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Bali to stop mobile internet on Saturday

March 14, 2018

Due to the Balinese New Year's Day celebration "Nyepi", mobile network operators on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali have agreed to switch off the entire mobile internet in Bali on Saturday.

https://p.dw.com/p/2uI7t
Ogoh-ogoh Ritual, Begrüßung des Tages der Stille in Bali
The Ogoh-Ogoh Parade welcomes the "Day of Silence"Image: picture-alliance /K.Widiatmika

Nyepi is a high holiday in Hinduism on Bali and is also called "Day of Silence": Faithful Hindus do not leave their homes, fast, keep silent and do not use light. Public life on the island is coming to a standstill. Tourists are also expected to observe the curfew.The Internet shutdown was initiated by the Indonesian Hindu Society PHDI. She had already applied last year to turn off the Internet to Nyepi - also to prevent tourists from making selfies on the holy day, as local media reported. Now, according to I Nyoman Sujaya, head of Bali's Information Office, the authorities agreed for the first time. Most Indonesians are Muslims, but Bali is largely Hindu.

Melasti Ritual zur Reinigung des Tages der Stille in Bali
Melasti Ceremony on the beach before "Day of Silence"Image: picture-alliance /K.Widiatmika

Bali will not be completely offline on this day. In some hotels, WLAN hotspots will continue to work. Even in the public sector, hospitals, security authorities and the financial system, the Internet is not disconnected.

is/ch (dpa,AFP)