U.S. issues fresh warning on Indonesian security
U.S. issues fresh warning on Indonesian security
Jerry Norton, Reuters/Jakarta
The United States has issued a fresh warning to Americans to
avoid non-essential travel to Indonesia, calling bombings that
killed 23 people in Bali on Oct. 1 "a reminder that terrorists
remain active".
Indonesian police meanwhile said they were stepping up anti-
terrorism measures for the country's biggest festival next week.
The U.S. warning, e-mailed on Thursday to Americans in
Indonesia, said: "The possibility remains that terrorists will
carry out additional attacks in Bali, Jakarta or other areas of
Indonesia in the near future."
The last full-blown U.S. travel warning on Indonesia was
issued in May.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous Muslim nation, has
been hit by a number of bomb attacks in recent year. Several
aimed at Western-linked targets have been blamed on the militant
Jamaah Islamiyah network.
Intelligence authorities say it is the Southeast Asian arm of
al-Qaeda, the group Washington charges with the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks in the United States.
In October 2002, a first round of bombs in Bali killed 202
people, mostly foreign tourists. Deadly car bomb blasts at a
luxury hotel in Jakarta and another at the Australian embassy
followed in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
The attacks in Bali this month hit three restaurants. The 23
casualties included three suicide bombers, according to police.
The new U.S. warning says Americans traveling to spots like
Bali should consider security levels at the specific places they
go to, and it repeats cautions that any place Westerners
congregate in Indonesia could be a target.
"Over the past three years, domestically targeted bombings
have struck religious, political, and business targets," the
warning also says, referring to sporadic attacks across
Indonesia's sprawling archipelago blamed on local issues.
One such bombing in May on Sulawesi island killed 22 people.
Separatist hotspots like Papua and Aceh also require caution,
the warning said.
While the Indonesian government and Aceh rebels reached a
peace agreement in August, "the overall security situation in
Aceh remains unsettled," the warning says.
It suggests as well that travelers "consult with their
personal physicians concerning avian flu". Bird flu has hit
millions of chickens in Indonesia, and four human deaths from the
disease have been confirmed.
The warning comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan,
which Indonesian police have said could be a time of fresh
attacks.
They plan to tighten security and put extra police on duty,
especially during the height of traveling next week when millions
of Indonesians leave urban areas for their home villages to
celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival at the end of Ramadan.
"All regional police offices will put their Detachment-88s
(terror units) on alert," Commissioner Gen. Ismerda Lebang, head
of the national police security division, told reporters on
Thursday.
Jakarta police chief Firman Gani said bomb surveillance units
would focus on 18 spots in the city, including malls, train
stations and airports.
Gani said 18,000 policeman would be deployed in the greater
Jakarta area, including around 100 officers from its anti-terror
detachment.
Security concerns have been one issue inhibiting foreign
investment in Indonesia, and the first attacks on the resort
island of Bali dealt a major blow to the tourist trade.