4. Argentina

5. Australia

6. Austria

7. Bahrain

8. Belgium

9. The Netherlands

10. Brazil

11. Bulgaria

12. Czech Republic

13. Cyprus

14. Denmark

15. UAE

16. Estonia

17. Fiji

18. Finland

19. Hungary

20. India

21. UK

22. Iran

23. Ireland

24. Iceland

25. Italy

26. Japan

27. Germany

28. Cambodia

29. Canada

30. South Korea

31. Kuwait

32. Laos

33. Latvia

34. Libya

35. Liechtenstein

36. Lithuania

37. Luxemburg

38. Maladewa

39. Malta

40. Mexico

41. Egypt

42. Monaco

43. Norway

44. Oman

45. Panama

46. France

47. Poland

48. Portugal

49. Qatar

50. China

51. Romania

52. Russia

53. Saudi Arabia

54. New Zealand

55. Slovakia

56. Slovenia

57. Spain

58. Surinam

59. Sweden

60. Switzerland

61. Taiwan

62. Timor Leste

63. Tunisia

64. Greece

Source: The Jakarta Post

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  Diario Nacional , 29 January 2010- Summary by Alberico Junior
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Horta recognizes he sent sms to Reinado for a dialog

Timor Post , 28 January 2010- Summary by Alberico Junior

President Jose Ramos Horta has recognized that he sent a short message service (sms) to the ex-rebel leader Alfredo Alves Reinado to hold a dialog before the attempted assassination to him [Horta] on February 11, 2008.

TIMOR-LESTE: Addressing the baby boom Photo: David Swanson/IRIN At 6.38 children per woman, Timor-Leste has one of the highest fertility rates in the world DILI, 27 January 2010 (IRIN) - By 8am, the reception room at the Marie Stopes International health clinic in Dili is overflowing with women waiting for reproductive health services. About 450 patients are helped at the clinic each month but this is just a fraction of Timor-Leste's 1.1 million population, most of whom live in remote rural areas with scant access to health education and services. According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), women in Timor-Leste - the world’s newest independent nation and also Asia’s poorest – give birth to an average 6.38 children during their lifetime, one of the highest fertility rates in the world and second only to Afghanistan. Melinda Mousaco, the country director for Marie Stopes International Timor Leste, told IRIN that awareness of family planning and reproductive health, particularly in rural areas, is “next to nothing”. “Because of a lack of education, accidental pregnancies happen frequently,” she said. “When we show basic reproductive anatomy or give information about women’s menstrual cycles, people often tell us ‘this is the first time I’ve heard this’.” After independence, there was a baby boom. This is because during a crisis, there is no work and a lot of stress. People just live together with nothing to do, and of course their focus is sexual activity. Baby boom Timor-Leste gained formal independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a long separatist struggle and a surge of violence in 1999, and health experts cite conflict and unemployment as key factors in the country’s high population growth. “After independence, there was a baby boom,” Alita Verdial, chief executive officer of the Alola Foundation. “This is because during a crisis, there is no work and a lot of stress. People just live together with nothing to do, and of course their focus is sexual activity.” The country’s strategy for addressing the population growth is centred on spacing, urging mothers to wait three years between births. Mariano Redondo, communications officer for UNFPA in Timor-Leste, said an adequate interval between children was critical to stemming infant and maternal mortality rates, and formed the backbone of the government’s family planning strategy. “The mortality rate increases because women don’t have time to recover from one pregnancy to another. And children suffer because they don’t have the same opportunities if they have 10 children in the house instead of two or three, for example.” According to a 2009 UN report on Timor-Leste’s Millennium Development Goals, the child mortality rate was 130 per 1,000 in 2004, the latest available figures, with a target of 96 per 1,000 by 2015. According to UNFPA’s 2007 country population assessment, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was 660 deaths per 100,000 live births. Photo: David Swanson/IRIN Women in rural areas have little to no information on reproductive health Cultural factors Despite provisions for the separation of church and state in the country’s constitution, the Catholic church remains a powerful voice in Timor-Leste and does not officially support contraceptive methods that rely on condoms, the pill, injections or surgery, Verdial said. Due to religious norms and cultural pressure, most women seeking to limit their families prefer to receive hormonal injections, which are easier to conceal, she said. “Women in the village tell me they prefer this method so their husbands will not find out, which means women still lack power in decision-making about the number of children in her family.” She said family planning advocates had to find common ground with religious leaders. “We can’t change the church,” Verdial said. “But we need to have more dialogue with the church on how we can improve the quality of life for the people of this country.” However, according to Mousaco, reproductive health workers faced other cultural hurdles as well. During the Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, residents were subject to a family planning policy of “two children are enough”. Mousaco said negative associations with that programme still persisted. “That’s a big barrier, we’ve found,” she said. “We try to avoid the term ‘family planning’ because the people immediately think we’re here to force [hormone] injections or something like that [on them]. Our policy is simply ‘children by choice, not by chance’.” Photo: David Swanson/IRIN Two Timorese brothers on the streets of Dili. About half the country's population is below the age of 15 An early start About half the country’s population is younger than 15, Mousaco said, and there was a strong link between adolescent reproductive health education and the nation’s hopes for reining in population growth. Education is critical “if we want to slow down population growth in this country, where the economy is obviously developing slowly. But if they’re reproducing at a young age, we’ll continue to have that cycle of population growth that the country won’t be able to manage,” she said. Luiza Barros, the government’s adolescent reproductive health officer, said the country’s efforts to inform young people were critical for the future of the nation. “In the current generation of young people, many have already contracted sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and many more are at risk. Information about reproductive health can help prevent this.” cb/ds/mw

Theme(s): (IRIN) Children, (IRIN) Gender Issues, (IRIN) Health & Nutrition [ENDS] Source: IRIN News

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  Timor Post , 28 January 2010- Summary by Alberico Junior
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  Timor Post , 28 January 2010- Summary by Alberico Junior
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