CONSULAR MANAGEMENT VISIT TO BALI CONSULAR AGENCY

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