Trump ban leads Dutch to halt talks with the US on clearance at Schiphol

DutchNews, January 31, 2017

Several dozen people protested against the ban at Schiphol airport on Sunday.
Photo: Joris van Gennip via HH

The Dutch government has halted talks with the US on setting up border and customs controls at Schiphol airport because of president Donald Trump’s entry ban. 

The talks on allowing the US to carry out pre-clearance checks on travellers to the US while on Dutch soil began in December. The aim was to help travellers bypass long waits at US passport control. 

Foreign minister Bert Koenders told MPs on Tuesday that the talks had been suspended temporarily. 

MPs from across the political spectrum criticised prime minister Mark Rutte for not coming to parliament for Tuesday’s question and answer session. 

The prime minister, as the keeper of Dutch values, should have been in parliament to denounce racism and discrimination, Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer said. 

Human rights

Koenders and PVV leader Geert Wilders clashed over Wilders support for the ban. ‘You want to ensure than human rights do not apply to everyone,’ Koenders told the MP, pointing out that the ban affected Iraqi soldiers who had fought with the US against Isis.

‘You are making the world a less safe place,’ Koenders said. 

Koenders also said that the cabinet wants to ensure people with dual nationality who have been hit by the ban are properly protected. He has called a meeting of European ambassadors in Washington to discuss the situation. 

Academics

DutchNews.nl is aware of at least one dual Dutch Iranian academic who was supposed to travel to New York this week for research.

‘This order bans many of my Iranian friends, especially those who work in academia from attending conferences, research visits, or even going back to their work although they have valid US visa,’ he told DutchNews.nl. ‘These are highly intelligent decent young engineers, doctors, researchers, faculty members and PhD students who are contributing to the society that they live in.’ 

The ban will also be an important point on the agenda at the European summit on Malta at the end of this week. 

Schiphol

Ministers are also talking to Schiphol airport and KLM to ensure people caught up in the ban are looked after as well as possible. 

DutchNews.nl reported on Sunday that six Iranian nationals had been stuck at Schiphol airport after KLM refused to fly them to the US. When asked if any special provisions had been made to help them, Schiphol said it was up to the airline concerned. 

The six are expected to fly back to Iran on Tuesday afternoon. 

Related Article:

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

DutchNews, January 28, 2017

Dutch airline KLM has refused to fly at least seven passengers to the US after president Donald Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees and visa holders from a list of banned Muslim-majority countries. 

All the people who were refused permission to fly had a visa for the US, KLM told broadcaster NOS. Two had tickets to fly from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. The other five were flying from different destinations and had planned to change planes at Schiphol, NOS said. 

KLM said it had no alternative but to refuse to allow them to fly because they would not be allowed into the US. The airline said it and would pay for them to return to the starting point of their journey. 

Trump on Friday introduced an immediate entry ban for everyone from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen to last three months. The ban appears also to apply to people with a green card – a permanent residency permit. 

The KLM spokesman told website Nu.nl there would be more clarity about who could and could not fly in the coming days. 

More on the impact of the ban

Related Articles:

This google document shows lists Senators alphabetically, noting whether they have opposed or remained silent to the ban, any link or public statement about it and the dates of their next re-election. - New

Trump ban leads Dutch to halt talks with the US on clearance at Schiphol - New
Dutch prime minister regrets and rejects Trump’s Muslim country entry ban
Leaders, groups and businesses react to US immigration ban

Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S.

Portrait of Anne Frank at age 12, sitting at her desk at the Montessori school
in Amsterdam. (Courtesy Anne Frank House, Amsterdam)

"New Systems" - Feb 27, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The New Human P1" - Sep 19-20, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)
"Return of the Masters" - Apr 11-12, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)- (Text version)

".... The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

Flight Permits Revoked, Reduced for Nine Airlines

Jakarta Globe, Sarah Yuniarni & Thresa Sandra Desfika, May 25, 2016

The Transportation Ministry has revoked several airlines' flight permits and reduced
the number of flights they can offer from January to May this year as a result of the
airlines failing to meet their service obligations. (Antara Photo/ Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)

Jakarta. The Transportation Ministry has revoked several airlines' flight route permits and reduced the number of flights they can offer from January to May this year as a result of the airlines failing to meet their service obligations.

