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Hobby group claims 35 UFO sightings in 2008
Throughout 2008 there were 35 alleged UFO (unidentified flying object) sightings in Indonesia, 15 of which were across Greater Jakarta, a UFO community reported during their 11th annual gathering in South Jakarta on the weekend
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Throughout 2008 there were 35 alleged UFO (unidentified flying object) sightings in Indonesia, 15 of which were across Greater Jakarta, a UFO community reported during their 11th annual gathering in South Jakarta on the weekend.
"The latest sighting in Jakarta was in Pesanggrahan (South Jakarta) on Dec. 8, when a witness said he saw eight peculiar lights in the sky," said Nur Agustinus, the founder of the BETA-UFO community, on Sunday.
He said the sighting may have been a UFO because earlier there had been another strange light pattern spotted in Cileduk.
Most reported cases of UFO activity normally involve glowing lights moving in a formation through the sky, occasionally in an irregular fashion, the community said.
Nur Agustinus said a UFO could be a flying object that had not yet been identified and did not necessarily mean it was a flying saucer or alien craft.
"For the last year we have begun more seriously investigating UFO sightings to collect and provide reliable information for the public," Nur, also a psychologist, said.
The community collects information and testimonials from any witness claiming to have seen a UFO and cross checks the facts to avoid hoaxes.
"We conduct interviews with UFO witnesses and have IT specialists check the originality of photographs and videos to ensure authenticity," Nur Agustinus said.
He said similar testimonials from unrelated witnesses, often making the same allegations and sightings from different locations, increased the veracity of claims about the presence of UFOs.
"My background as a psychologist also helps me recognize whether a witness is telling the truth or not," he said, adding that it was up to the readers to believe it or not.
Wardono, who claims to have spotted a UFO in 1972, said when he was five years old he saw a mysterious flying object above his house which nobody could explain.
"I was sure it was some sort of a flying saucer," he said, claiming to have also seen another UFO while traveling in Mexico.
Wardono said people used to mock him for believing aliens existed, even calling him an atheist at times.
Nur said there were members in the club who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and had implants placed inside their bodies.
Fan Fan Darmawan, a member from another UFO community named the Gray Race Foundation, said there was proof aliens exist.
"Mysterious crop circles in England, the pyramids of Egypt which were far more advanced than any technology at the time, reliable witness testimonials, could all serve as evidence," he said.
He said governments internationally often covered up any evidence of the existence of aliens to prevent public panic, and rushed to obtain the information about alien technologies before other nations.
Despite being called "weirdoes" and atheists, the members of BETA-UFO really believe that aliens do exist.
With around 800 members on its mailing list across the country, consisting of people of many backgrounds from students to doctors and lawyers, the club has received thousands of reports of alleged UFO sightings. (fmb)
