Police step up security for expats

Police step up security for expats

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police across the archipelago are stepping up security measures to protect expatriates amid lingering threats by militant groups to forcibly expel Westerners.

Police are keeping an eye on expatriates in public places, on the street, their residences, hotels and places commonly frequented by foreigners.

In Central Sulawesi, the immigration office is ready to process immigration papers for the departure of 52 Americans, mostly missionaries, working in the province.

Central Java Police said that the increased protection of foreigners was part of efforts to safeguard foreign nationals and their assets as America continued to bomb strategic Taliban sites in Afghanistan.

Radical Muslim groups see the strikes on Afghanistan as an act of aggression toward Islam. They want to retaliate as an expression of religious solidarity by expelling Americans and citizens of countries that support America.

"We are compelled to beef up security for foreigners and their assets in anticipation of the worst," said Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Erwin MAP.

There are 200 foreigners registered with the provincial government as employees and managers. Most of them reside in Jepara, Surakarta, Semarang, Salatiga and Kudus.

Erwin has ordered police in all towns to set up command posts to supervise foreign nationals there.

"We will not tolerate violence, including 'sweeps', on foreign nationals," he said.

In Senggigi, a popular tourist resort in the West Nusa Tenggara island of Lombok, local citizens are involved in the protection of tourists. Over 200 families in Senggigi have formed a taskforce to secure the resort from anti-U.S. extremists.

The taskforce, named Community Caring for Senggigi, was formed at the town's mosque in the presence of local officials, Antara reported.

They pledged to assist police and the government to protect tourists and other foreigners visiting the area. Of the 39,000 residents, 90 percent of the population depend on the tourist industry for their livelihood.

Foreign nationals living in Irian Jaya, notably PT Freeport employees in Timika, have been given assurances of their safety by the local Prajaviratama military commander, Col. MR Saragih.

The military command has a special unit responsible for providing security for the giant copper company, PT Freeport, which is mostly U.S. owned.

Saragih said that he had heard no word of threats to hunt down Americans or to disrupt PT Freeport operations in his area of command, which covers Sorong, Manokwari, Fakfak and Mimika.

Meanwhile, immigration officials in Palu, where anti-American feeling is strong, are on top alert.

"I guarantee that all foreign nationals can leave at any time in case of emergency because they all their immigration documents have been prepared," immigration office spokesman Bambang Satrio told Antara.

Palu, like Makassar in South Sulawesi and Jakarta, has seen daily anti-U.S. demonstrations since America launched the first strike on Afghanistan on Oct. 7.

But none of the Westerners living in the province have left, according to Bambang.

Statistics at the immigration office show that 158 foreign nationals live in Central Sulawesi. Of those, 52 are American, 16 are German, 15 Malaysian, 15 Taiwanese and 11 Japanese. The rest are mostly from other Western European countries.