Police ready holiday security

Police ready holiday security

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta Police will beef up security at churches and mosques
as well as public places ahead of the Christmas and New Year
holidays to protect the public.

"The deployment will start a week before Christmas," city
police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Tuesday. "The number
of officers to be deployed in each church will be different,
depending on the size of the congregation and the church."

The police will discuss the arrangements with the security
division of the places of worship.

Since the Christmas bombings at several churches in the
capital and other cities in 2000, churches have paid serious
attention to security with some installing metal detectors.

Tjiptono said there would be bomb specialists assigned at each
church. "The highest security concern is still bomb threats as
the main suspects of several terrorist attacks are still at
large."

Two main fugitives suspected of masterminding several major
blasts in the country -- Azahari and Noordin Moh. Top -- remain
at large.

Recent attacks on two churches in Palu, Central Sulawesi, have
raised concerns among the public. President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono has called on the police to beef up security for the
coming holidays.

Besides churches, the police will also tighten security at the
city's major mosques such as Istiqlal Grand Mosque. "We don't
want to leave out anything in our security system," Tjiptono
said.

As for the New Year, the police are concentrating on traffic
along major thoroughfares as many young people parade the streets
to celebrate on New Year's Eve.

"We will also concentrate on recreation sites such as the
Ancol Dreamland and the National Monument (Monas)," he added.