Associated Press, Sat Dec 20, 3:33 AM ET
Terror Attacks Feared in Indonesia
By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Al-Qaida linked militants are feared to be targeting churches
this Christmas in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, but priests and
preachers said they aren't canceling yuletide services.
With memories of a string of church bombings still fresh, the U.S. Embassy is
warning Americans in Indonesia that the risk of terror attacks over Christmas and New
Year is "particularly high."
Some 140,000 police will be deployed over the holiday, worshippers will have to pass
through metal detectors at most churches, and police guards will search the buildings
before Christmas services, said National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar.
Three years ago, bombs exploded at 11 churches across Indonesia on Christmas
Eve, killing 19 people and injuring around 100. The attacks have since been blamed
on the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
The group, which allegedly has cells across Southeast Asia, has also been
implicated in last year's Bali bombings, which killed 202, and an Aug. 5 attack on the
J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12.
The U.S. Embassy has warned that places of worship popular with expatriates,
shopping centers and hotels are possible targets over the holidays. The Australian
Embassy is also telling its citizens to be on alert.
"There is a climate of anxiety," said Rev. Andrew Lake, an Australian who heads an
Anglican congregation in Jakarta.
Lake said that some worshippers might skip Christmas services at the All Saints
Anglican Church in the heart of Jakarta because of the terror fears.
"I accept that. I don't want them to feel guilty," he said.
Christians make up less than 10 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people. Around 85
percent are Muslims and there are Buddhist and Hindu minorities.
Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to still pose a threat despite the arrests of dozens of
suspected operatives over the last year, including al-Qaida's alleged pointman in Asia,
Indonesian cleric Hambali.
On Friday, Abu Bakar Bashir, who foreign governments claim is the group's spiritual
leader, said that Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and three militants sentenced
to death for last year's Bali bombings were not terrorists but "soldiers in Allah's army."
He made the comments to his followers in prison, where he is serving out a three-year
sentence for immigration violations.
"The enemies of Islam are the Jews who are led by America and who always slander
Muslims as terrorists," he said.
Indonesia's constitution is secular and relations among the faiths are generally good
across the country. However, Muslim militants have increasingly been targeting
Christians, many of whom come from the country's ethnic Chinese minority.
Christian groups have recorded dozens of attacks on churches in recent years, and
they complain the perpetrators are rarely caught.
Muslims complain of aggressive missionary activity by Christians, accusing them of
building churches without permits and using private schools to spread their message.
Despite the warnings, not all Christians are changing their routine this holiday season.
"I'm taking these warnings in stride," said Maria Priyanti, a Roman Catholic. "It seems
to me that terrorism is by its very nature unpredictable. I will be going to church as
normal."
Jemaah Islamiyah is also suspected in the recent killings of 12 Christians on
Sulawesi island, which in 2000 was wracked by fighting between Muslims and
Christians.
Recently, unidentified people have been distributing leaflets in the province calling for
attacks against Christians in the province, said Alex Patambo, the secretary of the
region's church crisis center.
He said private security had been hired at churches in the city of Tentenna, and
worshippers would only be allowed to bring bibles into churches.
"There is a state of alert but that does not mean we will not celebrate Christmas," he
said from the province, some 1,000 miles east of Jakarta.
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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