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Security forces launched an immediate crackdown targeting “tanned and muscular” men at Kuta’s Bali beach on Monday, just hours after the Jakarta Globe Web site ran a story about a new film about the resort island’s gigolos.
The film, Cowboys in Paradise, which documents foreign female tourists and the men who allegedly service them, immediately touched a raw nerve, with Kuta Beach task force members raiding the beach and taking 28 men and one woman into custody for failing to produce identification.
The head of the task force, Gusti Ngurah Tresna, told Detik.com that “all members of the Kuta beach task force participated in the raid.”
“They are detained because they don’t have ID cards or licenses to work as beach vendors,” Tresna said, adding that some of the detained men were “tanned and muscular.”
“The local administration office will check their identities and the addresses of where they are staying in Kuta. If they don’t have them, they could be sent home,” he said.
The beach task force will keep monitoring the activities of the detained men.
“We want to prevent anything that can damage tourism in Kuta,” he said.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik — himself Balinese — said that though he had not seen the documentary, he would launch an investigation.
The fact that “Kuta Cowboys” operate in Bali and other Indonesia tourism destinations popular with the backpacking market, should come as no surprise to authorities and the reaction is likely to be criticized as a knee-jerk reaction.
From Jakarta Globe.
The film, Cowboys in Paradise, which documents foreign female tourists and the men who allegedly service them, immediately touched a raw nerve, with Kuta Beach task force members raiding the beach and taking 28 men and one woman into custody for failing to produce identification.
The head of the task force, Gusti Ngurah Tresna, told Detik.com that “all members of the Kuta beach task force participated in the raid.”
“They are detained because they don’t have ID cards or licenses to work as beach vendors,” Tresna said, adding that some of the detained men were “tanned and muscular.”
“The local administration office will check their identities and the addresses of where they are staying in Kuta. If they don’t have them, they could be sent home,” he said.
The beach task force will keep monitoring the activities of the detained men.
“We want to prevent anything that can damage tourism in Kuta,” he said.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik — himself Balinese — said that though he had not seen the documentary, he would launch an investigation.
The fact that “Kuta Cowboys” operate in Bali and other Indonesia tourism destinations popular with the backpacking market, should come as no surprise to authorities and the reaction is likely to be criticized as a knee-jerk reaction.
From Jakarta Globe.
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