Guns and smiles greet students as int'l schools reopen
Guns and smiles greet students as int'l schools reopen
Ian Timberlake, Agence France-Presse, Jakarta
Two faces -- one smiling, the other stern -- greeted students returning to classes Thursday for the first time since leading international schools in Jakarta closed two weeks ago over reported terrorist threats.
As cars and buses queued to enter The British International School, principal Peter Hoggins stood in the quiet road to meet them.
"Good morning, Sasha! How are you today?" Hoggins called through the window of one car.
A stern-faced policeman stood alert across the road, his finger ready above the trigger of his semi-automatic rifle.
The officer from police Mobile Brigade unit is one of 21 paramilitary officers now patrolling the school's perimeter full- time as part of heightened security after the British and several other international schools closed Nov. 15.
The closure followed warnings from the Australian and U.S. embassies that "credible information" had been received about the possible targeting of international schools identified with Western interests.
Jakarta International School (JIS), with 2,500 students from 65 countries, and the Australian International School also reopened Thursday.
Penny Robertson, the Australian school's principal, said there was now round-the-clock security at her school, with double the number of police.
Extra police especially from the mobile brigade have been posted at the three JIS campuses and "physical security" had been enhanced, said headmaster Niall Nelson.
Nelson said about 90 percent of students returned to school Thursday.
At the British school, 24-hour Mobile Brigade patrols were supplemented by regular police and the school's own security guards, Hoggins said.
The campus had no police protection before the Oct. 12 Bali terrorist bombing which killed almost 200 people, most of them foreigners.
International schools have made financial contributions to the underfunded police to obtain extra security.
"Obviously the main concern since Bali has been the possibility of car bombs," Hoggins said at the main gate where at least six Mobile Brigade and regular officers were stationed beside white-uniformed school security guards.
Among the officers was Capt. Triyono of the Jakarta police. In what Hoggins called a major improvement, Triyono is there to provide "command and control" over the other officers.
"I will monitor the situation," the mustachioed Triyono said. The campus buildings are set back among playing fields about 200 meters (660 feet) from the main gate, which is reached by a quiet, winding road.
Security officers operate red-and-white metal barricades at the gate. Vehicles are encouraged to drop students off and leave quickly.
"The number one thing for us at the moment is security," Hoggins said.
"I think the school has done as much as they can do for the time being," said Daryl Jones, 42, the parent of two boys aged 10 and 11 and a girl, eight.
"My biggest concern now is actually the bus journey coming in," said Jones, a former resident of Aberdeen, Scotland, who works as a manager with BP.
Many of the 900 students ride special buses to get to the British school in an upscale south Jakarta neighborhood.
Although the buses are radio-equipped and carry adult chaperones, Hoggins said parents who are not comfortable with them are urged to form car pools.
Hoggins said no parents have so far told him they are leaving Indonesia because of the recent threats.
Jones said his wife and children may still return to Britain because of Indonesia's security situation but the family would prefer to remain together here.
"I think we're living in a different world now where there is uncertainty, and you can't eliminate all of it," he said.