The airlines whose flight route permits have been revoked are Travel Express, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines, Sriwijaya Air, Air NAM and Kalstar Aviation—which lost two routes.

The frequency of flights has been reduced on a Trigana Air Service route, on an ASI Pudjiastuti route, on two routes offered by Citilink Indonesia, two routes by Garuda Indonesia and three routes by Sriwijaya Air.

"The airlines have not provided the required standard of services in accordance with the regulations,” Hemi Pamuraharjo, the ministry's Communications and Public Information chief said in a statement on Monday (23/05). The statement also mentioned that the sanctions are only temporary.

Several other airlines have on the other hand filed requests to the ministry to cut back the number of flights they have to offer. Some others were reported to the ministry for delays.

Previously, Lion Air temporarily shut down 217 flights on 93 domestic routes and 10 flights on two international routes, reportedly in protest to the ministry's decision to suspend their ground-handling operators.

Lion Air's self-imposed shutdown will be effective from May 18 to June 18.

Related Article:

Transport Ministry Revokes Supension Against Lion Air and AirAsia, Issues ProbationInstead

INTERPOL rejects claim attributed to Malaysia that checking INTERPOL's databases may have slowed immigration checks

Interpol, 28 March 2014

LYON, France – Malaysia’s decision not to consult INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database before allowing travellers to enter the country or board planes cannot be defended by falsely blaming technology or INTERPOL. If there is any responsibility or blame for this failure, it rests solely with Malaysia's Immigration Department.

INTERPOL’s SLTD database takes just seconds to reveal whether a passport is listed, with recent tests providing results in 0.2 seconds.

The fact is that the US consults this database more than 230 million times per year; the UK more than 140 million times; the UAE more than 100 million times and Singapore more than 29 million times. Not one of these countries, or indeed any INTERPOL member country, has ever stated that the response time is too slow.

The truth is that in 2014 prior to the tragic disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370, Malaysia’s Immigration Department did not conduct a single check of passengers’ passports against INTERPOL’s databases.

Consequently, two individuals possessing stolen Austrian and Italian passports were able to board MH 370. Had Malaysia consulted INTERPOL's SLTD database, the fact that both passengers were using stolen passports would have been discovered almost instantaneously.

Malaysia’s Immigration Department owes it to all passengers boarding flights originating in, or passing through, Malaysia to make sure that passports registered as stolen or lost in INTERPOL’s databases cannot be used to board any flight.

In this regard, despite this unjustified attack on INTERPOL, we remain ready, willing and able to help Malaysia better safeguard its citizens and visitors from those seeking to use stolen or fraudulently altered passports to board planes.

INTERPOL has no idea why Malaysia’s Home Minister chooses to attack INTERPOL instead of learning from this tragedy.

After years of witnessing countries fail to consult INTERPOL’s SLTD database prior to allowing travellers to cross borders and board planes, INTERPOL created I-Checkit which will allow airlines and cruise lines to ensure that no passenger can use a stolen or lost passport registered in INTERPOL’s database to board one of their planes or ships.

Related Articles:

Thai police target 'passport ring' in vanished flight probe

Missing jet reveals uncomfortable Malaysian truths

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Archangel Michael: Spring Means the Time of Rebirth and Awakening – The Golden Age of Gaia, Steve Beckow, March 22, 2014 - New

....SB: That’s very good, Lord. Thank you. I’m going to move quickly to Flight 370, and then hopefully a short talk on global citizenry.

Ashira said that Flight 370 had exploded, but he didn’t say what the cause of the explosion was. Others have said that a secret naval weapon was used to cause it to disintegrate. And recently a prominent channel said the plane was suffering from hydraulic failure, was in an uncontrolled state, at risk of imminent destruction; whisked out of the air in mid-flight, was taken aboard an enormous spaceship from Sirius claimed to be part of the Federation fleet under the Ashtar Command whose full report is available from a certain website.

Now, Ashira said they took a few people up who still wanted to remain in form, but the rest — they passed on. What is the truth, Lord?

AAM: This is not an action — let us put it this way — this is not an action that your star brothers and sisters have been deeply involved in. This is an action of what we would refer to, or Gabrielle would refer to, as of violence, of sabotage, of subterfuge. And it has continued.

