Police tighten security at five embassies, expatriate sites
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
Police have tightened security around five embassies and several sites frequented by expatriates in large cities in the country, and provided training for embassy personnel to enable them to detect suspicious people and packages.
National Police deputy chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida said on Tuesday that police had deployed more officers in places believed to be targeted by terrorists.
"We have taken precautionary actions since two weeks ago by deploying more officers, mostly detectives, to the U.S., British, Australian, Dutch, and Spanish embassies, to anticipate possible attacks," said Dadang.
The move was taken following warnings from Western security agencies on possible terrorist attacks on foreign individuals across the country.
Dadang said, due to the limited number of police personnel, the National Police had launched a program to train embassy personnel to detect early warning signs, including identifying suspicious individuals and bomb packages, and to take the necessary subsequent steps.
He also encouraged the public to immediately report anything that they considered suspicious to the police.
Aside from securing embassies, the police have also allocated officers to secure sites frequented by foreigners, such as hotels, foreign companies, and malls.
"For example, we have assigned more detectives around Jl. Jaksa, Central Jakarta, because we know many foreigners stay there. We have also deployed more officers to residential complexes housing foreigners in many cities throughout the country," said Dadang.
In the latest edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, it was reported that British and Australian intelligence organizations had deciphered a new pattern in terrorist attacks conducted by Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.
The intelligence reports apparently indicated that JI had changed its strategy from car bombs to targeted assassinations of Western VIPs, especially diplomats from Britain, Australia, and the United States.
They also warned that JI assassins could widen their targets to include foreign businesspeople.
There have also been reports of several extremists arriving in the country from Mindanao, the Philippines, in recent weeks.
Dadang agreed that there were indications of renewed terrorist threats. Two alleged JI bombers, Azahari and Noordin Moh Top -- both were believed to be behind the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings and the Aug. 5, 2003 JW Marriott Hotel attack -- are still at large.
"They could plot a new kind of attack, and still have the capability of recruiting new executors," said Dadang.
The attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta claimed 12 lives, while 202 people, mostly Australian holidaymakers, were killed in the Bali bombings.
Australia seems to be taking the report seriously as its top officials, including Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, immediately announced that they had taken every possible step to secure their citizens in Indonesia by forming a cooperation with the local police and military, as a precautionary measure.