Security tightened ahead of Christmas
Security tightened ahead of Christmas
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
As Christmas and New Year's Eve approach, Central Java police
will beef up security in five cities in areas prone to terrorist
attacks, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.
In addition to deploying more police in those areas, the
police would also keep tabs on the situation via closed-circuit
television monitors at big churches in the five cities with
significant numbers of Christians. The cities in question are
Semarang, Salatiga, Surakarta, Magelang and Banyumas.
The tight security measures will be adopted amid intelligence
reports that militant Islamists may be planning terror attacks in
the respective cities, said Sr. Comr. Ardi Supardi, the chief of
the operations bureau at the Central Java Police headquarters.
Additionally, law enforcement officers have also expressed
concerns that Noordin M. Top, a key operative of the Jamaah
Islamiyah terror network and accomplice of expert bomb maker
Azahari, could be planning to bomb Christian areas in the
province. Noordin is still on the loose, but Azahari was shot and
killed during a police raid outside of Malang, East Java
recently.
As well as stepped up security at churches and other places of
worship, extra security will also be provided at malls and
tourist destinations.
Police across the nation have reportedly beefed up security
this month in response to a series of bomb attacks by terrorists,
including simultaneous church bombings, over the past several
years.
Ardi, in an apparent attempt to reassure the public by showing
that the police had made comprehensive preparations, explained
that dozens of body bags had been dispersed to police precincts
throughout Java.
Meanwhile, in a hearing with provincial councillors on
Wednesday, Ardi also promised to ban all "pornographic
performances" during New Year's Eve. The police were condemned by
certain groups among the public last year after allegations came
to light that one nightclub in the province had held a striptease
performance to celebrate the coming of 2005.