City police list atrisk venues for Christmas, New Year
City police list atrisk venues for Christmas, New Year
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In an effort to ensure Christmas and the New Year pass off
peacefully in Greater Jakarta, the city police are drawing up an
inventory of all churches and places of worship that will be used
for the festivities.
General Crimes Unit chief Sr. Comr. Moh. Jaelani said the
police would not relax security measures even though Malaysian
master bomber Azahari bin Husin was killed in a police raid in
Batu, Malang, East Java, last week.
"He still has many trained followers who could launch attacks
anywhere in Indonesia, including Jakarta, especially over
Christmas and the New year. That's why we need to know which
places and churches will be used for the festivities to prepare
the necessary security measures," Jaelani told The Jakarta Post
on Thursday.
Azahari and his accomplice Noordin M. Top are suspected of
having masterminded major attacks on various targets in
Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali blasts that killed 202 people,
mostly tourists.
They are also believed to have played a role in the Oct. 1
Bali bombings, which killed 23 people, including three alleged
suicide bombers.
Noordin is still on the run.
A document found during a raid on one of Noordin's hideouts
stated that the terrorist group had planned to launch a bomb
attack on a mall in Kalibata, South Jakarta, at the same time as
the attacks in Bali on Oct. 1.
Earlier, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that
the police would evaluate all churches and places of worship to
decide how they could best provide security.
"We have to plan specific security measures for each church as
they are all different. We will not just focus on traffic over
Christmas and the New Year," he said.
Firman reiterated that information received from the special
antiterrorist Detachment 88 said that the terrorists were
targeting the capital.
He said that the police would also step up security measures
around embassy buildings and places frequented by foreigners
until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 of members of the Jakarta Police's
Public Education Unit gathered at headquarters to receive
training on how to convince residents to cooperate with the
police, including ensuring the reporting of newcomers in city
neighborhoods.
"We now know how to convince people to report crimes and any
suspicious persons that have come into their neighborhoods. I
will apply what we have learned from the training," Adj. Insp.
Untung S., a participant from Depok, told the Post.
He said that the city police chief had ordered all officers to
ask the owners of rented houses to report details of their
tenants to the police for monitoring purposes and to require all
newcomers to report within 24 hours of their arrival to the
neighborhood chief.
"We will take those owners who refuse to report new tenants or
guests to us to the police station," Jaelani said.