JAKARTA (UCAN): Villagers from Indonesia’s famed Komodo Island are resisting an Indonesian government plan to relocate them as part of a purported effort to conserve the giant reptiles known as Komodo dragons. On July 19, hundreds protested in front of local government offices demanding authorities abort the plan.
 
On July 22, dozens of residents voiced their concerns at a meeting with government representatives at West Manggarai district council in Labuan Bajo, on the island of Flores, the gateway to Komodo National Park.
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): The Catholic Church on the Indonesian island of Flores, gateway to Komodo National Park and its world famous Komodo dragons, rejected the idea of introducing halal (permissible) tourism, a growing trend among Muslims.
 
Authorities in Labuan Bajo, a fishing town on the western side of Flores in Nusa Tenggara, suggested the idea as a way of boosting tourism but Bishop Silvester San, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Ruteng, shot it down in a letter dated May 6.