Tighter security at U.S. embassy called for

Tighter security at U.S. embassy called for

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz ordered the National Police on
Thursday to increase security around the American embassy and its
consulate in Surabaya, responding to the U.S. decision to shut
down both establishments on account of security threats.

"The Vice President has instructed National Police
Headquarters to tighten security and increase the number of
police personal (at the U.S. embassy)," a senior Hamzah aide,
Laode Kamaluddin, was quoted as saying by Antara following a
meeting between the Vice President and U.S. Ambassador Ralph L.
Boyce.

Boyce met Hamzah to clarify his decision to close down the
embassy and the consulate, and later said that the meeting went
well and that both sides understood the problems they were
facing.

But as the embassy closure entered its third day, Boyce told
reporters on Thursday he could not say when it would reopen.

The sudden closure has, however, raised eyebrows here with
officials saying the U.S. failed to consult with them about the
alleged terrorist threats.

Hamzah criticized the move as implying Indonesia was unsafe
for diplomats.

Following the closure on Tuesday, police have cordoned off the
embassy compound, although this would seem to have more to do
with nearby demonstrations protesting the reelection of Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso.

City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said that
at present one unit of 12 police officers was stationed at the
embassy. "We'll keep our men there until they (the U.S.) are
satisfied."

The closure of the U.S. embassy and the consulate has renewed
concerns about the presence of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in
Indonesia, although similar allegations in the past were not
backed up by strong enough evidence, in the opinion of the
Indonesian authorities, to prompt arrests.

Ambassador Boyce has said the closure was the result of
credible information about a terrorist threat. However, he did
not give details of the threat his embassy had received. National
Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said he was told by U.S.
officials that the threat had originated from outside of
Indonesia.

A New York Times article reprinted in the International Herald
Tribune daily on Thursday reported that U.S. officials had
obtained information about threats against several of its
embassies from Omar Faruq, an alleged al-Qaeda operative they
interrogated.

Faruq was picked up in Central Java, Indonesia, and quietly
turned over to the U.S. "He has proved reliable in the past,"
said a U.S. official as quoted by the Times.

Based on the information Faruq provided, which was
corroborated by another source, a mid-level al-Qaeda operative,
the U.S. moved to shut down embassies across Southeast Asia,
fearing more attacks on Sept 11.

Faruq is an Arab and described as an al-Qaeda operations chief
in Southeast Asia, Associated Press reported.

But National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf denied the
reports. "There has never been a person by the name Faruq or
anybody else arrested and turned over (to the U.S.)."

Indonesian analysts have, not surprisingly, downplayed fears
of the Al-Qaeda network operating in Indonesia, though they warn
that radical groups here could become a terrorist threat.

Some have pointed to the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI)
and Laskar Jihad as possibly having links to Al-Qaeda, although
no evidence have been found to support this claim, say Indonesian
officials.

MMI member Abu Bakar Bashir is believed to be the founder of
Jemaah Islamiah -- a group Malaysia and Singapore suspect of
being behind a number of planned terrorist strikes.

Now, the U.S. administration is preparing to put Jemaah
Islamiah and Bashir on its list of terrorist organizations and
suspects, a move U.S. officials say could create diplomatic
tensions with Indonesia, according to the Times' article.