Thousands to guard city over holiday

Thousands to guard city over holiday

Damar Harsanto and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang

In order to secure the capital during Idul Fitri, police and the
military will deploy a total of 15,174 personnel at public places
prone to terrorist attacks and crimes.

City Police acting spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Eddy Ihwanto said
on Tuesday that the troops would guard shopping centers, malls,
bus terminals, railway stations, the airport and the sea port
which are expected to be teeming to the gills with travelers.

"The joint operation named Ketupat Jaya 2003 starts on Tuesday
and will go until Dec. 3," he said.

The security contingent will comprise 11,449 policemen, 3,125
military soldiers and public order officers and 600 security
guards and civilian security guards.

City Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said the joint
operation would also involve regular patrols at housing complexes
to secure the vacant houses left by holidaymakers during the Idul
Fitri exodus.

An estimated 2.11 million out of 8.3 million Jakartans will
leave the city for the holiday, which marks the end of Ramadhan,
on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26. Most families begin their holidays a
week in advance and stay away from home for up to two weeks
thereafter.

"We'll be informing the respective neighborhood unit chiefs to
tell the police which houses are vacant," said Makbul.

Besides the annual increase of burglaries at vacant houses,
Makbul also warned of an increase in robberies targeting people
who are withdrawing money from banks and recommended bank
customers ask for a police escort.

Separately, an official at the Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport operator Angkasa Pura II said 2,000 security personnel
would guard the airport compound.

Risman Nuryadin, head of the airport branch of the company,
said that they had established four security posts at Terminal I,
three at Terminal II and one post at Terminal III for greater
monitoring.

He predicted a jump in the number of passengers from the usual
750,000 on average per month. "The number will soar to 125,000
passengers during the peak of holiday season alone, between Nov.
18 and Dec. 3," he told The Jakarta Post.

The airport operator would also open a new gate as alternative
access to the airport to help reduce traffic congestion along the
toll road heading to the airport and provide buses to pick up
passengers should traffic congestion occur, Risman said.

However, he said, many of the 490 monitoring cameras at the
airport were broken due to improper maintenance, but he quickly
added that there was no money allocated from the budget to
replace them.

"We won't replace them in the near future, so we'll be doing
regular patrols instead."

Makbul also said the police were still on alert in
anticipation of another bomb attack in the city.

He asked the public to help by reporting any strangers
residing at boarding houses or rental houses in the city, citing
that "they (suspected terrorists) would prefer boarding houses as
their hideouts", referring to fugitive terrorist suspects Dr.
Azahari, Noordin Mohammad Top and Dulmatin.