Security tightened at key facilities

Security tightened at key facilities

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government appealed to the public to stay calm but vigilant
in the face of renewed terror attacks targeting Indonesia, while
ordering security to be tightened at key installations across the
country.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said people were asked to conduct their
routine daily activities but were asked to immediately report to
security officers whenever they noted anything suspicious.

"We ask people to remain calm and keep an eye out for anything
suspicious that may lead to acts of terror," Susilo told a press
briefing.

"I must underline this because security authorities in
Southeast Asia have informed us that acts of terror are likely to
continue in the future and are targeting countries, including
Indonesia."

Susilo said he had called for heightened security at all
government buildings and public facilities and ordered that all
these premises be guarded by professional security officers.

"(The measures) also include tighter security at government
institutions that keep weapons, ammunition and explosives," he
said.

He further asked the country's intelligence, immigration and
customs and tax officials to improve coordination.

Security measures will be intensified at seaports and airports
across the country, particularly in Greater Jakarta and Central
Java, where police captured nine suspected members of the Jamaah
Islamiyah terrorist group, said Susilo.

JI, a regional terrorist group that has been linked to al-
Qaeda, is said to be responsible for last year's Bali bombings
which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Before the Bali blasts, senior government officials --
including Susilo and Vice president Hamzah Haz -- routinely
denied that terrorists were targeting the world's most populous
Muslim nation.

The government's move on Wednesday came on the heels of a
fresh bomb blast that rocked the House of Representatives
compound on Monday, while a suspected JI leader Fathur Rohman al-
Ghozi escaped from Cramp Crame prison in the Philippines.

The two events took place only days after the police announced
that they had arrested nine JI members led by a man identified as
Mustofa and seized more than 1,000 detonators and other
explosives, assault rifles and ammunition after a nationwide
crackdown on terrorist cells in 11 cities in Java between July 4
and July 11.

Around 30 suspected JI members are facing charges of terrorism
at district courts in Denpasar, the South Sulawesi capital of
Makassar and the East Java town of Lamomgan. Susilo asserted that
the trial had made Indonesia more vulnerable to terrorist attacks
compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Some of the defendants are also being charged with
masterminding a series of blasts in Jakarta and other places in
2000 and 2001, including alleged JI leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

A series of blasts had taken place in Jakarta and the North
Sumatra capital of Medan before the explosion in the House
compound.

The police have yet to name any suspects in the House blast,
which caused no injuries.

"In October, Indonesia will also host the ASEAN Summit in
Denpasar, and of course, many parties may use this event to
create terror," Susilo said.

Indonesia will also hold the annual convention of the
People's Consultative Assembly between Aug. 1 and Aug. 10.

Susilo said the government offensive against Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) rebels may spark acts of terror perpetrated by the
separatists to draw both national and international attention.

But when asked whether JI or GAM were responsible for the
recent blast in the House compound, Susilo said: "It could be any
group. We don't know yet. Let's just wait for the results of the
police investigation."