Police increase security ahead of September runoff

The Jakarta Post, Medan

National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar announced on Wednesday he would instruct police nationwide to remain on high alert ahead of the Sept. 20 presidential runoff.

Da'i's statement came after a recent spate of violent attacks occured throughout the country.

Although the attacks were apparently not linked to each other, the incidents could, however, worsen the national security situation if they continued to occur, Da'i said.

"These killings and bombings have not disrupted the situation ahead of the upcoming election because they are not related to each other. However, we can't let (these attacks) occur too often," Da'i said.

"Each incident was motivated by different reason, and at this time we do not consider these attacks are related," Da'i said.

A bomb attack earlier this week in Sei Bingei, Langkat, North Sumatra killed one person and left three others injured.

The attack is believed to have been the result of fighting between rival gangs.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a clergywoman, Reverend Susianti Tinulele, was shot dead in a church by gunmen in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in an apparent bid to reignite religious violence in the province.

A later bomb threat at her funeral on Tuesday led to the evacuation of a church.

The police are still hunting down the perpetrators of the killing and have put up police checkpoints in roads going out of the province.

A police sketch artist is preparing a picture of gunmen's faces to be distributed across the area.

A week before a series of small explosions rocked Bandung, West Java. The bombs caused no casualties.

Police said that the motive behind the bombing was connected with an anti-gambling protest conducted by several groups of the city residents.

While these attacks were not linked, police still had cause to believe certain groups were planning to disrupt the election, Da'i said. He refused to identify the groups he believed were responsible.

The police's increased alert status was a response to this likely threat, he said. In a bid to ensure against riots and other disruptions the call would go out to police chiefs nationwide.

"Tomorrow, I will brief all provincial chiefs throughout the country to order their men to stay alert to ensure the September election runs smoothly. We have helped the legislative and presidential elections to be a success, and we want this success to continue," Da'i said.

Da'i said he had ordered police, including mobile brigade units, to actively patrol their jurisdictions to prevent more security disturbances.

Police were giving special attention to conflict areas such as Poso, Maluku, Papua and Aceh and were deploying more troops there, he said.

Indonesia has been rocked by a series of deadly bombings since 2000. Many have been blamed on the Al Qaeda-linked terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), although others have been linked to separatist groups and feuding criminal gangs.