Bali cracks down on suspected gigolos

BALI ISLAND - Civilian security guards on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali have rounded up 28 suspected male prostitutes after the trailer of a documentary, made by an Indian-origin filmmaker, depicting the lives of local “gigolos” sparked controversy, an official said Tuesday.

“We found 28 people whose identity was unclear but none of them has confessed to being a gigolo,” said Gusti Ketut Sudira, the informal village chief of Kuta, Bali’s most popular tourist strip.

The move came after the preview of a documentary focusing on the lifestyles of gigolos operating in Bali beaches, titled “Cowboys in Paradise”, was posted on the popular internet video sharing site YouTube.

Sudira said the film’s depiction of local boys as gigolos had tainted the image of Bali’s tourism and caused “a little unease”. He argued that men who sold sex to females in Bali beaches were mostly outsiders.

“The gigolo phenomenon has existed since perhaps 20 years ago,” he said.

“We will intensify monitoring at the beach and those who are neither tourists or merchandise vendors will be questioned.”

Bali police spokesman Gede Sugianyar Dwi Putra said he had not received any reports of suspected gigolos being rounded up. Security agencies “may have programmes to tackle the matter, but any action should be conducted legally,” he said.

The director of the documentary, Singapore-based writer Amit Virmani, told the Jakarta Globe newspaper in an interview that he had begun to receive hate mail and death threats.

“It’s unfortunate that people are making this out to be an anti-Indonesian film by an Indian filmmaker,” Virmani told the Globe. “Hatred is not what the film is about. And it’s not what Bali is about.”

Virmani said one person called him an “irresponsible idiot” and “the biggest enemy in Bali” in an email he had received.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika said he was concerned about the film but warned civilian security forces against the use of violence.

“We are grateful to members of the public who have kept an eye on those suspected gigolos,” he said. “But please don’t use violence.”