MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) Two Polish citizens will be deported from Indonesia's Bali for violating a ban prohibiting any activities, including going out, on Nyepi, the Balinese New Year's Day, media reported on Friday.
Local police spotted Polish citizens Karol Grabinski, 39, and Barbara Karina Walczak, 24, dining at a beach on Wednesday. One of the police officers told the tourists that no one was allowed to stay outside or in a public place during Nyepi, Indonesian newspaper Jakarta Post reported.
The Polish citizens said that they were aware of the holiday and insisted that their activities on the beach would not interfere with the celebrations. The tourists argued that if no one is allowed to be out on the street, then law enforcement officers should not be outside either, the report said.
Bali Police spokesperson Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto said that the Polish citizens were immediately reprimanded and taken to a police station. Grabinski and Walczak claimed that they were heading to the Padangbai port to catch a ferry to West Nusa Tenggara, from where they reportedly planned to travel to Australia.
Setianto specified that the police handed the tourists over to the Bali immigration office in Denpasar for further deportation. He added that negotiations with the Polish consulate in Indonesia on this issue are already underway, according to the newspaper.
Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection, celebrating the Balinese Hindu new year, therefore all activities that might interfere with that purpose are restricted, except for the work of the emergency services, hospitals and police. The main restrictions include no working, no entertainment, and no traveling. The movements of tourists during this holiday are limited to hotel complexes.
