In Reply to: planing christmas and new year posted by pikpok on Thursday, 6. October 2005 at 03:09 Bali Time:
I'm quite certain that I will be blasted for this point of view by the nothing-will-stand-between-me-and-a-Bintang-fakedesignerbag crowd BUT...there HAS been unrest on other indonesian islands and in other provinces during the christmas season in recent years. Granted, this has not happened in Bali thus far. Just the same...my trips to Bali in the future will always avoid travel during the month before the beginning of Ramadan and during the christmas season...for obvious reasons.
Until Indonesia begins serious prosecution of those that preach, conspire to act or perform acts of terrorism as harshly as they prosecute expats and tourists caught with drugs (priorities do seem a bit off-kilter in this regard), all of Indonesia remains at risk, especially Bali due to it's Hindu culture surrounded by the world's largest muslim country. The stated goal of JI terrorists and followers has been to create an islamic state in the region and each act, it seems, becomes bolder.
It seems only logical that if another event were to take place...a christian holiday might appear to be a good target date for making a statement and garnering attention to their cause.
Take my thoughts for what they are worth...only the opinion of a seasoned Indo traveller with business interests in Bali.