The Jakarta Post, December 26, 2005
Indonesians observes peaceful Christmas
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesians observed Christmas peacefully across the country as tens of thousands
of police and troops remained on high alert for possible terrorist attacks.
The security forces had earlier warned of possible terrorist attacks during the
Christmas and New Year holidays as militants might seek revenge for the killing last
month of Malaysian bomb-expert Azahari bin Husin, a senior member of the regional
terror network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), during a police raid in East Java.
JI has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in the country, including the deadly
and near simultaneous Christmas Eve church bombings in 2000.
But as of late Sunday the world's most populous Muslim nation remained peaceful,
police said.
"Up until now, the security situation across the country remains safe and under
control. We will continue to stay fully alert for future threats to security," national
deputy police spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam told AFP.
Some 47,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to guard churches and Christian
houses of worship, hotels, and shopping malls. Even security guards dressed as
Santa Claus were seen checking vehicles for explosives at the Mandarin Oriental
Hotel in Jakarta, AP reported.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended a Christmas celebration in Nias,
North Sumatra, on Sunday. Also present at the event was Timor Leste President
Xanana Gusmao, who on Saturday evening attended a Christmas Eve mass at
Jakarta's cathedral. Susilo and Gusmao are slated to attend an event to mark the first
anniversary of the Dec. 26 tsunami in neighboring Aceh province.
Nias Island, which was also affected by last year's tsunami, was shaken by a
4.6-magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning just before the arrival of the President
and other distinguished guests for the Christmas celebration.
During the celebration, which was held in a soccer field and drew a crowd of more
than 6,000, Susilo said that his visit to the mainly Christian island was a display of his
"empathy for the people of Nias and southern Nias who suffered so much because of
the earthquake and the tsunami."
"With the spirit of Christmas, it is my hope that the people of Nias can bounce back
and further rebuild Nias," he was quoted as saying by AFP.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told reporters earlier in the day that the
presidential guard had increased security for the country's leading family following
intelligence reports of "serious threats against the safety of the President and his
family".
Meanwhile, Indonesian Christians living in a number of cities considered susceptible
to terror attacks, such as Jakarta, Poso and Palu, marked Christmas Eve without any
signs of fear despite the presence of security officers in their churches.
Bomb squad personnel and security officers scoured churches on Saturday before
Christmas Eve services, and searched for suspicious items around foreign embassies
and shopping malls.
In the Central Java capital of Semarang, thousands of Christians flocked to churches
from Saturday morning to midnight amid good weather.
In a show of religious harmony, members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) civilian guards,
known as Banser, helped police officers to guard the houses of worship. The NU is
the country's largest Muslim organization.
Ali Maffudz, who leads the province's NU civilian guards, said that as many as 3,500
Banser members had been deployed to support the security forces guard churches
across Central Java.
In neighboring Yogyakarta, Christians celebrated their Javanese-style Christmas in
peace.
Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi, continued its tradition of celebrating
peaceful Christmases. There was no sign of security disturbances during the annual
celebrations.
Police officers maintained low profile security measures to guard some 30 churches in
the predominantly Muslim city.
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