LAKSAMANA.Net, January 14, 2005 11:01 AM
British, Thai Embassies Close on Bomb Threat
Laksamana.Net - Britain closed its embassy and consulate in Jakarta after police
said Thursday (13/1/05) they had received bomb threats for the British and Thai
embassies.
Jakarta Police spokesman Tjiptono said security was tightened around the
embassies, which are located in Menteng, Central Jakarta. He said police searched
the embassies and the consulate, but did not find any explosive devices.
The Associated Press quoted an unnamed police officer as saying the source of the
bomb threats said the embassies would be targeted at 10pm Thursday or 10am
Friday.
Deputy National Police chief Dadang Garnida on Friday said the threats were based
on "intelligence" information. He declined to elaborate, adding it was too early to
speculate whether notorious bombers Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top had
been planning attacks on the embassies.
The two militants are suspected of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings,
the 2003 blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel and the September 2004 bombing at the
Australian Embassy.
The British Foreign Office said services at its embassy would remain suspended while
officials monitor the security situation in Jakarta.
"In response to a specific bomb threat to the British Embassy, we have temporarily
suspended services to the public with immediate effect in the British Embassy
building and the British Consulate General offices in the next door Deutsche Bank
building. The closure will not have a detrimental effect on the relief operations in Aceh
following the tsunami of 26 December," it said in a statement.
The statement said there remains a high threat from terrorism in Indonesia. "We
continue to receive reports that terrorists in Indonesia are planning further attacks on
Westerners and Western interests. Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in
Indonesia and are likely to be directed against locations frequented by foreigners.
Terrorists have shown in previous attacks, like the attack on the Australian Embassy
and the Bali bombings, that they have the means and the motivation to carry out
successful attacks."
The warning also advises against all travel to Aceh province except for those involved
in humanitarian operations.
The Thai Embassy also closed on Friday. "Our staff did not enter the building and will
not work at the embassy, at least for today. We will re-assess the situation later,"
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow was quoted as saying by
Agence France-Presse.
He said the embassy's operations would be unaffected because its staff would work at
an undisclosed location.
Additional guards would not be deployed to protect the embassy because the
Indonesian government had addressed the security concerns, he added.
Last September's suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy killed 11
people. The attack was blamed on regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Some of the group's key members, such as Azahari and Noordin, remain at large and
police have warned the two are recruiting suicide bombers for more attacks.
Bomb threats are commonplace in Jakarta and other major cities. But serious
terrorists, such as those responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, the Australian
Embassy blast and other deadly attacks, are not known to give warnings before they
strike.
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