So there are lies upon lies upon lies. And what is occurring … this is a terrible situation. And it is painful to so many. But what it is also doing for humanity, it is bringing up what we would call shared compassion and grief. Because if you were to look at the grief and the confusion and the compassion component of what is being felt and emanating from the hearts of the collective, individuals all over the planet, it is out of alignment with the situation even including those who have been on the plane and who have suffered and the families that are left suffering the loss of their loved ones.

So it has amplified and shown the global community, in a time when there has been much strife and conflict on the ground, the other side of the scale, where you are seeing the global community coming together in compassion and sending healing for many. It is also bringing together the global community in saying, “We require, we demand truth.” Because there have been such significant untruths, every step of the way. And now what is occurring, among what you think are responsible agencies of many countries, is that they are looking for scapegoats. They are looking for situations to hang this on.

The truth will come out, but the function of this act of violence has been hijacked in many ways not by your star brothers and sisters but by the Company of Heaven to teach several very important, critical, timely lessons. The ship has not been taken on board a mothership elsewhere. That is false hope.

SB: Where is the ship, Lord? Is it blown to smithereens, or is it at the bottom of the ocean?

AAM: For all intents and purposes, it is not intact. We cannot give you the totality because that would be breaking our agreement.

SB: And then of course you couldn’t tell us what nation did it, either?

AAM: It is not so much a nation as individuals acting independently.

SB: All right. I’m not sure whether I should go further in trying to get more details, or…. whether….

AAM: Please do not.....

Ngurah Rai officials shelve new passenger arrival system

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Wed, 05/05/2010 12:41 PM

The Ngurah Rai International Airport management plans to stop the operation of the newly installed boarder control management (BCM) entry system, citing inefficiency and long queues at the airport's arrivals booths.

BCM was installed to improve the airport's data entry system enabling it to record the fingerprints, faces and passports of travelers. The data would be connected to the immigration office's data center.

Heru Legowo, the general manager of airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, explained that the system took 30 seconds longer that the old one.

"We are always faced with problems during the arrival of international flights. Hundreds of visitors always flock to the immigration counters. The old system was already chaotic, but the new system took 90 seconds to process one passenger," Legowo said.

The airport serves hundreds of international flights, which usually arrive simultaneously.

Airport senior immigration official Wilopo said the order to halt operation of the BCM was issued directly by the of Justice and Human Rights Ministry.

"We have no idea if and when the system will operate again," he said.

Legowo suggested that the immigration office open additional counters to accelerate processing arrivals.

"Flight arrivals follow a pattern and therefore we can predict our peak hours," he said, adding that the immigration office should have prepared additional personnel, facilities and support structures before operating the BCM.

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik had earlier expressed concern over the inefficiency of the system.

"We have received complaints from foreign visitors over our immigration services. The new system must eliminate the problem," he warned.

Holdups at Indonesian Immigration Will Ease Up: Officials

Jakarta Globe, Ary Adji, Dessy Sagita, Candra Malik & Made Arya Kencana, April 19, 2010

More than two weeks since the introduction of new immigration security measures at Indonesian airports, officials say they are pleased with progress, despite waiting times for incoming passengers of often longer than 90 minutes.

“Security checks will be done as humanely as possible,” Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. Indonesia is the first Southeast Asian nation to apply sophisticated fingerprint and biometric scanners, he said.

Patrialis said documenting everyone coming into the country was necessary to identify known or potential criminals, adding that similar systems had long been in use in countries such as the United States, France and Japan.

The system, which reads the fingerprints of travelers with visitor visas and crosschecks them against a database of international fugitives and foreigners with deportation records, is initially being used at four airports. Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Adi Sumarmo in Solo and Adisucipto in Yogyakarta installed theirs two weeks ago, while Ngurah Rai in Bali will introduce the system this Thursday.

Maroloan Barimbing, spokesman for the ministry’s Directorate General of Immigration, said that within three years there would be 130 fingerprint and biometric scanners at the country’s international border points, including its 27 international airports.

Maroloan acknowledged that the unintended consequences included longer lines at immigration counters.

“In the first few weeks or even months after the system is applied, some adjustments will still be needed, and the officers in charge of the devices also need some time to adapt,” he said, adding that processing was getting better and faster.

