Sail Banda: international event for Maluku people`s welfare

Ambon, Indonesia - The government`s serious efforts to build the good image of Maluku after the province was torn by a two-year sectarian violence 11 years ago deserve high appreciation.

The central government fully supports the Maluku provincial administration`s and the local people`s aspiration to organize various national and international events.

The National Solidarity Day and World Peace Day events that took place in Ambon npt so long ago with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a number of government officials and foreign envoys attending, are clear evidence of the government`s serious efforts to put Maluku on the national and even global map.

And now Maluku is to host an international marine event called "Sail Banda 2010," scheduled to last from July to August this year.

To be participated in by hundreds of yachts from around the world setting sail from Darwin, Australia, on July 24, 2010 , Sail Banda is expected to open the world comunity`s eyes not only to the security prevailing in the province but also to its economic and cultural potentials.

As stated by Maluku Vice Governor Said Assagaff, the horizontal conflict in the province 11 years ago did have a terrible impact on the economic, investment, tourism, and infrastructure facilities in the "province of one thousands islands."

But after the conflict was resolved in 2003, the local government started to rebuild Maluku and make every possible effort to restore the local people`s hospitable and peace-loving image.

According to Assagaff, the recovery of various sectors in Maluku after the sectarian conflict did require an enormous amount of financial support from the government and various parties, but it was well spent because the goal was to rebuild or improve the province`s image in the international community`s eyes.

It was from this point of view that Maluku was entrusted by the government to host the upcoming international marine event of Sail Banda.

Speaking in his capacity as chairman of the local Sail Banda organizing committee, Assagaff said preparations for the international marine event are now 90 percent completed.

Where infrastructure facilities were concerned, Assagaff said, Maluku`s main entry points, namely Ambon`s Pattimura International Airport and Yos Sudarso sea port, were ready to handle the arrival of expected Sail Banda participants and visitors.

 

In addition, the Maluku branch of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies Association (Asita) as well as hotel and restaurant operators had been asked to cooperate in making the Sail Banda event a success.

Assagaff said the supporting facilities of Pattimura airport and Yos Sudarso sea port, including bridges and roads in Ambon, Banda, and Kisar were also prepared for the event.

To provide Sail Banda participants and spectators with convenient accommodations, Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu on Monday, June 14, 2010 officiated at the formal opening of Ambon`s first international standard visitors` accommodations, the Swiss Bell Hotel.

On the occasion, the governor expressed hope the presence of the new hotel would support the upcoming international event of Sail Banda 2010.

"The presence of the Swiss Bel Hotel with its professional services and international network will heighten the confidence of tourists and Sail Banda participants in Maluku`s security," Ralahalu said.

He admitted that building international confidence in Maluku`s conducive security conditions had not been easy because it took a long time to do so after the province was torn by a three-year sectarian conflict in 1999-2002.

Ralahalu said with the opening of the new international standard hotel, participants and spectators of the Sail Banda event did not need to worry about where to stay in Ambon.

The Swiss-Belhotel which boasts luxurious facilities and international networks in the scenic Maluku provincial city of Ambon had actually begun operating informally last Masy 2, 2010 in conjunction with National Education Day.

Meanwhile, Vice Governor Assagaff said a meeting with 11 district heads and city mayors was held to encourage their active participation in making Sail Banda a success.

Assagaff said that even before the international yachts rally from Darwin to Ambon from July 24 - August 17, its positive impact was already being felt by people across Maluku.

The positive impact, according to Assagaff, was among other things the government`s free medical services through "Operation Surya Baskara Yaya" to provide free healtcare services to the local people with the support of the US Navy`s floating hospital USNS Mercy.

Besides the provision of free health services to the people of Maluku in remote islands, there would also be a civic mission on July 30 when around 2,000 youths will participate in a mangrove planting drive along the coast of Ambon`s Inner Bay as part of the Sail Banda event.

Sail Bada 2010 Civic Mission coordinator Fat Bassalamah said here on Saturday that during the drive each of the 2,000 youths would plant one mangrove tree.

"At least 2,000 youths from the Maluku Protestant Church, Maluku mosques, high schools and university students, and boyscouts, will take part in the `one man, one mangrove tree` planting drive," Bassalamah said.

He said the mangrove seedlings were being prepared through a coordination with the Maluku Forestry Office in cooperation with the technical executive unit (UPT) of the Forestry Ministry.

For the Maluku provincial government, Sail Banda will be an event to promote the province`s natural resources, traditional culture and arts, as well as its tourist potentials to both domestic and foreign investors. especialy the potentials in Ambon, Banda, and Kisar island in Southwes Maluku (MBD) district. (Uu.O001/HAJM/A014/P003)

Source: http://www.antaranews.com
Picture: http://www.dmsfm.com

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