Security tightened one day before summit

Security tightened one day before summit

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Security was tightened across the city on Thursday, one day
before the Asian-African Summit, to anticipate possible terrorist
attacks on the meeting, police say.

The Jakarta Police, the Indonesian Military, and the city
administration have deployed more 24,000 officers, soldiers and
security guards to keep Jakarta safe during the conference.

Security was especially tight around the conference venue, the
Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), and the Hilton and Mulia hotels
where most of the delegates are staying.

In several places across the capital, police officers were
seen stopping and checking vehicles that intended to enter Jl.
Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta, and Jl. Gatot
Subroto in South Jakarta, where the JCC and Hilton are located.

On the eastern side of Jakarta, police in Manggarai stopped
and searched cars from East Jakarta traveling to Sudirman or
Thamrin. On the southern side, they checked vehicles in Cawang
and Pancoran.

This increased security has led to tensions with local
motorists, with one complaining that police were too strict and
impolite.

"They even told us to open our small bags where it would be
impossible to hide a bomb or a firearm. They should at least have
excused themselves and introduced themselves nicely first before
searching us," the irritated driver told The Jakarta Post.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said police could not
take any risks and had to make sure Jakarta was secured from all
threats, including bomb attacks and sniper assassination
attempts.

"That's why we are being very careful. We are sorry if we may
have made residents feel uncomfortable with our security
measures. But we are pursuing this line of action to ensure our
state guests are safe," Tjiptono said.

He said as of Thursday, police had found no evidence of any
serious plans to endanger the summit.

As of Thursday, police had arrested more than 100 people for
weapons offenses, including the possession of firearms, swords
and other sharp-edged weapons, as well as the less-dangerous
offenses of possessing pirated and adult VCDs and narcotics. They
had also confiscated 93 motorcycles and five cars whose drivers
lacked the proper documents.

Police had readied more than 180 bomb squad officers and
dozens of detectives around and inside the JCC, Hilton and Mulia
hotels, where most of the delegates were staying, he said.

Further out of the city, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen.
Firman Gani has ordered his officers to intensively check
outlying areas, including Bekasi, Tangerang, Depok, and Bogor, to
prevent people that could endanger the conference from entering
the capital.

Tjiptono called on residents to be careful of strangers that
visited their neighborhoods. Two key people behind the JW
Marriott Hotel and Australian Embassy blasts, Azahari bin Husin
and Noordin Moh. Top, were still at large conduct another attack
at any time, he said.

"Landlords should check identities of their new tenants as
Azahari and Noordin are out there, and could become anyone's
tenants. Hotel, mall, and supermarket owners must also stay on
full alert," he said.

Azahari and Noordin, both Malaysian fugitives, were believed
to have helped plan the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202
people, and masterminded the JW Marriott Hotel attack, which
claimed 12 lives, along with the recent bombing outside the
Australian Embassy that killed 11 people.

The increased security also impacted on Jakarta residents'
freedom of speech. A planned demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia
traffic circle in Central Jakarta by the Indonesia Farmers
Federation, the Anti-Debt Coalition, and the Jakarta Workers
Association was broken up shortly after it began by police.

The Post observed that traffic conditions were normal-to-light
in the central city on Thursday.

The administration's decision to give students a holiday on
Thursday and the approaching long weekend for the Prophet
Muhammad's birthday on Friday are likely to have contributed to
the light traffic situation.