In the system’s first few days at Soekarno-Hatta, arriving passengers reported waiting times in the stuffy arrivals hall of up to two hours, with officials observed pulling families with distressed babies or children out of lines into empty express channels after more than an hour.

But waiting times in the past week have apparently lessened and passengers are being understanding, said a spokesman for state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II. It had received no formal complaints, he added.

“It only took me few minutes, so it wasn’t an issue,” David Cheetam, a British tourist, said at Soekarno-Hatta on Sunday.

Belgian businessman Gregoir Francis said he also didn’t mind. “I know it’s for security,” he said.

Adi Sumarmo duty manager Edy Martono said each officer “only needs three minutes” to fingerprint a visitor. “Nothing to lose, and this need not be politicized,” he told the Globe.

But with lines often stretching to 50 or more people, an extra three minutes for many would add up to a long wait for those at the back.

Maroloan called for patience.

“By next year we will be able to perform faster and more professionally,” he said.

Tourism Officials See Red Over Scrapping of 7-Day Visas

Jakarta Globe, January 27, 2010

Visitors getting a Visa on Arrival will have to pay for a 30-day stay. (Antara Photo)

Two government departments look set for a clash of ideas over the scrapping on Tuesday of seven-day visas on arrival for foreigners arriving in Indonesia.

Scrapping the $10 visas and leaving only the $25 visas, which is valid for 30 days, will encourage foreign tourists to stay longer as well as curb graft among immigration officials, Maroloan Barimbing, the spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said on Wednesday.

Maroloan said visitors must now buy the 30-day visa regardless of how long they plan to stay. As a bonus, they will now be able to extend the visa by another 30 days without leaving the country, immigration officials have said.

But scrapping the seven-day option has proved immediately controversial, with the Culture and Tourism Ministry taking the unusual step of publicly denouncing it as likely to actually reduce tourist arrivals.

“I am worried the regulation would affect foreign tourists who make frequent short stays,” Firmansyah Hakim, the ministry’s director general of tourism destination development, told the Jakarta Globe Wednesday.

He said his ministry was currently reviewing the potential impact on tourist numbers. “We are going to ask the immigration department to sit down with us and hopefully we can come up with a solution,” he said.

Industry experts have said the global economic crisis has shifted many tourists from long stays to shorter visits. In 2009, tourists stayed an average of 8.58 days, continuing a trend toward shorter stays since 2000, the Tourism Ministry reported. The low figure demonstrates that a significant number of visitors — especially those arriving by land from Malaysia and Singapore at Batam in Riau Islands province — come for stays of less than seven days and will now have to pay extra.

“Visitors from immediate border countries will likely think twice before going for a short trip in our country,” Firmansyah said.

Maroloan defended the move, saying visitors planning only short stays would be tempted to stay for longer as they would automatically have a 30-day visa.

“We hope this policy will extend tourists’ stays in Indonesia, giving them a chance to visit more places in the country,” he said.

“The policy will also simplify the supervision of overstaying foreign tourists because there is only one visa option.”

He said the decision was also meant to combat corruption. Last year, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) caught the ministry off guard by revealing it had found more than Rp 3 billion ($321,000) in unreported fees for visas on arrival collected over a six-month period at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali.

The ministry discovered that officials had been defrauding travelers by issuing $10 visas to those who paid $25 and pocketing the difference. Maroloan said officers in charge were punished by having their pay rises frozen.

The ministry conducted a similar inspection at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta but the spokesman said no irregularities were found.

The immigration department was listed as one of the country's most corrupt public institutions in a 2009 bribery index survey released by Transparency International Indonesia.

Garuda to Issue Visas in the Air

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 26 January, 2010 | 16:46 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Tokyo: National flag-carrier airline Garuda Indonesia start will to offer visas on arrival (VoA) on flights on February 1st.

The program entitled “Immigration on Board" was tested on the GA881 flight from Tokyo to Denpasar on January 21.

“This is the world first visa service in the air,” said Emirsyah Satar, Managing Director of Garuda Indonesia.

Present on the flight were the caretaker Immigration Director General Muhammad Indra and the Indonesian Ambassador for Japan Jusuf Anwar.

The second trial will be held today.

With this service, tourists or those who wish to travel to Indonesia do not have to process their visas before their departure or upon arriving at the Denpasar or Jakarta airports.

