Security tightened in int'l schools

Security tightened in int'l schools

Damar Harsanto and Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

The police vowed on Wednesday to increase security at
international schools in the aftermath of a grenade explosion in
the courtyard of the Australian International School (AIS) in
Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta on Tuesday night.

"We will be deploying more police officers to safeguard
international schools in a move to prevent similar attacks from
recurring," City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam
said.

Anton said those police personnel would not be stationary at a
certain school but they would patrol the area.

Anton claimed that at AIS alone, the police deployed 30
officers to safeguard the school in the wake of Tuesday's blast.

"The motive of the attack is to create a bad image that
Jakarta isn't safe for foreigners," Anton said, citing that the
police's main concern currently was to safeguard the Annual
Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

No one was injured during the blast, which took place at 8:30
p.m. but it left a football-sized hole in the courtyard, while
some windows near the swimming pool were shattered.

Anton said the South Jakarta Police, thus far, had questioned
12 witnesses in connection with the grenade attack.

Citing the witness accounts, Anton said that there were two
suspected perpetrators of the crime and they were on a Yamaha RX
King motorcycle, with helmets and black jackets.

However, none of the 12 witnesses could recall the license
number of the motorcycle. "We're continuing our investigation of
this crime," said Anton.

According to police sources, the hand grenade was a South
Korean-made device with serial number FUZE EC-82H810012.

Meanwhile, the Australian International School remains open
and conducted normal school activities on Wednesday amid tighter
security, according to Ana, a school staff member.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta International School in South Jakarta,
also said they are conducting normal activities without any extra
protection from the police.

"Only our security guards are on stand-by at the school," said
Linda, a school representative.

The Tuesday grenade incident is the first attack upon foreign
assets in Jakarta this year. The last attack on foreign assets
occurred in August last year, when a grenade blast rocked the
Malaysian Embassy.

Philippine Ambassador Leonides T. Caday was seriously injured
when a bomb exploded at his residence on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central
Jakarta, in August 2000 - the second time in 14 years that a
foreign mission in Jakarta had been targeted. The first incident
happened in May 1986, targeting the U.S. Embassy and the Japanese
Embassy.

Attacks on foreign assets in Jakarta

(Date/Venue: Type of attack: State)
Aug. 1, 2000. The residence of Philippine Ambassador Leonides T.
Caday on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central Jakarta: a bomb went off:
unresolved.

Aug. 24, 2000. Parking lot of the Malaysian Embassy on Jl. H.R.
Rasuna Said, South Jakarta: a grenade thrown: five people sentenced
to between seven years and 15 years in jail

Nov. 6, 2001. Australian Int'l School on Jl. Jati Murni, Pasar
Minggu, South Jakarta: a grenade thrown: under investigation