Antiterror spooks to team up in provinces

Antiterror spooks to team up in provinces

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar

The government said on Monday it would form multi-agency
intelligence teams in provinces throughout the country to prevent
further terrorist attacks, a move some fear could revive the
repressive Soeharto-era measures against freedom of expression.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security
Affairs Widodo A.S. said the teams would comprise officials from
the State Intelligence Agency, the Military Strategic
Intelligence Agency, the National Police and the Indonesian
Military.

"The intelligence teams will be attached to every provincial
police headquarters, particularly those in conflict areas such as
Central Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua," Widodo said.

Other major provinces highly vulnerable to terrorist attacks
included Jakarta, East Java, Bali and North Sumatra, he said.

The plan was decided in a limited Cabinet meeting led by
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to strengthen security
operations against terrorists in the country.

It came ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations and
followed warnings by several countries of imminent attacks on
Western targets in Indonesia.

"We are keeping contact with these countries to take
preventive measures against any possible terrorist strikes,"
Widodo said.

"With the establishment of the intelligence team, we want to
ensure peaceful celebrations of Christmas and New Year," said
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, who attended the
Cabinet meeting.

Earlier this week, police discovered nine homemade bombs in
public bus in Bandung, West Java. The findings came few days
after bomb and gun attacks on two churches in Palu, Central
Sulawesi, ahead of Christmas.

On Monday, a rusty, inactive grenade found at the Hilton
Hotel's compound in South Jakarta sparking a security alert.

Da'i assured Christians they need not be afraid of performing
prayers on Christmas Eve. He said the police would be on full
alert during the year-end holiday season, deploying two-thirds of
total personnel.

"Should your churches not yet be guarded by police, please
inform the nearest police stations, so we can provide security on
Christmas Eve," he said.

However, Da'i would not rule out possible further strikes by
extremists as two suspected terror masterminds, Azahari bin Husin
and Noordin Mohd. Top, remain at large.

In anticipation of the influx of domestic and foreign tourists
into Bali during the Christmas and Year New holidays, Bali Police
said they would deploy some 7,000 officers there.

Spokesman Sr. Comr. A.S. Reniban said the officers would guard
known crime spots. Two powerful bombs detonated on the island in
2002 killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists.

Hotels in Denpasar, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua said they were
further improving their security systems in order to thwart
terror attacks.

Bali Hilton International Hotel public relations manager Happy
Soebianto said the hotel was increasing the number of
international security personnel to prevent and detect possible
terror threats including those detonated by cell phone signals.

The Grand Hyatt Bali and the Westin said they had made similar
arrangements.