Police increase security ahead of September runoff<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar announced on Wednesday he
\nwould instruct police nationwide to remain on high alert ahead of
\nthe Sept. 20 presidential runoff.<\/p>\n
Da'i's statement came after a recent spate of violent attacks
\noccured throughout the country.<\/p>\n
Although the attacks were apparently not linked to each other,
\nthe incidents could, however, worsen the national security
\nsituation if they continued to occur, Da'i said.<\/p>\n
"These killings and bombings have not disrupted the situation
\nahead of the upcoming election because they are not related to
\neach other. However, we can't let (these attacks) occur too
\noften," Da'i said.<\/p>\n
"Each incident was motivated by different reason, and at this
\ntime we do not consider these attacks are related," Da'i said.<\/p>\n
A bomb attack earlier this week in Sei Bingei, Langkat, North
\nSumatra killed one person and left three others injured.<\/p>\n
The attack is believed to have been the result of fighting
\nbetween rival gangs.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on Sunday, a clergywoman, Reverend Susianti
\nTinulele, was shot dead in a church by gunmen in Palu, Central
\nSulawesi, in an apparent bid to reignite religious violence in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
A later bomb threat at her funeral on Tuesday led to the
\nevacuation of a church.<\/p>\n
The police are still hunting down the perpetrators of the
\nkilling and have put up police checkpoints in roads going out of
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
A police sketch artist is preparing a picture of gunmen's
\nfaces to be distributed across the area.<\/p>\n
A week before a series of small explosions rocked Bandung,
\nWest Java. The bombs caused no casualties.<\/p>\n
Police said that the motive behind the bombing was connected
\nwith an anti-gambling protest conducted by several groups of the
\ncity residents.<\/p>\n
While these attacks were not linked, police still had cause to
\nbelieve certain groups were planning to disrupt the election,
\nDa'i said. He refused to identify the groups he believed were
\nresponsible.<\/p>\n
The police's increased alert status was a response to this
\nlikely threat, he said. In a bid to ensure against riots and
\nother disruptions the call would go out to police chiefs
\nnationwide.<\/p>\n
"Tomorrow, I will brief all provincial chiefs throughout the
\ncountry to order their men to stay alert to ensure the September
\nelection runs smoothly. We have helped the legislative and
\npresidential elections to be a success, and we want this success
\nto continue," Da'i said.<\/p>\n
Da'i said he had ordered police, including mobile brigade
\nunits, to actively patrol their jurisdictions to prevent more
\nsecurity disturbances.<\/p>\n
Police were giving special attention to conflict areas such as
\nPoso, Maluku, Papua and Aceh and were deploying more troops
\nthere, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been rocked by a series of deadly bombings since
\n2000. Many have been blamed on the Al Qaeda-linked terror group
\nJamaah Islamiyah (JI), although others have been linked to
\nseparatist groups and feuding criminal gangs.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-increase-security-ahead-of-september-runoff-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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