Security in place for international conference

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Throughout his career in the police force, 44-year-old Adjutant Commissioner Surpha Winaya has survived many rough and difficult assignments.

And if there is one lesson he values most from all of his previous assignments -- he has been in the troubled province of Aceh with the elite Mobile Brigade and also in Jakarta during the infamous May 1998's riots -- it is certainly the importance of preparedness.

"When you are well-prepared, well-trained and hopefully, well- equipped as well, the chance of failure is reduced to the minimal level," he once said.

"When you come out into the street wearing this brown police uniform and this .38 cal. revolver strapped on your waist you had better be serious about your job and strive to get it done, because a lot of people count on you. I assure you that it is impossible to be serious and get the job done without sufficient preparation," he repeatedly told his men.

Known as one of the toughest of the tough in the Bali police force -- once a rioter tried to chop Surpha's head off with a machete, but Surpha kicked the sword, grab the rioter's neck, threw him down to the ground, and knocked him out before calmly approaching the other rioters, as if what he had just done was a mere handshake with an acquaintance -- he is currently the chief of the Bali police riot squad.

With the mammoth task of securing the UN-sponsored 4th Preparatory Committee on Sustainable Development conference in just a few days, nothing is more important to Surpha than to get his men well-prepared for their duty.

For the past couple of weeks he has subjected his men to harsh and intensive training. His close affinity with them did not prevent Surpha from dishing out a strict regimen of physical and mental training.

"All we have with us is this fiberglass shield and a rattan baton. We must avoid the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and excessive force. So the most important thing, is that one must be able to control the emotions," he said recently during a training session.

"When I tell you to hold your ground, you hold your ground! If the protesters assault you verbally, do nothing but hold your ground. When they pelt you with stones, or even with human feces, just remain calm and hold your ground," he instructed.

Surpha's riot squad is tasked with the important duty of spear-heading containment efforts in case a huge rally or mob riot takes place in the vicinity of the conference's venue.

It is a critical duty indeed. Some 6,000 people from 189 countries -- including Israel -- will attend the conference, while another 12,000 people will participate in the parallel NGOs open forum. Moreover, the conference will be held at the Bali International Convention Center (BICC), right in the heart of Bali's prime resort area of Nusa Dua. If the squad makes any mistakes in dealing with the protesters then it will surely further destroy the already tarnished image of Indonesia throughout the world.

While Surpha has been busy teaching his men the basics of human rights, the Denpasar Police chief Senior Commissioner DBM Suharya has been spending many sleepless nights rallying the city's informal leaders -- a wide group of people that covers everything from village elders, religious leaders, martial arts gurus, youth organization executives to the various hoodlums who control Bali's night spots -- into the cause of securing the conference.

"The traditional customary village of Desa Adat in Nusa Dua and Denpasar have expressed their support and enthusiasm over the conference. They have agreed to mobilize their traditional guard Pecalang to help the police secure the event," Suharya said.

Meanwhile, at the top of the chain of command, Bali Police chief Brig. Gen. Budi Setyawan, despite his humorous and easy- going attitude, is doing everything in his power to safeguard the conference.

"Basically, we will divide the Nusa Dua area into several rings of security. The first ring, the BICC's interior will be the joint responsibility of our elite forces and the 25-man UN security force, the other rings will be manned by the police force, which will be assisted by our colleagues from the Armed Forces, and the local Pecalang," he told.

Bali Police have prepared 5,115 officers for that security arrangement. Some 1,934 of them will be directly stationed in the vicinity of the BICC.

The rest will be deployed to 27 different hotels in Sanur, Kuta, Jimbaran and Tanjung Benoa, where the conference participants will stay during the course of the event.

Yet, the total number of security officers will certainly be bigger than that since, in the past several days, reinforcement forces have been flowing in from neighboring provincial police forces and the National Police headquarters.

"The reinforcements we will receive are one company of the elite Mobile Brigade, four tactical vehicles, 45 cars, 95 motorbikes, ten trucks, two helicopters, and one class-B gun ship," Bali Police spokesperson Adjutant Senior Commissioner Yatim Suyatmo said.

There will be also 18 trained dogs and eight police horses for bomb detection and riot containment.

Moreover, the Army will put three companies of soldiers, and several tactical vehicles under the police's command-and- coordination structure for the event. Two Air Force helicopters and two Navy battleships have also been put on similar standby status.

"We don't want anything ugly to happen during the conference. For instance, certain groups of Islamic militants have threatened to assault the Israeli delegation, and we are determined to prevent that from taking place. This huge force is necessary if we want to cover every hole and minimize all risks," an intelligence officer told.

Last Saturday, a security exercise was held at the BICC to give the rank-and-file officers the field experience of working together in great numbers with forces of different branches and with different assignments. The exercise also gave the high- ranking officers a chance to spot any flaws in the security arrangement.

The exercise involved a mob riot simulation, bomb detection and deactivation, VIP protection, emergency medical assistance and conference participant's escape and evacuation via land, air, and sea.

The Bali Police chief expressed his satisfaction over the level of morale and coordination shown by his troops during the exercise.

"With confidence I can now say we are fully prepared, physically and mentally, to do our best in securing this event," Budi Setyawan said.