U.S., Australia, UK caution on attacks during holidays

U.S., Australia, UK caution on attacks during holidays

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The governments of Australia, Britain and the United States
issued new travel advisories for their citizens in Indonesia to
be extremely cautious during the upcoming holiday season due to
the high possibility of terrorist attacks.

Travel advisories from the embassies in Jakarta warned that
their citizens should avoid public places such as churches,
restaurants and bars during the holidays.

"With the approach of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the
embassy reminds all Americans throughout Indonesia to exercise
utmost caution in public places, particularly places of worship
and entertainment areas frequented by Westerners," the embassy
statement said.

Referring to the Christmas bombing in 2000, the British
Embassy in Jakarta highlighted the fact that churches were
targeted in the incidents, so British nationals should remain
alert.

"It should be noted that in 2000, a series of bombings
targeted Christmas celebrations in places of worship," the
advisory stated.

The Australian government went further than the other two
Western governments, advising its nationals to consider leaving
Indonesia ahead of the Christmas celebration.

"Threats against Australians and Australian interests in
Indonesia remain high given possible terrorist action and civil
disorder, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period,"
it said.

"Our advice also remains that Australians in Indonesia who are
concerned about their security should consider departure," the
statement said as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

After the Bali bombing on Oct.12, which killed more than 190
people, the majority of whom were foreigners, many countries
issued travel warnings against Indonesia and some evacuated non-
essential embassy staff from the country.

The security alert remains high, after several international
schools in Jakarta only last month suspended their activities for
more than a week, due to the possibility of terrorists attacks.

These warnings continue despite protests from the Indonesian
government that such travel advisories would further harm the
country's tourism industry, which has suffered a sharp decline
after the attacks in Bali.

Although Indonesian police repeatedly guarantee the safety of
foreigners, police in South Sulawesi found several bombs near a
church in Makassar in recent weeks.

Police have heightened security measures for the Christmas and
New Year holidays, and have put churches across the country under
maximum security.

Similar steps have been undertaken in the past two years, as
the country was traumatized by the Christmas Eve bombings at
churches located in 11 major cities, which claimed 19 lives.

Police have said that the suspects in the ongoing
investigation of the Bali bombings were also involved in the
Christmas Eve 2000 attacks.

Most of the terror suspects were affiliated with Muslim
organizations, a consideration that has put churches on a list of
high-risk targets for possible retaliatory attacks.

In their advisory, the British Embassy also warned its
nationals to be "particularly careful in Bali, Jakarta,
Balikpapan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, and in cultural and tourist
locations outside major cities, including Borobudur."

"The arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and the possible arrest of
other extremist leaders could lead to strong reaction from their
supporters," the advisory continued, referring to the Muslim
cleric who remains under police detention, although his alleged
involvement with the Christmas Eve bombings has been neither
proved nor disproved.