Fourth of July marked with caution

Fourth of July marked with caution

Agencies, Singapore/Manila

Americans across Asia marked their first Independence Day since the terror attacks of Sept. 11 on Thursday with the U.S. State Department warning them to avoid crowded places.

For many, it was business as usual, with weekend celebrations planned to mark the national day. Others organized or attended traditional receptions, picnics or barbecues at embassies or at home.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, the venue for U.S. Embassy's annual Fourth of July reception was switched from the ambassador's residence in Central Jakarta to a downtown Jakarta hotel. Diplomats said this was done to end the overcrowding that characterized the event in past years and was not motivated by security concerns.

In Thailand newspapers acknowledged the achievements of the United States.

But they added a note of caution in the wake of last year's suicide hijack attacks on New York and Washington, with The Nation in Thailand saying there seemed to be a lot of people around the world who hated Americans and what they stood for. "The Americans should be doing a lot of soul searching on this Independence Day so that they can move forward with the rest of the world which is beset by ideological conflicts and misgivings," The Nation said in an editorial.

In Manila, several hundred pro-U.S. demonstrators waving small American flags marched to the U.S. Embassy, arriving just as a drenching downpour swept through. A two-hour reception was planned at the embassy later in the day amid stringent security.

There were to be no fireworks, with the festivities to end before dark.

The Embassy has been the target of a number of protests since a controversial U.S. counterterrorism training exercise began early this year. The presence of American forces is a sensitive issue in the former U.S. colony.

The FBI has warned about the possibility of a holiday-timed terrorist strike, though it said no specific threat exists. The State Department told Americans abroad to avoid large gatherings with other Americans out of fear that such events could become terrorist targets.

"Exercise caution, exercise vigilance, be careful and have a good time," said Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman. Indian police set up checkpoints as part of their efforts to protect the U.S. Embassy and consulates in New Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, as well as the American School and American Center Library. Security at international airports in the four major cities also was tightened.

Security was tight at U.S. bases and official functions. More than 1,000 Americans and their guests turned out for baseball, hot dogs and apple pie at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Canberra, Australia.

Roads to the compound were blocked off and, for the first time, no private vehicles were allowed into the embassy complex. "This is the tightest it has ever been," Don Q. Washington, spokesman for the embassy in Canberra, said. An Australian federal police roadblock stopped all cars going into the U.S. Embassy and ambassador's residence in Canberra as mounted police patrolled the sprawling compound's perimeter fence.

Inside, Ambassador Tom Schieffer was determined to create a festive atmosphere for his 1,100 Australian and American guests, setting up a baseball batting cage, pitching machine and wiffle ball park and feeding them chili dogs, apple pie, popcorn, beer and soft drinks while Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA blared over loudspeakers.

"July 4 is a special day in the United States, it is celebrated with great enthusiasm and a lot of fun, and we wanted this to be a fun afternoon for you as well," Schieffer told his guests in a brief speech that made no mention of the Sept. 11 attacks.

But the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam canceled festivities and began battening down the hatches as a typhoon bore down on the island after triggering mudslides that killed dozens of people in Micronesia.

The American embassies in Sri Lanka and Japan held their parties Wednesday night.

The most obvious U.S. presence in Japan is the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed at bases throughout the country. They planned to celebrate with barbecues, bands and fireworks shows, despite worries about terrorist attacks.

Grocery stores catering to foreign residents in Tokyo set up special "American Booths" that specialized in wines and cheese for the holiday.

The big party in Singapore was scheduled for Saturday to coincide with the landing of a couple of U.S. Navy ships this weekend, and the American Clubs in Tokyo and Jakarta were planning parties the same day.

The U.S. Embassy in Singapore and the American Chamber of Commerce host a cocktail reception at a glitzy hotel on Thursday evening for some 800 guests, including government ministers. A more light-hearted event of food, fun and fireworks was planned for American families on Saturday near the U.S. navy's logistics center on the eastern side of the island.

"In my office, I'm the only American," businessman Dave Peck, from Biddeford Pool, Maine, said in Singapore.