The Jakarta Post, 9/3/2004 1:31:15 PM
U.S. issues fresh warning of Indonesian dangers
JAKARTA (Reuters): Americans in Indonesia need to takeprecautions against
possible new terrorist attacks, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said on Friday.
A bomb attack by Muslim militants on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in October
2002 killed 202, mostly foreign tourists, and last year a car bomb at a J.W. Marriott
luxury hotel in Jakarta killed 12.
In both cases police and intelligence officials blamed Jamaah Islamiyah, a regional
group linked to al-Qaeda, for the blasts.
The U.S. embassy said in a statement it wanted "to remind Americans in Indonesia of
the need to observe vigilant personal security precautions and to remain aware of the
continued potential for terrorist attacks."
"The Embassy continues to receive reports that terrorist organizations may attempt to
carry out attacks against identifiably American or other Western facilities or
businesses in Indonesia," it said.
U.S. government travellers have been told "to avoididentifiably Western hotels" and
terrorists could strike a wide range of targets, the statement added, suggesting
Americans "keep a low profile while in public" and "vary their daily routines".
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has arrested and convicted
scores of militants over the Bali and Marriott bombings but police say some key
players remain at large.
The vast majority of Muslims in Indonesia, who account for some 85 percent of the
country's 220 million people, are moderates, but there is a militant minority and the
country has experienced occasional Muslim-Christian violence in recent years.
The U.S. embassy has issued a number of previous warnings to residents and
would-be visitors, as have some other embassies.
Although some Indonesian officials criticize the warnings and say the country is as
safe as many others, police sporadically talk about continuing or fresh threats,
including possible attacks related to Indonesia's Sept. 20 run-off presidential election.
An explosion at Indonesia's election commission on July 26, the day it was due to
announce results of the first-round presidential vote, did no serious damage but
showed security problems remain. (**)
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