Hotel, building owners gear up for bombings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While no one can predict when and which
\nbuildings could be bomb targets, operators and management of
\nbuildings and hotels in the capital have taken preemptive and
\nresponsive measures in anticipation of such acts of terror.<\/p>\n
General affairs and public relations officials at several
\nhotels and buildings in Jakarta told The Jakarta Post in separate
\ninterviews on Thursday and Friday that duty officials, visitors
\nand tenants had been informed of standard procedures they must
\nfollow if a bomb attack occurs.<\/p>\n
\"Our hotel staff have been given regular refresher training
\ncourses dealing with emergency situations every three months
\nsince mid-1998,\" Ria Leimena, spokeswoman for the Mandarin
\nOriental Hotel on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, said.<\/p>\n
She was referring to the period since the downfall of former
\npresident Soeharto in May 1998.<\/p>\n
Supri, an employee in the general affairs department at the
\nDeutsche Bank building on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta,
\nsaid the building management had instructed all employees to be
\nwary of any possible incidents. \"We have increased our internal
\nsecurity measures.\"<\/p>\n
Ninok Zaenah, an employee in the administration section of
\nChase Manhattan Bank, which occupies Chase Plaza on Jl. Sudirman
\nin Central Jakarta, echoed Supri, saying the building management
\nhad alerted employees to remain alert.<\/p>\n
\"If we receive a bomb threat we'll immediately call the
\npolice,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Herny Sunarya, the public relation manager at Hotel Indonesia,
\nand Memet Tirtaatmadja, the hotel's safety and security manager,
\nsaid the hotel had alerted all employees to prepare for possible
\nbomb threats and attacks.<\/p>\n
\"The hotel management has instructed all employees to remain
\nwary of anything unattended or placed around the hotel,\" Herny
\nsaid on Friday.<\/p>\n
Memet said security staff had implemented patrols of all
\nfloors every one or two hours.<\/p>\n
Herny said every employee was obliged to inform security if
\nthey found anything suspicious. \"If an employee finds something
\nsuspicious, he or she has to inform the security post at once.\"<\/p>\n
She also said the hotel was providing a 24-hour team of guards
\nalthough the hotel had not yet received any bomb threats.<\/p>\n
Sandra Djohan, the public relation manager of the Grand Hyatt
\nHotel, said the hotel's management had increased internal
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
\"Since the bomb blast at the Philippine envoy's residence
\nearly last month, we have implemented very tight security around
\nthe hotel and Plaza Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
All the hotel staff have been instructed to pay extra
\nattention to anything suspicious, including cars and even common
\nthings around the corners of the building, without making guests
\nfeel inconvenienced, she said.<\/p>\n
\"We also told our staff to improve their vigilance ... even
\nthough there has been no such threats to the hotel,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said the four recent bomb blasts in the capital had not
\naffected the hotel's occupancy rate.<\/p>\n
\"The guests usually ask about the hotel's safety, and we
\nalways give them information and guidance during their stay at
\nthe hotel,\" she said.<\/p>\n
A bomb exploded at the Attorney General's Office on July 4.
\nThere were no casualties in the incident.<\/p>\n
A second explosion rocked the residence of Philippine
\nAmbassador Leonides T. Caday on Aug. 1, killing two people and
\ninjuring 21 others, including the ambassador.<\/p>\n
A public minibus parked on Jl. Taman Margasatwa in Ragunan,
\nSouth Jakarta, was hit by an explosion at midnight on Aug. 30,
\nthe night before former president Soeharto's graft trial was set
\nto open.<\/p>\n
The fourth explosion rocked the Jakarta Stock Exchange
\nbuilding in South Jakarta on Wednesday, killing at least 10
\npeople and wounding dozens others.<\/p>\n
Fathiah Syarif, the public relations manager at the Hilton
\nHotel, said the hotel had not taken any special measures
\nfollowing the bombings.<\/p>\n
\"Everything is just as usual,\" Fathiah said. \"However, we
\nalways monitor information of any incidents outside the hotel.\"<\/p>\n
\"Our employees are also told to remain watchful of any
\nsecurity disturbances and of any unattended and abandoned items
\nin the hotel.\"<\/p>\n
Fathiah said the bombings had not impacted the hotel's
\noccupancy rate. (01\/imn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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