Fears of bomb attacks haunt Christmas celebrations
The Jakarta Post, Palu/Medan/Semarang
Ompu Monang, a Christian from Medan, has decided not to attend his church's Christmas Eve service this year on safety concern.
The string of bloody Christmas Eve bomb attacks on churches nationwide during the past four years has put him off, he says.
"I generally opt to stay and pray at home on Christmas Eve. I am afraid that my church will become one of the targets," said the 65-year-old from his Medan home.
Monang is one of a growing number of Christians in the country who now prefer to avoid churches for safety reasons during Christmas time.
Many have not forgotten the 15 congregation members killed and 96 injured in attacks on several churches nationwide on Christmas Eve 2000. And more fresh in their minds are the recent series of attacks on churches in Palu, Central Sulawesi, about two weeks ago in which three people were injured. Not forgetting the nine homemade bombs in found last week in Garut, West Java, which police believe were to be used in attacks on Christians in the area.
This along with the "credible warnings" from Western governments of holiday terror bombings, have not only stopped people from attending churches, but also forced some churches to hold Christmas Eve services at hotels, malls or office buildings.
"It puts us at a lower risk for being a target for religious persecution," said Pastor Steve Lunn, originally from Seattle, Washington, whose International English Service holds worship for a thousand people in a downtown Jakarta office building.
"People tell me they feel safer," he told the Associated Press. "The facility itself is not the most important thing. It's just a place to gather. The most important thing is being together and worshiping God together."
Aiming to protect religious freedoms in the country, the government has responded to the likely dangers posed to Christians and the National Police have deployed thousands of officers nationwide to safeguard churches.
Metal detectors are currently being installed in large cathedrals in the country, especially in the conflict torn-areas of Ambon, Palu and Poso. Police bomb squads are also set to search some churches before services are held.
"We have talked to church leaders about security arrangements during Christmas Eve in 26 churches in Ambon, Maluku province," said Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan, the chief of Ambon and Lease Islands Police.
Maluku was a center of sectarian conflict between 1999 and 2002 when thousands of people were killed and many more became refugees after violence between Christians and Muslims.
In Central Java, armed plainclothes officers will be deployed around some big churches on Christmas Eve, while 13,000 officers will be deployed to hundreds of others in the province.
Intelligence agencies are also on the alert.
Earlier, South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf had pledged to guard all priests leading church services on Christmas Eve with officers who would escort them to and from their homes.
These high-security measures have raised the confidence of some Christians, while others put on brave faces and hope for the best.
Rev. Hengki Ombi, the leader of Immanuel Church in Palu, Central Sulawesi, said that his followers were still traumatized after a bomb attack two weeks ago at a church that left a security guard injured.
"Honestly, we are worried that another bomb attack will happen again. However, our desire to celebrate Christmas, compounded by the tight security measures taken by police, have begun to overcome our fears," Hengki said.