Antara News, Friday, December 24, 2010
Kupang, E. Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - Muslim youths in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, joined security personnel to secure Christmas and New Year`s eve celebrations, a police spokesman said.
A total of 530 security personnel consisting of policemen, servicemen and members of the society, including Muslim youths, had been deployed to guard the celebrations, Kupang police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Bambang Sugiarto said here Friday.
Those involved in this joined security scheme had agreed to set up security checks in 14 security-prone locations with each secured by four guards, he said.
Besides this, 116 churches in the East Nusa Tenggar province`s capital of Kupang would also be secured by policemen and servicemen to ensure that they were free from security disturbance, he said.
The security personnel would effectively work from Friday to December 31, he said.
"This security measure has been taken in response to the national police chief`s order," he said.
The security threats and situation that need to be anticipated included acts of terrorism, conventional crimes, traffic jams, use of fire crackers, and natural disasters, he said.
The same security procedures were also taken by policemen in the West Java town of Cirebon.
Each church in the town would be guarded by ten policemen to secure Christmas eve and celebrations, Cirebon police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Herukoco said.
At least 600 security personnel had been deployed to secure Christmas and New Year holidays in the city, he said.
In Tasikmalaya, West Java, 17 churches were also secured by 481 security personnel ahead of Christmas eve.
The presence of policemen and servicemen was expected to create a secure and peaceful condition for church goers, Tasikmalaya district police`s spokesman Commissioner Yono Kusyono said.
Indonesia has been fighting terrorist cells since 2000. On December 24, 2000, a string of attacks on churches were carried out by terrorists on Christmas eve in several Indonesian cities.
The attackers targeted a number of churches in the Indonesian cities of Batam, Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Sukabumi, Pangandaran, Bandung, Kudus, Mojokerto, and Mataram.
Two years after the Christmas eve bombings, terrorists attacked Bali Island in 2002, claiming 202 lives, including 88 Australian holiday makers.
The latest deadly incident happened on July 17, 2009 when two suicide bombers attacked JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in South Jakarta.
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