Indonesians observes peaceful Christmas

Indonesians observes peaceful Christmas

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesians observed Christmas peacefully across the country as
tens of thousands of police and troops remained on high alert for
possible terrorist attacks.

The security forces had earlier warned of possible
terrorist attacks during the Christmas and New Year holidays as
militants might seek revenge for the killing last month of
Malaysian bomb-expert Azahari bin Husin, a senior member of the
regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), during a police
raid in East Java.

JI has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in the
country, including the deadly and near simultaneous Christmas Eve
church bombings in 2000.

But as of late Sunday the world's most populous Muslim nation
remained peaceful, police said.

"Up until now, the security situation across the country
remains safe and under control. We will continue to stay fully
alert for future threats to security," national deputy police
spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam told AFP.

Some 47,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to guard
churches and Christian houses of worship, hotels, and shopping
malls. Even security guards dressed as Santa Claus were seen
checking vehicles for explosives at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
in Jakarta, AP reported.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended a Christmas
celebration in Nias, North Sumatra, on Sunday. Also present at
the event was Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao, who on
Saturday evening attended a Christmas Eve mass at Jakarta's
cathedral. Susilo and Gusmao are slated to attend an event to
mark the first anniversary of the Dec. 26 tsunami in neighboring
Aceh province.

Nias Island, which was also affected by last year's tsunami,
was shaken by a 4.6-magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning just
before the arrival of the President and other distinguished
guests for the Christmas celebration.

During the celebration, which was held in a soccer field and
drew a crowd of more than 6,000, Susilo said that his visit to
the mainly Christian island was a display of his "empathy for the
people of Nias and southern Nias who suffered so much because of
the earthquake and the tsunami."

"With the spirit of Christmas, it is my hope that the people
of Nias can bounce back and further rebuild Nias," he was quoted
as saying by AFP.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told reporters
earlier in the day that the presidential guard had increased
security for the country's leading family following intelligence
reports of "serious threats against the safety of the President
and his family".

Meanwhile, Indonesian Christians living in a number of cities
considered susceptible to terror attacks, such as Jakarta, Poso
and Palu, marked Christmas Eve without any signs of fear despite
the presence of security officers in their churches.

Bomb squad personnel and security officers scoured churches on
Saturday before Christmas Eve services, and searched for
suspicious items around foreign embassies and shopping malls.

In the Central Java capital of Semarang, thousands of
Christians flocked to churches from Saturday morning to midnight
amid good weather.

In a show of religious harmony, members of the Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU) civilian guards, known as Banser, helped police officers to
guard the houses of worship. The NU is the country's largest
Muslim organization.

Ali Maffudz, who leads the province's NU civilian guards, said
that as many as 3,500 Banser members had been deployed to support
the security forces guard churches across Central Java.

In neighboring Yogyakarta, Christians celebrated their
Javanese-style Christmas in peace.

Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi, continued its
tradition of celebrating peaceful Christmases. There was no sign
of security disturbances during the annual celebrations.

Police officers maintained low profile security measures to
guard some 30 churches in the predominantly Muslim city.