Police launch massive effort for Idul Fitri
Police launch massive effort for Idul Fitri
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Semarang/Surabaya
The National Police are planning to beef up security this week
ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday by deploying more than 33,000
officers across the country to ensure the safety of
holidaymakers.
The number of officers deployed for this year's Idul Fitri
will be far less than 70,000 reported to have been mobilized in
2004. However, unlike in previous years, National Police
spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said the police would dispatch 20
helicopters, 30 patrol ships and 560 patrol cars to assist the
many stationary officers in the operation.
The security operation is also part of efforts to search for
suspects in the latest Bali bomb attacks that killed 23 people on
Oct. 1 and two Malaysian fugitives Azahari bin Husin and Noordin
M. Top blamed for previous blasts.
Soenarko said most of the extra personnel would be stationed
in Java because it had the largest number of Idul Fitri
travelers.
Many officers would also be stationed on Java's boarders to
closely watch the movement of suspected terrorists, he said.
Soenarko said the security mobilization would focus on all
provinces in Java, on Bali and in Lampung, southern Sumatra.
"Apart from ensuring public safety during the holiday, the
officers will have the extra job of searching people suspected to
be connected with terrorist activities," Soenarko said.
"They will watch out for any suspicious people in their patrol
areas as well as guard places and roads in areas highly prone to
terrorist activities."
Officers would also be assigned to guard public places such as
mosques, bus terminals, railway stations and major highways, he
said.
"The National Police chief Gen. Sutanto has ordered us to do
the best in securing land, sea and air areas across the country,"
he said.
Police were also tasked with protecting holidaymakers from
possible floods and landslides during their travels to their
hometowns around the fasting month.
The extended police operations will begin on Wednesday and
continue through Nov. 11, a week after the celebrations of Idul
Fitri -- the most important festival on the Islamic calendar.
Over 17 million people are expected to journey to their
hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri, which falls on Nov. 3 and 4,
with their families.
The exodus is predicted to start later this week. Many of the
holidaymakers usually travel on overcrowded buses, trains, ships
and planes.
In Semarang, Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Chaerul
Rasjid said he would assign 16,000 officers to secure the
province, where an estimated 3.1 million people would be
traveling.
He warned the travelers against likely traffic jams along
Central Java's north coast road as certain obstacles in nine
trouble-spots had not yet been removed.
Meanwhile, Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Sutarman said
officers would provide an escort for people traveling with
motorcycles to the outskirts of the country's second biggest
city.
A similar escort was provided last year.
The escort service was aimed at preventing road accidents and
other crimes such as robberies, Sutarman said in Surabaya on
Saturday.
More people are expected to travel on motorcycles during this
year's Idul Fitri for economic reasons following soaring fuel
prices that have forced public buses and minivans to raise their
fares.