Andra Wisnu and Hyginus Hardoyo, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Sat, 11/29/2008 7:30 AM
Indian President Pratibha Patil arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday to attend bilateral discussions while the chaos that has plagued her country since terrorists besieged its financial capital of Mumbai on Thursday continued.
President Pratibha, who arrived with an entourage of ministers, politicians and reporters, was greeted by Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan and Indonesian Ambassador to India Andi Ghalib, among other officials.
President Pratibha did not comment on the Mumbai terror attacks. She exited the aircraft, greeted her hosts, and proceeded directly to a heavily guarded convoy that took her to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jimbaran, where she will stay before departing for Jakarta on Sunday.
In a phone interview, Andi said President Pratibha’s schedule in Indonesia — which will see her sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on trade with her Indonesian counterpart President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — would remain largely intact despite the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
According to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, the two heads of state are scheduled to witness the signings of other MoUs, including on sports for children, oil and gas, agriculture and an education exchange program.
Andi said the Indian president’s only cancellation was a dinner with Governor Pastika on Friday, a time he said she would instead use to pray for the victims of the attacks and former Prime Minister of India V. P. Singh, who died of leukemia and kidney failure Thursday in New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital.
On Saturday, President Pratibha will visit Taman Ayun park in Badung before returning to Denpasar, where she will meet with Governor Pastika and the Bali Legislative Council.
On Sunday, she will depart for Jakarta to meet President Yudho-yono on Monday.
Jakarta reported that five Indonesian employees of the Oberoi Hotel Mumbai had been evacuated to the Indonesian consulate general in India on Friday at 12.00 p.m. Jakarta time after being trapped for more than one-and-a-half days inside the hotel without food.
“They are safe now at the Indonesian consulate general,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said, adding “they are suffering from fatigue as they did not eat anything while hiding inside the hotel”.
Ni Kadek Edi Damayanti, Ni Nyoman Sri Arini, Gusti Ayu Putu Sri Rahayu, Komang Triastina and Ni Luh Gede Mahendrayani traveled from Bali to Mumbai in early 2008 to work for the luxurious hotel as spa therapists under a contract that will expire this December.
Family members of Ni Kadek Edi Damayanti said they had been relieved when one of the five had phoned them to report that they were fine.
“She said she is still weak because she hid in a room and only had drinks available. We can only pray here, hoping she can return home to our village soon,” Wayan Sandat, the father of Kadek Edi, said in an interview with local TV station TV One on Friday.
Wayan, who lives in Megahan village, Blahbatuh, Gianyar, said her daughter had planned to return home in December when her contract expires.
Najwa Green, a director of PT Elan, a consultancy and production company specializing in spas that recommended the five therapists to the hotel, said she could confirm that all of them had survived the terror attack.
“They are all safe,” she said, adding that her company’s role in the recruitment process was only to connect the employer, the Oberoi hotel, and the five therapists.
Indah Setiawati in Denpasar also contributed to this article.
