The Jakarta Post, 12/23/2005 2:27:14 PM
Indonesia police gear up security for Christmas
JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesian authorities are gearing up to prevent possible terror
attacks in the world most populous Muslim nation during the Christmas and New
Year's celebrations, senior police officials said on Friday.
Comr. Gen. Ismerda Lebang, the head of security of Indonesia Police, said the
potential threats during the year-end festivities could include terror, sabotage,
intimidation and kidnapping and abuse of individuals of high importance.
"We are gearing up for an operation to ensure security for all Indonesians as they are
celebrating Christmas and New Year, which include religious celebrations for the
Christians," Lebang told a news conference, adding that 61,000 personnel will be
deployed througout the archipelago.
Out of that total, 17,350 would be deployed in Jakarta area, said Insp. Gen. Firman
Gani, the police chief for the capital.
"(The threat) could come in new forms. Maybe it would no longer involve backpack
bombs, but a smaller bomb that can be thrown in public places. We are anticipating
those possibilities," Gani said.
On Oct. 1, three backpack bombers struck the country's main resort island of Bali,
killing around two dozen people. It was the second strike on the prime tourist
destination after nightclub bombings hit the island in 2002, killing 202 people, mostly
foreign tourists.
The U.S. and Australian embassies have issued fresh warnings of possible militant
attacks against Westerners in Indonesia, noting statements by officials this week that
the extremists may turn to kidnapping as a tactic.
The chief of Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency (BIN), had said on Tuesday that
foreigners could be kidnap targets in the Christmas and New Year season.
The U.S. statement also noted reports last month of a website purportedly set up
under militant orders giving instructions on how to shoot foreigners in the streets of
Jakarta and throw grenades at motorists stuck in traffic in the car-clogged city.
Indonesia has already seen sporadic bombings blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked
Jamaah Islamiyah, a militant Southeast Asian network.
Police across Indonesia, a sprawling archipelagic nation of 17,000 islands, have been
stepping up security measures to prevent attacks, including a repeat of 2000
Christmas Eve bombings of churches in several Indonesian cities which killed 19
people.
Those attacks have also been linked to Jamaah Islamiyah.
Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. The vast majority are
moderates but there is an active militant minority.
Christians form the second largest religious group in the country. (**)
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