To process this, passengers can buy a visa voucher after they check in at Narita Airport, Tokyo.

“A visa for 10 days visit costs US$ 10 and a visa for 30-60 days visit cost US$ 25," said Muhammad Indra.

Jusuf said he hoped that the new service would increase the number of Japanese tourists which has been in decline for the last two years.

To increase the number of visits from Japan to Indonesia, according to Emirsyah, Garuda is attempting to have direct flights from Tokyo to Jakarta.

All this time, Japanese passengers have had to go to Denpasar first.

“We hope that this year, direct flights from Tokyo to Jakarta can be operated,’ he said.

Prasidono Listiaji

Indonesia extends visa facility to 11 countries

The Hindu

Jakarta, June 17 (Xinhua): Indonesia has extended the visa on arrival (VOA) facility to 11 more countries, and is considering giving the facility to another 11 countries in an attempt to woo foreign tourists, local media reported on Saturday.

The 11 countries includes Algeria, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Tunisia.

The Directorate General of Immigration announced Friday that based on a Justice and Human Rights Ministry decree, beginning on May 28, 2007, citizens from a total of 63 countries will enjoy visa on arrival.

"The extension of the visa on arrival facility is aimed at raising the frequency of visits by foreign tourists," the immigration office said in a statement.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo said the government was now studying the possibility of extending the facility to 11 additional countries to allow more tourists and investors to come to Indonesia.

"So, there will be 74 countries that receive the visa on arrival facility soon, pending a decree from the Justice and Human Rights Ministry. We hope more foreigners will come to Indonesia," he was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

He refused to identify the 11 additional countries. The visa on arrival was first introduced on Feb. 21, 2004.

Under the system, tourists from selected countries do not have to apply abroad for a visa but can purchase a visa on arrival at Indonesia's international airports and seaports. A seven-day visa costs 10 U.S. dollars, while a 30-day visa costs 25 U.S. dollars.

Indonesia's tourist arrival numbers dropped by 2.61 percent to 4.87 million in 2006 from 5 million in 2005.

The government said extending the visa on arrival facility was expected to raise tourist numbers to 6 million in 2007.

Amex cardholders to get eyes opened at airport

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Holders of American Express goldcards issued by Bank Danamon can now benefit from an eye-scanning facility when passing through immigration at Jakarta's Sukarno Hatta International Airport.

Cardholders will only need to insert iris-data cards and have theirs eyes scanned by a scanning device, which will match the data on the card and with the person's iris.

"This facility is very efficient as passengers no longer have to fill out embarkation forms, or get their passports stamped. They only need to have their irises scanned," said director of Angkasa Pura Schiphol Djoko Santoso during the signing of the collaboration agreement for the facility with Bank Danamon on Thursday.

The eye scanning process, called automatic border passage, will replace manual passport checking, which can take an average of around 20 minutes.

Automatic border passage is part of the Saphire program designed by PT Angkasa Pura Schiphol, a joint venture between PT Angkasa Pura II, the operator of Soekarno Hatta, and the Netherlands-based Schiphol Group.

The holders of Amex gold cards can use the Saphire program for free during the first year, but will have to pay US$180 annually in subsequent years. They can also enjoy other Saphire program perks, including special parking facilities, and exclusive security gates and check-in counters for Saphire customers.

Bank Danamon vice president Subba Vaidyanathan said that the Saphire program was a commercial initiative designed to provide more benefits for Amex gold cardholders, who were often frequent fliers.

"Most of our Amex cardholders are businesspeople that need efficiency when traveling. We believe that the Saphire program will satisfy them as it offers not only time savings, but also an exclusive services," said Subba.

Djoko said that the installation of eye-scanning machines was part of its commitment to making Sukarno Hatta a world-class international airport.

Angkasa Pura Schiphol has invested around Rp 2 billion ($222,200) on installing automatic border passage equipment. The necessary technology was developed by the Schiphol Group, which has been working together with Angkasa Pura II since 1996.

Automatic border passage has been functioning since December last year and has so far facilitated around 1,500 regular travelers. Those interested in availing of the Saphire program should apply at the Saphire service center located in Soekarno-Hatta's terminal 2-F. The service costs $200 per year, and the registration process takes around 20 minutes, including iris data recording and verification of travel documents.