U.S., Australia, UK caution on attacks during holidays<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The governments of Australia, Britain and the United States
\nissued new travel advisories for their citizens in Indonesia to
\nbe extremely cautious during the upcoming holiday season due to
\nthe high possibility of terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Travel advisories from the embassies in Jakarta warned that
\ntheir citizens should avoid public places such as churches,
\nrestaurants and bars during the holidays.<\/p>\n
\"With the approach of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the
\nembassy reminds all Americans throughout Indonesia to exercise
\nutmost caution in public places, particularly places of worship
\nand entertainment areas frequented by Westerners,\" the embassy
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
Referring to the Christmas bombing in 2000, the British
\nEmbassy in Jakarta highlighted the fact that churches were
\ntargeted in the incidents, so British nationals should remain
\nalert.<\/p>\n
\"It should be noted that in 2000, a series of bombings
\ntargeted Christmas celebrations in places of worship,\" the
\nadvisory stated.<\/p>\n
The Australian government went further than the other two
\nWestern governments, advising its nationals to consider leaving
\nIndonesia ahead of the Christmas celebration.<\/p>\n
\"Threats against Australians and Australian interests in
\nIndonesia remain high given possible terrorist action and civil
\ndisorder, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period,\"
\nit said.<\/p>\n
\"Our advice also remains that Australians in Indonesia who are
\nconcerned about their security should consider departure,\" the
\nstatement said as quoted by Agence France-Presse.<\/p>\n
After the Bali bombing on Oct.12, which killed more than 190
\npeople, the majority of whom were foreigners, many countries
\nissued travel warnings against Indonesia and some evacuated non-
\nessential embassy staff from the country.<\/p>\n
The security alert remains high, after several international
\nschools in Jakarta only last month suspended their activities for
\nmore than a week, due to the possibility of terrorists attacks.<\/p>\n
These warnings continue despite protests from the Indonesian
\ngovernment that such travel advisories would further harm the
\ncountry's tourism industry, which has suffered a sharp decline
\nafter the attacks in Bali.<\/p>\n
Although Indonesian police repeatedly guarantee the safety of
\nforeigners, police in South Sulawesi found several bombs near a
\nchurch in Makassar in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Police have heightened security measures for the Christmas and
\nNew Year holidays, and have put churches across the country under
\nmaximum security.<\/p>\n
Similar steps have been undertaken in the past two years, as
\nthe country was traumatized by the Christmas Eve bombings at
\nchurches located in 11 major cities, which claimed 19 lives.<\/p>\n
Police have said that the suspects in the ongoing
\ninvestigation of the Bali bombings were also involved in the
\nChristmas Eve 2000 attacks.<\/p>\n
Most of the terror suspects were affiliated with Muslim
\norganizations, a consideration that has put churches on a list of
\nhigh-risk targets for possible retaliatory attacks.<\/p>\n
In their advisory, the British Embassy also warned its
\nnationals to be \"particularly careful in Bali, Jakarta,
\nBalikpapan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, and in cultural and tourist
\nlocations outside major cities, including Borobudur.\"<\/p>\n
\"The arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and the possible arrest of
\nother extremist leaders could lead to strong reaction from their
\nsupporters,\" the advisory continued, referring to the Muslim
\ncleric who remains under police detention, although his alleged
\ninvolvement with the Christmas Eve bombings has been neither
\nproved nor disproved.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-australia-uk-caution-on-attacks-during-holidays-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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