Police tighten security at five embassies, expatriate sites

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.