U.S. issues fresh warning on Indonesian security<\/p>\n
Jerry Norton, Reuters\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The United States has issued a fresh warning to Americans to
\navoid non-essential travel to Indonesia, calling bombings that
\nkilled 23 people in Bali on Oct. 1 \"a reminder that terrorists
\nremain active\".<\/p>\n
Indonesian police meanwhile said they were stepping up anti-
\nterrorism measures for the country's biggest festival next week.<\/p>\n
The U.S. warning, e-mailed on Thursday to Americans in
\nIndonesia, said: \"The possibility remains that terrorists will
\ncarry out additional attacks in Bali, Jakarta or other areas of
\nIndonesia in the near future.\"<\/p>\n
The last full-blown U.S. travel warning on Indonesia was
\nissued in May.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous Muslim nation, has
\nbeen hit by a number of bomb attacks in recent year. Several
\naimed at Western-linked targets have been blamed on the militant
\nJamaah Islamiyah network.<\/p>\n
Intelligence authorities say it is the Southeast Asian arm of
\nal-Qaeda, the group Washington charges with the Sept. 11, 2001
\nattacks in the United States.<\/p>\n
In October 2002, a first round of bombs in Bali killed 202
\npeople, mostly foreign tourists. Deadly car bomb blasts at a
\nluxury hotel in Jakarta and another at the Australian embassy
\nfollowed in 2003 and 2004 respectively.<\/p>\n
The attacks in Bali this month hit three restaurants. The 23
\ncasualties included three suicide bombers, according to police.<\/p>\n
The new U.S. warning says Americans traveling to spots like
\nBali should consider security levels at the specific places they
\ngo to, and it repeats cautions that any place Westerners
\ncongregate in Indonesia could be a target.<\/p>\n
\"Over the past three years, domestically targeted bombings
\nhave struck religious, political, and business targets,\" the
\nwarning also says, referring to sporadic attacks across
\nIndonesia's sprawling archipelago blamed on local issues.<\/p>\n
One such bombing in May on Sulawesi island killed 22 people.<\/p>\n
Separatist hotspots like Papua and Aceh also require caution,
\nthe warning said.<\/p>\n
While the Indonesian government and Aceh rebels reached a
\npeace agreement in August, \"the overall security situation in
\nAceh remains unsettled,\" the warning says.<\/p>\n
It suggests as well that travelers \"consult with their
\npersonal physicians concerning avian flu\". Bird flu has hit
\nmillions of chickens in Indonesia, and four human deaths from the
\ndisease have been confirmed.<\/p>\n
The warning comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan,
\nwhich Indonesian police have said could be a time of fresh
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
They plan to tighten security and put extra police on duty,
\nespecially during the height of traveling next week when millions
\nof Indonesians leave urban areas for their home villages to
\ncelebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival at the end of Ramadan.<\/p>\n
\"All regional police offices will put their Detachment-88s
\n(terror units) on alert,\" Commissioner Gen. Ismerda Lebang, head
\nof the national police security division, told reporters on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Jakarta police chief Firman Gani said bomb surveillance units
\nwould focus on 18 spots in the city, including malls, train
\nstations and airports.<\/p>\n
Gani said 18,000 policeman would be deployed in the greater
\nJakarta area, including around 100 officers from its anti-terror
\ndetachment.<\/p>\n
Security concerns have been one issue inhibiting foreign
\ninvestment in Indonesia, and the first attacks on the resort
\nisland of Bali dealt a major blow to the tourist trade.<\/p>",
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