Xmas peaceful under tight security
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The religious violence hotspots of Poso in Central Sulawesi and Ambon in Maluku remained calm as Christmas was celebrated peacefully across Indonesia on Monday and Tuesday.
As of late last night, there had been no reports of unrest, despite fears of a repeat of last year's wave of bomb attacks on churches that killed 19 people and injured scores more throughout the country on Christmas Eve, 2000.
Security personnel stood guard at churches throughout the celebrations.
Except for a small explosion in Cikoko, South Jakarta on Monday morning, the capital was largely calm, with thousands of Christians flocking to churches to attend Christmas services.
At Jakarta's Cathedral, one of the churches that was bombed last year, churchgoers were subjected to stringent security checks before they could enter the compound. Bomb squads stood at the ready near the colonial-era building.
The same security measures were in force at all churches in the capital as most Christians were still traumatized by last year's bombings.
"Jakarta is safe. Police and military forces and Muslim organizations helped maintain the security," Jakarta Police Chief Makbul Padmanagara said on Tuesday.
However, he asked people to stay alert for bombs like the one that exploded in Cikoko, South Jakarta on Monday morning. No injuries were reported from the blast.
In Poso, which has been gripped by religious conflicts, Christmas celebrations, centered at Tentena district, went smoothly with most Christians attending the midnight service and the Tuesday morning celebrations.
A policeman in Poso told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin Ishak spent Christmas eve in the strife-torn area to directly supervise the security situation.
In Ambon, which had been plagued by religious conflict since January 1999, Christmas was celebrated in a modest and peaceful way. Some Christians, however, had to celebrate Christmas in refugee camps.
Firecrackers boomed through the night in Ambon, a noisy reminder for some of the violence that has taken hold in the city.
In Yogyakarta, police authorities urged Muslims not to attend a planned joint Christmas celebration involving people from all religions at Saint Antonius Church to stave off anger from religious hardliners there.
Yogyakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Ibnu Sudjak came to the church just one hour before the celebration was due to start and asked all Muslims to leave the venue saying that certain hardline groups threatened to start rioting in the area if the Muslims attended the planned Christmas celebrations.
The muslims heeded to police's advice and left. The service continued.
In other big cities like Medan in North Sumatra, Bandung in West Java and Surabaya in East Java, which were also hit by bomb attacks last Christmas, Christians celebrated Christmas peacefully. In Medan, North Sumatra security officers guarded churches and no incidents were reported.
Christmas in Bandung also passed without disturbance as thousands of Christians joined Christmas services under heavy security.
Police in Pekanbaru, Riau conducted checks on vehicles Monday as part of security measures ahead of Christmas. Passengers had their identification cards checked while the cars were searched for weapons, explosives and other harmful materials.