VZCZCXRO5353
RR RUEHJS
DE RUEHJS #0098/01 2340725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210725Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0275
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0261
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0280

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000098 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/EX:  AMBER BASKETTE, AND CA/OCS/ACS/EAP:  CHRIS 
SCHEFFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT CASC CPAS ID
SUBJECT: CONSULAR MANAGEMENT VISIT TO BALI CONSULAR AGENCY 
 
¶1.  Summary.  Supervisory Consular Officer / Surabaya Consular 
Section Chief (CSC) Terry Mobley visited Bali from July 24 - 25. 
 During the visit, CSC and Bali-based Consular Agent Joshua 
Finch reviewed Consular Agency operations, visited with a few 
long-term American citizen residents of Bali, and met with 
several local officials.  Mr. Finch is doing an outstanding job 
in Bali meeting the needs of a steadily growing American citizen 
population, including both long-term residents and tourists. The 
Consular Agency has experienced an increase in workload during 
the past year as tourist numbers from the United States have 
increased significantly - an increase of approximately 30 
percent through June of this year compared to the same time last 
year.  CSC and ConAgent Finch discussed the possibility of 
adding either an additional ConAgent or an additional Locally 
Engaged Staff (LES) member.  We also agreed to work on the 
development of standard operating procedures for routine 
American citizen services as well as the need for a 
Bali-specific contingency plan for handling potential plane 
crashes, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks.  End Summary. 
 
Management Review 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  CSC Mobley met with ConAgent Finch and Consular Assistant 
Siti Harimala on July 24 and 25.  They are both doing an 
outstanding job in addressing the needs of approximately 600 
American citizen residents in Bali as well as a substantial and 
growing American tourist population, currently averaging between 
50,000 and 60,000 visitors per year.  CSC conducted a formal 
cash count with both ConAgent Finch and sub-cashier Harimala and 
reviewed their work requirements.  CSC and ConAgent conducted an 
inventory of accountable consular items and reviewed the Office 
of Inspector General (OIG) checklist for Consular Agencies.  We 
also discussed proper storage of non-controlled items such as 
mail received for American citizen retirees in Bali and 
Indonesian passports with U.S. visas (issued at the U.S. 
Consulate in Surabaya) awaiting pick up at the Consular Agency. 
Lastly, we discussed the need to establish Standard Operating 
Procedures (SOPs) for routine services provided by the Consular 
Agency. 
 
Local Officials and the Australians 
------------------------------------------ 
¶3.  CSC and ConAgent met with Mr. Chadik Wibowo, Acting General 
Manager and Director of Security at Denpasar Airport.  Mr. 
Wibowo was very pleased with the U.S. Transportation Safety 
Administration's (TSA) October 2007, designation of Bali's 
International Airport (Bandara Ngurah Rai) as compliant with 
International Civil Aviation security standards.  He was also 
pleased with the U.S. Government's decision in May 2008 to 
cancel the travel warning for Indonesia which had been in effect 
since October 2007.  He noted plans to begin rebuilding and 
converting the current domestic terminal in Denpasar into a new 
international terminal.  The project is expected to begin next 
year.  Once the new international terminal is completed, the 
current international terminal will be converted into the 
domestic terminal.  We also discussed the fact that the only 
direct international flight between Bali and the U.S. and its 
territories, a twice weekly flight to Guam, will cease 
operations in August 2008.  This flight has been used for 
extraditions in the past.  Mr. Jusuf Hadi, Director of 
Immigration in Bali, noted that American arrivals to Bali 
numbered approximately 7,000 in June and indicated that U.S. 
tourist visitors to Bali were up roughly 30 percent this year 
compared to last. 
 
¶4.  Australian Consul General Bruce Cowled said that Australian 
visitors to Bali rank second after Japan, with 30,000 visitors 
in June alone.  Mr. Cowled informed us that there are currently 
14 Australians imprisoned in Bali.  He explained that the 
Consulate provides food for all Australian prisoners in Bali 
because the quantity and quality of the food provided by the 
prison is insufficient.  Mr. Cowled informed us that there has 
been discussion within the Indonesian corrections system of 
transferring some prisoners from Bali to the more restrictive 
and remote "island prison" in central Java.  The Australian 
Consulate has expressed their opposition to the potential 
relocation of Australian prisoners already incarcerated in Bali. 
 He also informed us that the Consulate had established 
excellent working relationships with local officials, 
relationships he described as invaluable in the development of 
the Consulate's contingency plan for emergency situations, 
components of which he agreed to share with CSC and ConAgent. 
 
Emergency Preparedness 
------------------------------ 
¶5.  There are currently no Bali-specific plans in place to 
respond to emergency situations such as natural disasters, plane 
crashes, and terrorist attacks.  CSC and ConAgent discussed the 
need to develop contingency plans and contact lists specifically 
for these three types of potential crises.  We agreed to work on 
 
SURABAYA 00000098  002 OF 002 
 
 
development of a Bali-specific emergency response plan over the 
coming several months.  As aforementioned, we discussed 
contingency planning briefly with the Australian Consul General 
who offered to share components of the Consulate's contingency 
plan with CSC and ConAgent.  ConAgent Finch and Consul General 
Cowled both noted that mobile telephone networks were shut down 
during both the 2002 and 2005 terrorist attacks in Bali.  Post 
is currently investigating the possibility of procuring a 
satellite telephone for the Consular Agency in order to address 
this deficiency in mobile communication capability. 
 
Planned Activities / Improvements 
------------------------------------------ 
¶6.  Consular Agent Finch and Consular LES Harimala, who between 
them have 13 years experience at the Consular Agency, have been 
doing outstanding work.  Based on the CSC's review of the 
Consular Agency and discussions with Consular Agent Finch, the 
following activities are planned for the coming months: 
 
--Work with the Consular Agency to develop an emergency response 
/ contingency plan specific to Bali. 
 
--Explore the possibility of procuring a satellite telephone for 
use by the Consular Agency. 
 
--Work to develop additional SOPs for routine American citizen 
services provided by the Consular Agency, in addition to the 
quality SOP already developed for notarial services. 
 
--Arrange a time for the Consular Agent and Consular LES to 
visit the Consulate General in Surabaya for consultations. 
 
--Explore the need for additional Consular Agency staffing. 
 
--Work with the Medical Unit at Embassy Jakarta to determine a 
suitable time to visit Bali in order to provide first aid 
training to Consular Agency personnel. 
 
--Update the Consular Agency web page and add a link to the 
supervisory post, U.S. Consulate General Surabaya. 
MCCLELLAND