Banda Aceh tightens security after blasts
Nani Farida and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe
Following Monday's bomb blasts in Aceh's provincial capital Banda Aceh, authorities said they would tighten security in the city, as terrorist acts mark a new threat in the war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.
Five bomb threats were reported in Banda Aceh over the past two days. Two of the bombs exploded and injured four civilians, in a rare terrorist strike police said was led by the rebels.
The blasts have shattered Banda Aceh's image as a safe haven from rebel' activity and underlined the difficulties in separating them from the rest of the population.
"We will tightened security measures in Banda Aceh and surrounding areas by conducting raids," said Aceh National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesainy on Tuesday.
He said police would drop personnel at places which had so far been left unprotected. "GAM members can put on civilian clothes and place bombs anywhere. This is what we are watching out for," he said.
Monday's bomb attacks delivered a wake up call to the city's residents who previously thought that the war raged only in remote villages in GAM-controlled areas.
Sayed said that GAM exploded the bombs to let people know that they were in town.
Rosmaini, 50, said she could have died had she not seen a suspicious package next to her car on Tuesday. She said she and her husband reported their finding to a security officer who told her that the package contained a homemade bomb.
Another homemade bomb was found at Zainal Abidin General Hospital, stirring panic among the patients.
"We are afraid of going out, especially to crowded places," said Yuni a student from Syiah Kuala University as she passed by the Pasar Aceh traditional market where one of the bombs exploded. Another homemade bomb went off at Kampung Baru market, injuring four people.
Aceh martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said the military would intensify patrols and intelligence operations to hunt down the rebels.
According to him, the bomb blasts occurred because "certain groups" were protecting the rebels in the city.
"With such protection, GAM members can easily move around Aceh, including Banda Aceh," he told reporters.
The military has evacuated thousands of people from their homes in GAM controlled areas in its effort to separate the rebels from the civilians.
All Acehnese citizens must obtain new ID cards in a move that authorities claim will help them identify GAM rebels during raids. Civil servants must also undergo a loyalty test in another program to separate the rebels from the general populace.