Embassies ask for extra security<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The day after a bomb exploded outside the Australian Embassy on
\nJl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, the Jakarta Police
\nhave been inundated with calls from embassies requesting
\nassistance in securing their premises.<\/p>\n
However, in general, the city was quiet on Friday, which also
\nmay have had something to do with the long weekend coming up.<\/p>\n
\"Almost all embassies have requested our assistance in
\nsecuring their premises,\" the city police director of vital
\nsecurity, Sr. Comr. Johnny R. Hutajulu, told The Jakarta Post on
\nFriday. \"It was completely expected and a normal reaction.\"<\/p>\n
Most embassies belonging to European countries have asked the
\npolice to increase patrols around their premises as an extra
\nprecaution.<\/p>\n
\"It would be a burden for those embassies if we stationed our
\nofficers there because they would have to provide a post and some
\nstandard logistics,\" Hutajulu said.<\/p>\n
Following the explosion, there was little activity at
\nembassies along Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman.<\/p>\n
The German Embassy on Jl. Thamrin had closed off the slow lane
\nrunning in front of the building.<\/p>\n
Several star-rated hotels in the capital have also beefed up
\nsecurity, particularly at their entrances.<\/p>\n
The Sahid Hotel on Jl. Sudirman reinstalled a metal detector
\ngate in its lobby entrance. It originally installed the metal
\ndetector soon after the Marriott hotel bombing on Aug. 5, 2003,
\nwhich claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 147 others.<\/p>\n
The Da Vinci Tower apartments on Jl. Sudirman also installed a
\nmetal detector gate in its lobby entrance.<\/p>\n
The area around the Australian Embassy itself was crowded with
\npeople wanting to get a look at the bomb site.<\/p>\n
With the road in front of the embassy cordoned off, traffic in
\nthe area was backed up all day.<\/p>\n
People crowded along the median strip in front of the embassy,
\npeering through the gaps between wooden planks covering the
\nscene. Some of the onlookers took pictures with mobile phone
\ncameras, digital cameras and video cameras.<\/p>\n
Vehicles passing along the road also slowed down as passengers
\ntried to get a glimpse of the bomb site.<\/p>\n
Traffic police officers stationed at the scene were busy
\nshouting through megaphones, ordering passersby and drivers to
\nmove on.<\/p>\n
\"Please, Bapak in the black car, move on, don't stop there,\" a
\ntraffic police officer shouted.<\/p>\n
In a tent erected by state electricity company PT PLN near the
\nblast site, people came to pay their condolences and write
\nmessages in books located in the tent.<\/p>\n
Tap water operator Palyja announced it was repairing the water
\npipes damaged in the explosion, and that areas along Jl. Rasuna
\nSaid and Jl. Supomo would be affected.<\/p>\n
The Glodok and Mangga Dua electronics centers in West Jakarta
\nhave been quiet since the bombing.<\/p>\n
\"The number of customers has dropped since yesterday, but so
\nfar our prices are the same,\" said Athung, a vendor in Harco
\nGlodok, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/embassies-ask-for-extra-security-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}