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BALI, INDONESIA, March 22, 2004: Indonesia’s Island of Gods, Bali, on Sunday showed no sign of life as its predominantly Hindu population observed a holy day of silence and purification to usher in the Hindu New Year. On “Nyepi,” the day of silence, Hindus are prohibited from lighting fires and using lights, working, leaving their houses and from making any noise. All residents of the island, including Muslims and Christians, had to remain at home all day, barring emergencies, to mark the passing of the new year. Even tourists were required to stay as quiet as possible in their respective hotels, although services inside the hotel were allowed to operate as usual. The normally bustling Ngurah Rai international airport was deserted. “The airport is closed starting 6:00 a.m. on March 21 and will reopen at 6:00 a.m. the following day,” its chief, I Gusti Made Dhordy, told AFP. A skeleton crew remained at the airport to monitor air traffic control for flights passing overhead. Ferries connecting the island with neighboring Java in the west and Lombok in the east, were are also halted for 24 hours. Only hospitals, telephone information services, electricity and water companies were allowed to continue to operate. The only people authorized on the streets were the sarong-clad traditional enforcement taskforce, the Pecalangs, who make sure that the new year rules are followed by locals and foreigners alike. Political concerns also had to succumb to tradition. While everywhere else in Indonesia political parties were banking on a holiday to draw huge crowds to political rallies in the midst of the country’s one-month electoral campaign, politicians in Bali had no such chance. The Bali electoral commission, together with political parties and the police, agreed to halt campaigning on the island for four days from last Thursday to mark the new year. Two small parties were allowed to hold political rallies on Friday as officials appeared certain they would not be able to draw large crowds. The assortment of party flags, posters and banners were also taken off the streets yesterday. The electoral commission said the measure was to honor the holy day. Even the much-awaited festivities on the eve of the day of silence, involving a night of merry making when elaborate papier-mache demons are noisily paraded along the streets to ward of evil, were this year banned.

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